After the demise of the NASL in 1984 and Canada’s 1986 World Cup appearance, with the exception of the 2000 Gold Cup winning squad lead by Craig Forrest, the Canadian soccer scene entered a period of relative darkness for the casual soccer fan. Things got even worse after 1992 when the CSL as it was then collapsed and our national team failed to advance to the world cup.
Aside from a few bleeps on the map to be heard only by the most ardent fans, consisting of USL1 and bouncing out of World Cup qualifying, there was little to be heard from Canadian soccer fans.
Fast forward to 2005 with the first of several bleeps: MLSE is awarded an MLS franchise for Toronto and a soccer stadium is to be built.
Since 2005, the bleeps have gotten louder and louder:
1) TFC joins the league and to the surprise of some, enjoys enormous success at the box office.
2) Canada hosts the U20 World Cup and sets the record for attendance.
3) Gold Cup- Canada plays marvelous soccer under Steven Hart and gets bounced out at the Semi Finals in a bad call by the ref.
4) First Nutrilite Canadian Championship is played and won by Montreal.
5) Montreal advances deep into the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League Tourney and plays in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000.00 at the Big O in the winter of 2009.
6) Vancouver is awarded an MLS franchise (2011) and strong bids are also advanced by Ottawa and Montreal; with Montreal likely to join the MLS in the next 5 years.
7) Canada fields a strong team in World Cup qualifying but fails miserably under Dale Mitchell and is then finally replaced by Hart.
8 ) 2009- Canada performs well at the Gold Cup but again are knocked out by a referee error.
9 ) Ottawa applies for a USL1 franchise.
9) 2009- An all Canadian USl-1 final between Montreal and Vancouver.
In terms of being a Canadian soccer fan, things are looking good. Plenty to cheer from on the home front at the professional level and a solid core of national team players. Of course, there are concerns such as the ineptitude of the CSA, Hart’s interim status and the fact that we will be watching the World Cup as neutrals once again. But all in all, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic there is good coverage on TV from sportsnet, CBC, the score and the speciality channels for the Canadian teams, top leagues around the world and of course UEFA Champions League.
With this rebirth of Canadian football, or soccer, comes the first post to this blog. The topics will be numerous. The scope vast. Basically, I will be posting on anything that a Canadian soccer fan would be interested in. Whether it’s the upcoming USL1 final between Montreal and Vancouver; TFC’s quest to make the playoffs, following the “real” Champion’s League; watching Ronaldo’s progress with Real Madrid, keeping an eye whether Man City can crack the top 4, whether Man United can hold on to #1, whether Hull City can stay up; if Portugal and Argentina can make the 2010 WC; and whether those pesky vevuzela’s should be banned.
It’s a great time in Canadian soccer, so sit back and enjoy. Any and all comments are welcome, within reasonable limits, of course!
