On May 2nd the Vancouver Whitecaps take on minnows F.C Edmonton in round 1 of the Amway Canadian Championship. Does anyone else find it ironic that a Canadian championship is named after an American company called “American way”? I think it’s better if we all just call it the Voyageurs Cup. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Many people expect an easy six nil thrashing for the Whitecaps. This is a dangerous mindset to have. We have to remember that although Edmonton is a division below us, they are still a professional soccer team with players who are paid to play the game to the best of their abilities. Remember when we were in the second division and we played Toronto and they expected an easy win? Edmonton have some very good players, such as Yashir Pinto. The Chilean striker has played only on game for F.C. Edmonton but in that game he recorded a goal and an assist. As for Shaun Saiko and Michal Meisawicz they should need no introduction. Both players played in Canada’s failed attempt at Olympic qualifying. Saiko is a midfield maestro who runs the game for F.C Edmonton. Granted, Miesawicz, a goalkeeper, is coming off a game against Minnesota where he played like an old man with a cold and a hangover but we have all seen what he is capable of.
I hope that Martin Rennie does not start a second eleven. I don`t mind people like Carlyle Mitchell, Russel Tiebert, or Brad Knighton getting a game in. But when you get to people like Floyd Franks, Greg Klazura or Bryce Alderson starting, that’s where I draw the line. Don’t get me wrong, those three are all useful players. I believe that Alderson and Klazura can be good players in MLS in the future, but in this situation we need to go out and establish our dominance. We need to go into Edmonton and see how many away goals we can score. If we win 6-0 then we can start players like Alderson. What can’t happen is to start our reserve team and come away with 2-2 draw.
As for the strategy, Edmonton seems to have a hard time with… well…
crosses. The majority of their goals have been a result of crosses into the box. Big strong strikers give them fits. Hassli seems the logical choice to start upfront then. And although Camilo is small, he is strong so he would also be a good choice. It is also important that we control the midfield, keep possession, and don’t allow F.C Edmonton any hope what so ever. Controlling the midfield is often an issue for the Whitecaps, so players like Davidson and Koffie will have to work hard.
I have been looking forward to this game for a long time. I hope for a thrashing, but as the most pessimistic Whitecaps fan in existence I fear blowing it it and getting a draw or even a loss.
Caleb is the goalkeeper for the Grandview Legion U-14 Clan.
He is a monster Vancouver Whitecaps Fan
He gets his stuff at Vanfield Soccer Shop
Canada’s men’s team needs a hero. Ever since Canada made The World Cup in 1986, the Canadian Soccer Association has hoped that the event would spark an interest in soccer in Canada. They hoped that kids in Canada would play soccer and follow the national team. All of this would slowly lead to a golden generation of players. That generation of kids makes up our current national team. So that didn’t work and it still isn’t working. I can’t name one other kid who follows the Canadian team the way I do. Even if we can somehow manage the 2014 World Cup that is not going to change much. What this team needs is a hero. Someone who will be the face of our national team. Someone who we can believe in even when we are playing much better teams. The Whitecaps have a player like this in Eric Hassli. The Canadian Women’s team has a player like that in Christine Sinclair. However, the men’s team does not. The likes of Simeon Jackson and Dwayne de Rosario do not cut it.
Enter Jonathan de Guzman and Junior Hoilett. If you have been living under a rock for the last little while, I’ll give you a brief summary of who these players are. Jonathan De Guzman is the little brother of long-time Canadian national team player, Julian. He currently plays for Villarreal and is an attacking midfielder. He has also played for Feyenoord. He originally made himself available to play for the Netherlands and played for both their U-21 and U-23 sides. However, in the four years since he has declared himself Dutch, he has yet to be given a national team call-up. He is now 24 and is frustrated not to have a senior cap. Because of this, he is having second thoughts on Canada and his nationality. This is old news but with De Guzman 2.0 running the midfield we could be a team to… well not fear exactly but at least to make teams do a double take.
Junior Hoilett is a winger/striker/attacking midfielder who plays for Blackburn Rovers. He is eligible to play for Canada, Jamaica, and sort of England. All three nations have expressed interest in him. He has said he would consider playing for England; the head of Jamaica’s soccer association has talked to his father about his nationality, and he has turned down a call-up to the Canadian team on the grounds that he wanted to develop his club career before committing to a national team. So he’s not really showed preference to any country. His goal scoring and playmaking would be a big help. Could you imagine a team with de Guzman, and Hoilett in it! If your imagination is a little weak, I’ll just show you what that team would look like:
Borjan/Misawicz/Hirshfield
Edgar Hainault Mekkena Morgan
Hoilett Hutchinson de Guzman Simpson
Jackson Ricketts
Subs:
Borjan/Misawicz/Hirshield
Straith
Klukowski
de Guzman
De Rosario
Friend
Hume
That actually looks good! If one or both of these players do choose to play for Canada then they will give a big boost to the team and maybe spark some interest in Canada. Even if it just turns kids into casual fans of the national team that will be an improvement. If it can propel us to 2014 in Brazil that would be amazing.
Caleb is the goalkeeper for the Grandview Legion U-14 Clan.
He’s a monster Vancouver Whitecaps Fan.
He gets his stuff at Vanfield Soccer Shop.
