Why can't Canada get a worthy FIFA team together?

[5hift]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre
Because of traitors like this guy?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Hargreaves



That, despite being born and raised right here in Calgary.

I'm pretty certain we lost another big name player recently -- born and raised in Canada but he plays for the Croatian or Bosnian national side now (and I don't care to lookup who he is).

One thing to keep in mind about Owen is if he stayed in Canada, he would have had to play for the Canadian team for free while working a 9-5 job. Who is going to pass up playing for Man U and the celebrity lifestyle that comes with it, to ride a greyhound bus to Winnipeg for a pan am tourney.

[Kavy]

Originally posted by Schwa
omg your so raciest and retarted!!

The irony in this post is overwhelming.

[Gainsbarre]

Well Hargreaves was playing for Bayern Munich for a number of years -- I'm sure he made decent money there. And I don't think it would be that big of a deal to play at the club level in Europe (where the $$$ is) and at the international level for Canada. Nearly all of the top South American stars play for European teams at the club level.

[Proyecto2000]

Originally posted by supe
Jerome cant do it all...

[5hift]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre
Well Hargreaves was playing for Bayern Munich for a number of years -- I'm sure he made decent money there. And I don't think it would be that big of a deal to play at the club level in Europe (where the $$$ is) and at the international level for Canada. Nearly all of the top South American stars play for European teams at the club level.

But those South American stars that return to play for home, are returning to good, World Cup qualifying teams. If Hargreaves played for Canada at a international level, he never would have gotten a chance to play in either the Euro Cup or the World Cup. To miss out on a chance like that due to nationalistic pride is ridiculous.

[5hift]

.

[eb0i]

Originally posted by 5hift


But those South American stars that return to play for home, are returning to good, World Cup qualifying teams. If Hargreaves played for Canada at a international level, he never would have gotten a chance to play in either the Euro Cup or the World Cup. To miss out on a chance like that due to nationalistic pride is ridiculous.

IMO he made all the right choices.

Like Steve Nash busting his ass for Team Canada Basketball and it getting us nowhere because he has no other talent on the team to work with.

[Shunsui]

India doesn't even have a team. They seriously can't even find 10 dudes to play?

[Jim Rome99]

We can't put together a decent international team for many reasons. The main one is weather. I was in Holland last year and it was amazing how many pitches were all over the place - people out playing every night of the year, pretty much. Here in Calgary, I'm a avid player but you can only play from the first week in May until mid-September. Indoor is crap, not real soccer, more like hockey with a soccer ball.

If you want to be real contender at the international level, it requires much more practice time than Canada has to offer.

[Jim Rome99]

Originally posted by Shunsui
India doesn't even have a team. They seriously can't even find 10 dudes to play?

Ever been to India? All the kids play cricket, they don't care much for football.

[Shunsui]

Still though there's a billion of them. Everyone thinks we all play hockey but that's not true either.

[black13]

Because in Canada, your almost not considered an pro athlete if you don't play hockey. It's practically part of the culture. Hence why even other sports don't make it that big here.

Same with India except they live and breath cricket and nothing else matters.

[Jim Rome99]

Originally posted by Shunsui
Still though there's a billion of them. Everyone thinks we all play hockey but that's not true either.

I've been to India. Cricket IS all they play.

Ever wonder why China can't come up with a decent team? They're all five feet tall! Seriously. They got killed in the 2002 World Cup because of this.

[C4S]

Originally posted by Xtrema




And soccer is boring and for girls.

Oh man .. are you serious ..

Look how many chicks fans!

Lots of them are hot!!

[HondaKid]

Canada's best bet would be to adopt a small, poor country in need of healthcare and donuts. Or just nab a few dozen street kids from Brazil, odds are they will grow into fine players.

[Jim Rome99]

Anyone here ever heard of Maik Taylor? Worth looking up, trust me!

[Skyline_Addict]

Good points mentioned. Weather, culture, etc are definetely part of it. Canadian's don't take soccer seriously, as you can tell by a few posts in this thread. In countries in South America and Europe, it's treated like a religion. It's marketable and profitable there. It's not Hargreaves fault for wanting to play for England and get paid 30,000 euros a week at Manchester United.

[911fever]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
Good points mentioned. Weather, culture, etc are definetely part of it. Canadian's don't take soccer seriously, as you can tell by a few posts in this thread. In countries in South America and Europe, it's treated like a religion. It's marketable and profitable there. It's not Hargreaves fault for wanting to play for England and get paid 30,000 euros a week at Manchester United.

QFT

Originally posted by 5hift


One thing to keep in mind about Owen is if he stayed in Canada, he would have had to play for the Canadian team for free while working a 9-5 job. Who is going to pass up playing for Man U and the celebrity lifestyle that comes with it, to ride a greyhound bus to Winnipeg for a pan am tourney.

LOLOL you get it. Why would Hargreaves in his right mind, play for a Canadian team where he doesn't get any recognition for his skills, doesn't even get mentioned on the tuesday morning back page of the sports section in the paper, gets paid a grand total of $0, has to work 9-5 at a lumber mill to support himself and the airfare it costs to fly from like Calgary to Winnipeg or better, Calgary to St. John's, and worse, doesn't even have the option to be on a team that would be in the World Cup?

[borN]

Originally posted by Jim Rome99
We can't put together a decent international team for many reasons. The main one is weather. I was in Holland last year and it was amazing how many pitches were all over the place - people out playing every night of the year, pretty much. Here in Calgary, I'm a avid player but you can only play from the first week in May until mid-September. Indoor is crap, not real soccer, more like hockey with a soccer ball.

If you want to be real contender at the international level, it requires much more practice time than Canada has to offer.

I wouldn't necessarily blame weather for the most part, even though it does play a factor in Canadian football. Holland plays on pitches for probably about 1-2 months out of the year more than in Calgary. It gets pretty cold in Holland even though it only gets to about -10 degrees, and the pitches become rock hard.

What I don't agree with is the excuse that indoor is crap. Futsal in Europe is huge. Gym's in the Netherlands have so many players coming to play futsal from October - May. It serves its purpose to help players develop key footwork skills and short, accurate passing. After playing futsal for a season in the Netherlands, my outdoor game has exponentially improved. Don't get me wrong, I love outdoor football, but I think both have their benefits.

[Jim Rome99]

Originally posted by borN


I wouldn't necessarily blame weather for the most part, even though it does play a factor in Canadian football. Holland plays on pitches for probably about 1-2 months out of the year more than in Calgary. It gets pretty cold in Holland even though it only gets to about -10 degrees, and the pitches become rock hard.

What I don't agree with is the excuse that indoor is crap. Futsal in Europe is huge. Gym's in the Netherlands have so many players coming to play futsal from October - May. It serves its purpose to help players develop key footwork skills and short, accurate passing. After playing futsal for a season in the Netherlands, my outdoor game has exponentially improved. Don't get me wrong, I love outdoor football, but I think both have their benefits.

The Dutch season runs from August until May. I'm confused.