There, I just proclaimed the impossible and the unthinkable...Canada will qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. Not only that, unlike the disaster of 1986 Canada will surprise the pundits by scoring a goal and actually WINNING a game...
Sounds crazy, right? I know, this prediction is not at all in keeping with the recent results and the utter failure delivered as host of the Under 20 Youth World Cup. My reasoning is that I believe Canada has indeed received the giant wake up call it needed. From now on every practice, match, and tournament will be scrutinized that much more from top to bottom with an eye towards 2010. Opponents will be scouted properly. You can bet that some money will be spent in the aftermath to restore some lost pride. The status quo will not be acdepted..
Coach Mitchell will be forced to play an attacking line up and will follow orders. And remember there is talent here, the Gold Cup SF result shows that with some fine tuning Canada can compete. The gap between the super powers of the sports and the also rans is still huge but the gap can close quickly. For 2002, South Korea hired Guus Hiddink after being blown out by his Dutch side in 1998 and ended up finishing fourth. Australia arguably might have beaten eventual champion Italy with a little luck in this most recent World Cup. Where was Australia 10 years ago? The US (their weak performance at the last World Cup notwithstanding) has been on an upward trajectory in recent years. The 6-1 win over Poland and being ranked in the top 20 globally is a sign that they might eventually win a World Cup.
The bottom line is that with some vision, money and a sense of urgency things can definitely change for the better quickly. Other countries have proved this point. Why not Canada 2010?
Sounds crazy, right? I know, this prediction is not at all in keeping with the recent results and the utter failure delivered as host of the Under 20 Youth World Cup. My reasoning is that I believe Canada has indeed received the giant wake up call it needed. From now on every practice, match, and tournament will be scrutinized that much more from top to bottom with an eye towards 2010. Opponents will be scouted properly. You can bet that some money will be spent in the aftermath to restore some lost pride. The status quo will not be acdepted..
Coach Mitchell will be forced to play an attacking line up and will follow orders. And remember there is talent here, the Gold Cup SF result shows that with some fine tuning Canada can compete. The gap between the super powers of the sports and the also rans is still huge but the gap can close quickly. For 2002, South Korea hired Guus Hiddink after being blown out by his Dutch side in 1998 and ended up finishing fourth. Australia arguably might have beaten eventual champion Italy with a little luck in this most recent World Cup. Where was Australia 10 years ago? The US (their weak performance at the last World Cup notwithstanding) has been on an upward trajectory in recent years. The 6-1 win over Poland and being ranked in the top 20 globally is a sign that they might eventually win a World Cup.
The bottom line is that with some vision, money and a sense of urgency things can definitely change for the better quickly. Other countries have proved this point. Why not Canada 2010?
