Soccer Fan Blog

As expected, Stephen Hart was named Canada’s new men’s head coach. It has been expected for a while and the CSA finally does something right. The players all seem to like him (Will Johnson reiterated that fact when he joined us a few weeks ago), the fans seem to like him and it would also appear the CSA seems to like him. So that’s one thing the CSA has officially gotten right. Can they get something else right and move in a forward direction? Can David Hoilett be tempted to lay for Canada? Will Canada play for friendlies? Will Canada make the World Cup in 2014? I guess we will wait and see. In the meantime, it looks like the CSA might actually be making moves in a positive, forward direction.

Here’s the official release:

Stephen Hart named Canada’s new men’s head coach

The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Stephen Hart has been appointed head coach of Canada’s national team. Hart will be in charge of Canada’s qualification efforts as Canada works toward the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

“Stephen Hart is the man in charge with the task to lead Canada to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil,” said Canadian Soccer Association president Dr. Dominic Maestracci. “He delivers an exciting brand of football that has proven to be successful against our CONCACAF opponents. He will have full support of our country as he builds a winning team that will qualify us for Brazil in four years time.”

“I am honoured to be chosen for this prestigious and very important position,” said national head coach Stephen Hart. “I am fully aware of the expectation and look forward to the challenge of building a team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers and beyond.”

Hart most recently served as Canada’s interim head coach for the 2009 season. He helped Canada compile a record of four wins, one draw and three losses, including a quarter-final finish at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Hart led Canada to a first-place finish in its group. In the quarter-final stage, Canada lost 0:1 to Honduras who scored on a penalty kick.

In 18 career games over two stints as Canada’s head coach (2006-07 and 2009), Hart has posted nine wins, two draws and seven losses. His 50% ratio of wins to games is the highest in Association history, ranking ahead of Barrie Clarke and Tony Taylor who each won six of 14 games for a 43% ratio. In those 18 games, Hart’s teams have averaged 1.33 goals scored per game and 0.94 goals allowed per game – both the second-best totals behind Clarke’s teams from the early 1980s (1.57 goals scored and 0.93 goals allowed per game).

Hart has been the Canadian Soccer Association’s Technical Director since March 2008. In this role, he oversaw the Association’s long-term player development program (Wellness to World Cup presented by BMO) and was in charge of directing and monitoring the national development teams, the coaching education program, the National Training Centres, and the sports medicine program. This vacancy will be filled in the coming months.

CONCACAF’s next round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers™ is scheduled to begin in 2012, which will take place after the next CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2011. To date, Canada’s men’s national team has won two CONCACAF championships – the 1985 CONCACAF Men’s Championship (which qualified Canada for the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™) and the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup (which qualified Canada for the FIFA Confederations Cup Korea/Japan 2001).

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When there have happened two years of that damned injury for English grounds, Borja Oubiña one has to again, it is operate out of the football grounds and he has to wait for more time so that some day could play football with certain normality, stopping in the past, which not in the negligence, the whole Calvary that he is suffering.

It is disputed the first parties of the period and we do not do any more about that to be sorry injured persons for what it remains of campaign. If a few days ago we were sorry about the Uche injury, now it us hurts to lose therefore Borja Oubiña reduces of championship the vigués.

The happy crossed ligaments, which prevent Borja Oubiña from treading on the Balaídos lawn and to us to pull YouTube videos to remember what was, and what it was promising. Long ago I had to good to write a post completely opposite to this one. It was glad to mention that the celtologist was "re-making debut" with the Celt of Vigo, but in this occasion in the Second Division. There was seeming to be the end of the tunnel, the light that Valerón or Ronaldo have seen. For Borja Oubiña a long tunnel stretch still stays.

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I wonder how many times I will have the sensation of verifying how the word “perfection“ is exceeded in my reference threshold. I was thinking about having seen the perfect party in the last final of the Champions League. But for this one Barca there is always one more step above. It is true that the rival yesterday event was not lodging danger you do not even grasp in the sleeve, nevertheless this step is necessary to raise it equally.

‘Perfect‘ it is defined in RAE as that one or that one that has the biggest possible grade of kindness or excellence in his line. And in case of this one Barca, he never goes so far as to know if his biggest excellence grade has reached. The facility with which they play scorer overwhelms more than his capacity, more than his absolute control of the game. The Racing turned out to be knocked down between a soccer of book and between its own powerlessness, which with the step of the minutes was on the increase. Messi, the visible head of this Olympus, shone for his exquisiteness of movements and his amazing auction.

But like a lot of Gods, and some other earthlings to whom we have labeled them thus, nobody is perfect. The perfection does not exist, as would say that one, because everything is improvable. True, although the perfection of this one Barca resides in this amazing quality of imposing its own game rhythm, always of dominating without being dominated, of calculating every pass and every move to the millimeter, of knowing what movement to do in every moment.

This exhaustive calculation of his game, this full self-knowledge is what does that it is Barca is practically unbeatable. It is not perfect, but it emulates it very well. With more solutions than movements in the chess, only the fortune (an imperfect science, since it is completely inaccessible and impossible to govern) it can be imposed like rival before this team. Before the rest of phenomena (let’s call him Racing, let’s call him Athletic …) the makers of a perfect party already they know them. They dress of blue and cochineal.

Video | YouTube

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The soccer, although sometimes some of them claim to complicate it, has a few relatively simple reasonings. Not always, that is like that, two more two are four, but in general this mathematical operation approaches the resultant number. Another day, seeing the party of Madrid, I verified that the love, or big part, went so far as to whistle to those of Pellegrini. The motive, seemingly, is the desire of the community meringue of seeing his team dancing on the lawn as the Barca does it. To say that they ask too much is a big truth, I even dare to say that the Bernabéu requests an impossible one, unless from the stool one is condenadamente bravely.

The Barca plays like nobody, not for having to possibly better player of the world, Messi. The Barca is only because it hoards to two mediocentros more ingenious than the planet. There are many and good, but nobody sees the development of the game like Xavi and Iniesta. Hence, when Xavi and Iniesta are on the lawn, the rivals tremble. This couple is the engine that works properly to the current League champion, then Messi is, that of nothing does to you everything, Daniel, who for the right avoids the limits of the speed, Ibrahimovic, Henry … But the epicenter blaugrana is in these two small types, only in them.

Madrid will not be able to come to the excellence of the Barca, basically, because it does not have players in the midfield of the size of Iniesta and Xavi. Madrid is a sack of the first figures that decide a meeting to you to the minimal opposite absent-mindedness, but not a compact team. Madrid is so favorite to everything like the Barca, or even more, but it will never be able to win astonishing as the Barca does it, because his soccer comes from players who are not provided with the mental agility and resources of Xavi and Iniesta.

There is a possibility, nevertheless, of changing the history and of achieving Madrid that it fools, but for that Pellegrini has to be brave, very brave. It was not a coincidence that another day the meringues were playing his best minutes when Guti went out. Skylight that not. To play with Diarra and Stammerer, a puffed up soccer player, hinchadísimo, offers you little in the creative plane, rather not at all. But to play with Diarra, doing of squire, Stammerer helping, and Guti to his air, changes the history … The ideal thing, obviously the fact would be that Lass, Guti and Kaká were sharing track, then yes that there would be tomato. And what do we do when Xabi Alonso returns? Since to play with a trivote, Xabi, Guti and Lass, leaving free Kaka and placing in top Ronaldo and Benzema. The problem is that to extract that one eleven is necessary to have arrests, and the doubts that we can have at this point with Pellegrini are, the less, reasonable.

On Guti many things have been said and they will be said many other. Nevertheless, I believe that it is just to praise the evolution that this player has experienced. Of an indolent one with class, he has happened to be an elegant worker, a leader of team. I think that Guti with the years knows better, so that it seems incongruous to me to claim lofty Madrid in his forms with the second captain in the stool. Personally, I am attracted very much by the idea of seeing Guti along with Kaká, if this two connect Madrid yes he can acquire the style that his people wish. With Guti out that is impossible, because to play with a double pivot formed by Xabi Alonso and Diarra improves what existed earlier, obviously, but it is not going to give the longed excellence. Xabi Alonso is the most finished mediocentro, in defense it is haughty and it sees well the attacks, but it does not have the perception of the soccer of the Guti, Valerón, Iniesta, Xavi, Of the Rock and big others.

If Pellegrini wants that his team wins and convinces, perhaps it is time for it to raise one more drawing in consonance with what it has the Barca, to break the chains of 4-4-2 and to play with a top skylight, Benzema, two dynamic references it arrives like Ronaldo and Kaká and a line of three in the watershed: Lass destroys, Guti designs and Alonso is in all sides. This team drawing seems extremely attractive to me. The problem is that we load ourselves on seven, on the captain, … The collection of proverbs says to the untouchable one that who wants something, something costs him. Is there the question, as Madrid is able, perhaps be able, but the doubt in the air is to know if it will dare to sacrifice his sacred player after the common good.

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With a little of delay, but here there comes the analysis of the day of this last weekend. On horseback between the third one and the fourth one there came to me the moment to take a good cold, and the fact is that this radical change of the temperatures I do not believe that it has been good for anybody. Nevertheless, to remain with fever in bed to I allowed to see this week end more divided than of custom.

And I drink with all that one that the derbi of Manchester saw, and throw a currency to the air: why are almost all the references to this party highly positive, one speaks about partidazo and about healthy envy if there was no game in the midfield? He was an authentic streetwalker, a siege between goal and goal, without any piece that was controlling the rhythm and with moves that were not overcoming four consecutive passes. In what do we stay? Do we like the parties of seven goals with rhythm frantic or parties of two or three so many people with game and break in the midfield? Less evil that in Spain we have to the Barca, which gives to us of two things.

To ours. Since the holder prays, the League wins for heavy defeat. It is difficult to me to remind a period in which our competition should overcome in number of goals noted down to the Premier, to the Calcium and to the Bundesliga. At the end of the third day, the teams of the League have perforated the opposite goal in 89 occasions (16 goals more that in the previous period). In England, Italy and Germany, when it concluded the third day (this week they have disputed the sixth one), 66, 76 and 79 had been the goals marked by his clubs, respectively. Numbers from which we can extract a conclusion: there stands out the ‘given one’ of our First Division.

A fact that does not surprise me by no means, if we bear in mind that Real Madrid and Barcelona have marked the sensitive to cold number of 21 goals between both in the first three days (to 7,3 goals for party). And if, also, two players of those who head the scorers table, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic, have marked in each of the disputed parties. And with Town, top goal-scorer along with the portuguese of Madrid, marking them to pairs. With objective information in the hand we can enter the everlasting debate, because opinions are for all the tastes. But, presently, the League wins for heavy defeat.

In NdF | The ex-anxiety of Cristiano Ronaldo
In NdF | Too much Barcelona for an Athletic poor person of Madrid

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