Archive for Men NT
It Will Be A Memorable Year In Canadian Soccer
Nigel Reed
Nigel Reed writes and broadcasts at
CBC Sports
A big year ahead for Canadian soccer
It’s OK to jump on football’s bandwagon in a World Cup year. If you want to drive around with a flag of choice adorning your vehicle, honking your horn in pride and celebration, I have no problem with that (on the understanding you don’t honk outside my house at two in the morning or behind me at a red light). It will be a memorable year, not only in South Africa, but also in our own backyard.
The light will shine brightest for a month in places like Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town where the world’s finest players will showcase their dazzling talents. The global festival will attract hundreds of thousands of fans and millions of dollars and after it’s over we can all rest our ears when the incessant buzz of vuvuzelas no longer fills the living room.
A world away from the World Cup, it will also be a year to remember in Canadian soccer. New teams, new coaches and a new attitude will all spring to mind when we reminisce about 2010.
Down Argentina Way, May 24
Canada’s men’s national team has announced that it will face Argentina in an international friendly match this May 24 at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The match will be played as part of the bicentenary anniversary of the Revolución de Mayo, the early 19th century “May Revolution” that helped form Argentina into an independent nation. The May 24 match will be the first-ever meeting between the two men’s national teams.
“This is a landmark match for Canadian soccer,” said national coach Stephen Hart. “To be invited to play Argentina in Argentina is a player’s dream. They are simply one of the best teams in world football.”
A Market For Games Like These
Ben Rycroft
Writes the It’s Called Football – TFC Blog
Games shouldn’t go unseen
There was a time when I would tell anyone who would listen that soccer would soon eclipse every major sport in this country — including hockey.
I would point to the slow demise of baseball in Toronto, the youth participation numbers across Canada outstripping any other sport and the rise of professional franchises in cities like Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto as reasons why the next generation in Canada would be an Adidas Generation.
It was often an argument that was one part smart-ass, one part self-delusion and two parts self-preservation (there aren’t a lot of national soccer columns in this country).
