Stephen Hart named Canada’s new men’s head coach
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).
Qualifying rounds South Africa 2010: Complicated Argentina
The Argentine selection of soccer of the hand of Diego Armando Maradona seems not to find the correct course. The bad performances have come to so point in which even the means allude to the possible not classification for the World cup of South Africa 2010. Bearing in mind of that it is a question of a country with a big soccer tradition, the fortitudes are much warmed in this region of the new continent. In the last two meetings they were forced to win to be able to support a minimal calmness level, but the reality was different, the albicelestes lost before Brazil and also they fell down in Asunción.
In spite of being provided with an innumerable figures quantity, the technical director could not find the team, in these moments only they reduce two meetings where they will have to win or win to try to obtain the valued passport. The last meeting was disputed in the stadium Defenders of the Nunchaku, where the places won for the minimal difference.
The initial eleven were the following ones: Paraguay – Justo Villar; Darío Verón, Julius Caesar Cáceres, Paulo Da Silva, Aureliano Torres; Enrique Vera, Jonathan Santana, Edgar Barreto, Cristian Riveros; Salvador Cabañas and Nelson Haedo Valdez. Argentina – Sergio Romero; Javier Zanetti, Sebastián Domínguez, Gabriel Heinze, Emiliano Papa; Juan Sebastián Verón, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Gago, Jesus Dátolo; Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero.
The Paraguayans dominated the first time, where Haedo Valdez marked so much of the victory. In the second half, the things paired a little but anyhow the level of collective game of the Argentinians it was the awful. His international figures, like for example Lionel Messi, do not shine as they do it in his respective clubs: what will be the result of this novel?
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STEPHEN HART THINKS BYE-BYE BEGOVIC
The Canadian Men’s National Team (interim) Head Coach and Technical Director was on Full-Time tonight.
On Asmir Begovic – “I think he’s leaning towards Bosnia…”
So the story continues to twist and turn. One month ago, Hart told us he was confident that Begovic would play for Canada.
Three weeks ago, Begovic told us “I don’t want to switch…” Tonight, Hart thinks Begovic to Canada isn’t happening.
We’ll have the show podcast available at 1pm PT – Monday, August 3rd.
