OT: Why does Canada suck at soccer?

[Bubbles]

It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing and we saw it recently on the female side as well with a Canadian born gurl going stateside and a great young player (Lang) being injured and out of the game too early but hopefully the tide will turn in Canada's favour at some point like it looked like it would after our 1st world cup appearance which seems like ages ago now.

Lang is making a comeback. I think her and Sinclair together would be dynamite. The are the most aggresive and imaginative players on the women's team.

 

[NuxFan09]

I'm probably the only person that thinks this way, but I don't even care that we suck at soccer on the men's side. Soccer is the most common and popular sport on the planet. It doesn't seem like such a big deal to be great at soccer. That might be kind of backwards thinking, since on the flip side you don't want to be the best at something nobody cares about either, but I just can't bring myself to care about the fact Canada isn't competitive in soccer on the world stage. Let the oodles of other nations who excel at soccer duke it out while Canada continues to set the standard for hockey as well as some other winter sports. Canada is also a rising tennis nation, which, as a tennis player and fan, is very exciting for me.

 

[nags]

As I said in the post it is my opinion and one that is held by a lot of people in this area. I guess you should ask yourself why this discussion is taking place on a hockey board.

As for the rest of the world good for them. IMVHO the main reason soccer is as popular as it is is its simplicity of gear. You need a ball and even the poorest of people in the poorest on nations can get something resembling a ball. Heck it is the same reason that soccer has the highest participation levels in youth sport as far as I know in Canada and the US. It is cheap and fairly easy to get into. This doesn't necessarily translate into viewers or even people who care enough to follow the game. A lot of the guys I have played hockey, football and baseball with also played soccer. I would venture to guess that like me not a lot of them had soccer in the number one or two spot.

My kids played soccer and there was such an abundance of people willing to show these kids the game that I was the coach and my assistant was a guy who had never played the game. Neither of my kids at this point could careless about the Whitecaps or soccer in general. That might change as they get older but I don't see it.

Soccer is also popular because of its Zen like nature. When you can juggle a ball in the air for 30 or 40 minutes you would realize what I mean. There is much more to soccer than just an actual soccer game.

You are starting to see a similar effect in hockey where kids are juggling pucks in much more interesting ways than they did even a decade ago. The game of hockey will change as a result and will become much more three dimensional. You are already starting to see a bit of that with the alley oop passes.

 

[Hyzer]

We suck at soccer because of the development and training. We don't have the infrastructure to support it unlike hockey. We need junior leagues that draft players and train them. Places like Germany and Spain have incredible programs that bolster and develop their youth in the minor leagues, which are consistently and constantly scouted (sort of like how Junior A and Major Junior hockey is).

Look at how many of Germany's players are from these programs right after they initiated their program development. Players like Ozil, Schurrle, Muller, Hummels, Gotze, Reus, Kroos... all of these players attended development programes that were affiliated with large clubs and were willing to spend money on coaches, training regimens and so forth.

We just don't have it here in Canada, and probably won't for a long time if ever.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Because they are not a soccer country. I cheer for Italy cause I am half and most of my family are Italian. It is more or a Latin/European sport.

 

[JBIZ14]

I think the biggest problem with Soccer in Canada is the lack of quality coaches at the youth level. Kids need to be learning fundamentals at a much younger age. It's getting better but it has a long way to go.

 

[putridgasbag]

Soccer is also popular because of its Zen like nature. When you can juggle a ball in the air for 30 or 40 minutes you would realize what I mean. There is much more to soccer than just an actual soccer game.

You are starting to see a similar effect in hockey where kids are juggling pucks in much more interesting ways than they did even a decade ago. The game of hockey will change as a result and will become much more three dimensional. You are already starting to see a bit of that with the alley oop passes.

Ally oop passes have been around along time, we were tying stuff like that in the 70's, the major difference now being the lack of the two line offside pass.

Ultimately it comes down to what sports entertain us the most and here in North America soccer is far down the list and I really do not see it changing.

One of the biggest things that bug me about club football is the advertizing on the unis. For the life of me I can't figure out why someone would buy a shirt for a team that barely shows the team logo but prominently displays a company logo over the chest. Puts a whole new spin on playing for the crest on the front and not the name on the back saying. Go Bell Go! Nope just not as catchy.

 

[huntison]

Men's soccer.

 

[GPNuck]

Just Cheer for Spain its easier

ouch

 

[Johnny Canuck]

our athletes prefer other sports. simple.

 

[me2]

One of the biggest things that bug me about club football is the advertizing on the unis. For the life of me I can't figure out why someone would buy a shirt for a team that barely shows the team logo but prominently displays a company logo over the chest. Puts a whole new spin on playing for the crest on the front and not the name on the back saying. Go Bell Go! Nope just not as catchy.

If NHL teams thought they could pull in $175m a year in sponsorships they'd be all over it. NA fans only complain about it because they don't have it and therefore aren't used to it. If the rest of the world shows us anything it is that in really people don't care whether or not their is sponsorship on the team clothing, they still buy the gear, they still love teams just as much.

The NHL has revenue disparity problems (unequal distribution of income potential) and if it wants to address that properly it needs to find ways of claiming all the income and distributing it. A lot of areas are now gone as options (local TV, tickets, local advertising etc) but one area that the NHL could help even things out would be sponsorships because they could control it all from the start, sell TO for a ton and Florida for a dime but put the money in the pool assigned for teams needing welfare. I can't say I want to see it happen but....

 

[Fat Tony]

If NHL teams thought they could pull in $175m a year in sponsorships they'd be all over it. NA fans only complain about it because they don't have it and therefore aren't used to it. If the rest of the world shows us anything it is that in really people don't care whether or not their is sponsorship on the team clothing, they still buy the gear, they still love teams just as much.

I still don't understand why people are willing to be walking billboards and not get paid for it. Worse, they are paying to do it.

 

[nameless1]

Ally oop passes have been around along time, we were tying stuff like that in the 70's, the major difference now being the lack of the two line offside pass.

Ultimately it comes down to what sports entertain us the most and here in North America soccer is far down the list and I really do not see it changing.

One of the biggest things that bug me about club football is the advertizing on the unis. For the life of me I can't figure out why someone would buy a shirt for a team that barely shows the team logo but prominently displays a company logo over the chest. Puts a whole new spin on playing for the crest on the front and not the name on the back saying. Go Bell Go! Nope just not as catchy.

What about European hockey jerseys?

I honestly have no idea what team that guy plays for.

 

[The Vengabus]

One of the biggest things that bug me about club football is the advertizing on the unis. For the life of me I can't figure out why someone would buy a shirt for a team that barely shows the team logo but prominently displays a company logo over the chest. Puts a whole new spin on playing for the crest on the front and not the name on the back saying. Go Bell Go! Nope just not as catchy.

I find this one of the most asinine arguments against soccer, especially when it comes from fans of north american sports that have advertisements over every part of the playing surface and literally stop the game to squeeze in more tv advertisements. Recall that the NHL added "TV timeouts" to increase the number of commercials they could squeeze into a game - to me, that is a greater strike against the purity of the sport than whatever you have on the front of your shirt.

 

[putridgasbag]

I find this one of the most asinine arguments against soccer, especially when it comes from fans of north american sports that have advertisements over every part of the playing surface and literally stop the game to squeeze in more tv advertisements. Recall that the NHL added "TV timeouts" to increase the number of commercials they could squeeze into a game - to me, that is a greater strike against the purity of the sport than whatever you have on the front of your shirt.

And just where did I say anything against the sport? I said club teams and ya know what I really don't care what team or sport it is advertizing on sweater looks like they play for Bell or whom ever. Do I like it on the boards and everywhere else no, no I don't but I find the stuff on the boards, soccer, football and hockey to be the less offensive than as the crest of the team i cheer for. What I find kind of weird is that people gladly pay to wear advertizing of a product that has nothing to do with the game. If you want to wear a shirt with Toyota or Bimbo or whatever plastered across the front go right ahead, to me it looks like crap.

 

[putridgasbag]

If NHL teams thought they could pull in $175m a year in sponsorships they'd be all over it. NA fans only complain about it because they don't have it and therefore aren't used to it. If the rest of the world shows us anything it is that in really people don't care whether or not their is sponsorship on the team clothing, they still buy the gear, they still love teams just as much.

The NHL has revenue disparity problems (unequal distribution of income potential) and if it wants to address that properly it needs to find ways of claiming all the income and distributing it. A lot of areas are now gone as options (local TV, tickets, local advertising etc) but one area that the NHL could help even things out would be sponsorships because they could control it all from the start, sell TO for a ton and Florida for a dime but put the money in the pool assigned for teams needing welfare. I can't say I want to see it happen but....

I sure as to heck wouldn't buy a thing from the Canucks if they replaced the logo on the front with Rogers. Now maybe if it was the KittyKatt Club of ill repute...

 

[LiquidSnake]

Canada has curling, hockey and are competitive at winter sports usually having a good haul at the Winter Olympics.

Majority of those South American teams suck at anything that isn't soccer. They have 1 sport.

Totally understand wanting to cheer on our team at this type of event but you can't be good at everything.

 

[WinterEmpire]

Canada has curling, hockey and are competitive at winter sports usually having a good haul at the Winter Olympics.

Majority of those South American teams suck at anything that isn't soccer. They have 1 sport.

Totally understand wanting to cheer on our team at this type of event but you can't be good at everything.

This is such a copout, Canadian Soccer can be fixed and it can develop a decent program but it needs to start from the top down.

From the mid 80s to mid 90s the team was respectable, they made the World Cup and were ranked in the top 45 a couple times. Instead of getting better it got worse and then eventually fell off a cliff. The key is to form a cohesive youth development system, this is where other countries progressed years ago. The CSA was stagnant and incompetent for too many reasons to get into now.

The majority of South American countries also don't have the financial means that Canada has to establish comprehensive national sports programs. And yet, many countries still excel at more sports than Soccer. You'll find countries like Argentina, Venezula, Uruguay, Colombia etc... doing well in Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Auto Racing.

You can be good at more than just winter sports and hockey. How else do you explain Germany, Sweden, USA, Russia, Switzerland etc...

 

[Fat Tony]

You can be good at more than just winter sports and hockey.

You also have to want to be.

 

[LiquidSnake]

This is such a copout, Canadian Soccer can be fixed and it can develop a decent program but it needs to start from the top down.

From the mid 80s to mid 90s the team was respectable, they made the World Cup and were ranked in the top 45 a couple times. Instead of getting better it got worse and then eventually fell off a cliff. The key is to form a cohesive youth development system, this is where other countries progressed years ago. The CSA was stagnant and incompetent for too many reasons to get into now.

The majority of South American countries also don't have the financial means that Canada has to establish comprehensive national sports programs. And yet, many countries still excel at more sports than Soccer. You'll find countries like Argentina, Venezula, Uruguay, Colombia etc... doing well in Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Auto Racing.

You can be good at more than just winter sports and hockey. How else do you explain Germany, Sweden, USA, Russia, Switzerland etc...

What's the population of those countries that you mentioned compared to Canada? Edit: Sweden SF 9mil. Wow impressive!

I'd say that the South American teams are good because they reside in a warmer climate and don't need the financial backing.

I couldn't care less about soccer in Canada actually no sure as hell don't want to pump more money into it when there's so many other things that require funding.

And Canada ain't bad at Baseball. Basketball, auto racing, boxing, MMA ....

Soccer isn't that important. If anything.... The MLS should have NA players only if they want to grow their game.

 

[Peen]

Soccer isn't that important. If anything.... The MLS should have NA players only if they want to grow their game.

There isn't enough depth in North America for that, and it'd be NASL quality soccer.

That's not going to attract people to play soccer

 

[LiquidSnake]

There isn't enough depth in North America for that, and it'd be NASL quality soccer.

That's not going to attract people to play soccer

I'd say the fanbases really wouldn't see much of an impact no? I'm no expert on this but I think I'd care more for MLS if there was all NA talent on it. Sure, quality of soccer may suffer but I feel in the long run we'd see great improvements to the US and Canadian programs.

 

[WinterEmpire]

I'd say the fanbases really wouldn't see much of an impact no? I'm no expert on this but I think I'd care more for MLS if there was all NA talent on it. Sure, quality of soccer may suffer but I feel in the long run we'd see great improvements to the US and Canadian programs.

Would you care more about the NHL if it was only NA players? I'm not sure I understand the logic here.

You'll see better improvements in NA players if they continue to play against the best talent that's available. Not if you relegate them to playing only each other.

MLS isn't the problem here. It's the lack of quality residency programs and academies combined with the huge disconnect between the CSA and regional organizations.

If you play hockey in Canada and you're good(and most other sports), you have a solid path of development from youth to professional.

If you play soccer in Canada and you're good...well you don't have many viable options. You can rot in Canada with little structure, competition, and poor training. You can move somewhere like Europe if you're lucky(Hargreaves, de Guzman). Or for the majority, you'll quit because neither of these are viable options.

There are quality youth players in Canada, there are enough people who want this program to succeed, and the funding is there. But you lose too many players in the transition to professional. This is fixable.

Whatever you think of Soccer and Canadians desire to play it compared to other sports, there is no reason why the National team should be ranked below the likes of Botswana, Equatoral Guinea, Moldova.... and losing to the likes of Mauritania on a regular basis.

 

[LiquidSnake]

Would you care more about the NHL if it was only NA players? I'm not sure I understand the logic here.

You'll see better improvements in NA players if they continue to play against the best talent that's available. Not if you relegate them to playing only each other.

MLS isn't the problem here. It's the lack of quality residency programs and academies combined with the huge disconnect between the CSA and regional organizations.

If you play hockey in Canada and you're good(and most other sports), you have a solid path of development from youth to professional.

If you play soccer in Canada and you're good...well you don't have many viable options. You can rot in Canada with little structure, competition, and poor training. You can move somewhere like Europe if you're lucky(Hargreaves, de Guzman). Or for the majority, you'll quit because neither of these are viable options.

There are quality youth players in Canada, there are enough people who want this program to succeed, and the funding is there. But you lose too many players in the transition to professional. This is fixable.

Whatever you think of Soccer and Canadians desire to play it compared to other sports, there is no reason why the National team should be ranked below the likes of Botswana, Equatoral Guinea, Moldova.... and losing to the likes of Mauritania on a regular basis.

How is MLS comparable to the NHL? the NHL is a pro league. On tier with the Champion's league. If the MLS was the best league in the world, then I doubt we'd be having this conversation.

majority of players abroad come to the MLS when their career is all but over and that's a major letdown when seeing them on the field. Sure, there are exceptions but I don't think the league benefits at all from bringing so many old players from Europe.

And to further your argument... If you're good at hockey in countries abroad, you come to North America. There's a trade-off clearly in sports.

 

[Peen]

I'd say the fanbases really wouldn't see much of an impact no? I'm no expert on this but I think I'd care more for MLS if there was all NA talent on it. Sure, quality of soccer may suffer but I feel in the long run we'd see great improvements to the US and Canadian programs.

I don't know how you can care more for the MLS if it's ****tier than it is now, and I don't see how youth will be inspired to play.

If I'm a kid, would I really be interested in Teibert and Froese playing more? Not unless they're better than Morales and Laba, which they aren't.