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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Months behind, when Messi was the best player of the Spanish League and Cristiano Ronaldo it was the same of the same of Premier League, it was doing that one asks that we all have done one day: who is the best player of the world? The thing is complicated but simultaneously simple, since it is necessary only to choose two of so many soccer players who exist in the planet. The complicated of the situation is to think who is over whom.

Until two days ago it had the quite clear things, since to see Messi doing unimaginable every week was sufficient reason to see in him the best player of the world. Meanwhile there were coming to us images of a Portuguese gallant who in addition to noting down a goals savagery in the Premier, was making sensational way moves almost automaton.

With the arrival of the Portuguese crack to our soccer his good friend mentioned to me that I should prepare myself to see the best thing of CR9, he was when I reminded to him that Messi also is another Martian who is between us. We had a brief debate and the truth is that it managed to change my point of view: of seeing Messi as the best player of the world with difference to be doubted between he and Cristiano Ronaldo.

With the best two of the world in our League we will have easier to praise us for that one that is over other. The two will compete on an equal footing, being a few leaders of two giants, with the obligatory nature to always give good results in his best version. Until now they have offered us a wide repertoire in these four League days more one of Champions. They have started loudly being placed at the head of the scorers’ table, taking more so many people that played parties. This starts well …

Image | eumd

Tags: blog, blogs, cristiano ronaldo, google, News, score, Soccer, soccer player, Tournament
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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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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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Will Cristiano Ronaldo keep on having anything of anxiety, as Jorge Valdano was saying? I am sure that not. In one week, in only two meetings CR9 there has shaken off the anxiety that had him worried. As soon as it has appeared it has gone away.

The most expensive player of the history, also with several million difference euros, it is normal that it has certain anxiety, and more when the protagonist is twenty-four years old. It was a time question, of playing parties and having leading role that the happy anxiety was going away to the garete. Since this way it has been.

With the début in Champions and the day liguera facing the Xerez in the Bernabéu, the suitable circumstances were accumulating so that Ronaldo was playing well, was doing goals and if possible some of absence.

Before the Zurick it marked a haughty one so much with absence, and also it felt again good with itself when it noted down another absence goal again when the scoreboard narrowed. Before the Xerez it was him who again broke the zero to initial zero, in addition to scoring another goal more in the meeting that they make it be one of the top goal-scorers of the championship. Cristiano Ronaldo feels important, farewell anxiety.

Image | The World
In NdF | The anxiety of Cristiano Ronaldo

Tags: blog, blogs, cristiano ronaldo, google, jorge valdano, News, playing parties, score, scoreboard, Soccer, suitable circumstances, top goal scorers, Tournament, xerez, zurick
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