30 May 05
When I have to fly from BC to Europe and I have
some notice about my departure I like to try and
transition to the time zone of the country I am
going to visit while I am still living in BC.
For this trip I am going to the Netherlands -
nine hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time. I
do this by getting up one hour earlier each day
until I am “on” the new time. Today I got up at
0200 (1100 Holland time) and dragged myself
through my usual work day on BC time. There’s
not a whole bunch to do on a weekday at 3 in the
morning. I was watching Much More Music and saw
the latest video by Blue Rodeo. These guys,
like Tragically Hip (Bobcaygeon), Andre Gagnon (Neiges),
and Gordon Lightfoot (any) convey a welcome
sense of Canadiana to which Shania, Celine, and
yes, even Sarah McLachlan will never even come
close. But I am here to write about soccer. A
game the rest of the world calls football.
This Canadian team is extremely well coached and
this is the main reason why they qualified for
the World Cup. Only 24 teams get to go to this
tournament. The latest FIFA world rankings have
Canada at 83rd - just behind
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Estonia and just ahead of
Thailand and Syria. So that let’s you know the
magnitude of the accomplishment to qualify for
this tournament. The head coach is Dale
Mitchell - a former Canadian World Cup player
and very talented soccer player in his own
right. His forte as a coach is outstanding
preparation - these 20 and youngers have no
doubt what their tasks are as they head into
each game. Dale breaks it down into simple
assignments and even the medical staff can
understand what they have to do to win.
1 June 05
My flight to Paris connects through Toronto. I
hate flying through Toronto. When I did my
medical training in Toronto in the mid to late
80's I thought Toronto was the center of the
universe. Now that I live on the Wet Coast I
have a slightly less exalted view. When you
land from a domestic flight and try to connect
to an international flight you have to go to the
terminal at LBP airport via a shuttle bus - the
whole process taking 40-50 minutes. This is
fine when your plane lands on time from your
original destination. When your flight is late
all you can do is curse the designers of LBP
(damn hog towners). The Under-20 team is
training in northern France and the team arrived
at the training facility in Lievin on 30 May.
After just barely making my connection in
Toronto I landed in Paris at 1040 am on 2 June.
My instructions from the travel coordinator at
the Canadian Soccer Association were to “take a
northbound train to Lille and then change trains
to take a southbound train to Lievin.” Piece of
cake. Everyone who ever has worn a uniform
knows how disastrous those three words can turn
out. When I landed in Paris I noted these huge
line-ups at the train station adjacent to
Charles de Gaulle airport. In the midst of
voting “Non” to the envisionary concept of
European Unity the Parisians had also decided to
commence a rail strike. Montreal transit
strikes look like pale cousins in comparison.
Remember Montrealers used to be Parisian, and
Parisians invented the word “greve.” At the
outset this didn’t look too bad. I could always
access the automated ticket dispensers to obtain
my rail ticket. Well, there was a reason there
were huge queues at the train station next to
Charles De Gaulle airport. The automated ticket
dispensers were “hors de service.” Some
industrious striker had effectively made the
system unavailable.
So, I joined the queue. Loads of fun. I met
someone from Senegal, someone from Baltimore,
and someone from Marseille who told me Paris “sooked.”
I think it was meant to be derogatory.
Two hours later I had my ticket. Paris to
Arras, change trains and then Arras to Lens, a
mere 4 kilometers from Lievin. Total trip time
2 ½ hours. I was on my way.
Seven hours later I arrived at Lievin. When the
first train from Charles de Gaulle arrived in
Arras I looked on the electronic notice board at
the station and noted ( I had now been traveling
for 24 hours) that there was no train departing
for Lens that day. Sleep-derived as I was I
knew this was not good. I then broke into the
long line-up for tickets at the station, trying
to speak French with a German accent, and found
out the train to Lens had been cancelled. Due
to the strike. More fun.
I was then told by the very friendly and helpful
ticket lady that I had to go back to Paris then
to Lille and then to Lens. The route the travel
coordinator at the CSA had told me to take in
the first place. I was traveling the great
circle route via rail.
I sat down and reviewed my options. Get a hotel
in Arras, get some sleep and see what was
available the next day. The trouble was I had
no idea where Arras was.
Or take the train back to Paris and get a fresh
start on the whole trip the next day. That idea
really sooked. Or I could attempt to find out
how far away from Lens/Lievin I really was. So
I went out and asked the train driver
(conductor?) how far to Lens. He said to me we
would be there in 20 minutes. I was sure I
heard him wrong. He wrote it down. This train
was going north and the first stop was Lens.
Yahoo. I was on my way.
The trouble was the train did not leave Arras
for another 4 hours. More strike stuff. But I
did get to Lens and then took a cab ( 4km = 20
Euros = 32$CDN) to Lievin.
Bienvenue en France.
2 June 05
After a zombie sleep I had breakfast with the
staff and said hello to all the team players who
I hadn’t seen when I arrived yesterday. The
vast majority of these players are good kids -
respectful, well-motivated, and good team
players. There is no room for attitude at this
level of competition. About half the players
are playing professionally in Europe. A half
dozen are playing under scholarship in the US.
The remaining are playing with clubs in Canada.
Contrast this with any of the European teams -
Spain, France, Italy - where all of the players
are currently signed and playing with first
division teams in their home countries. So the
competition is stiff.
The staff is made up of the head coach, Dale
Mitchell, the assistant coach, Nick Dasovic, a
goalkeeper coach, team manager, media relations
person, doctor, athletic therapist, and head of
delegation. A staff of eight. The Head of
Delegation is a director within the CSA and is
responsible for the staff and team when
competing abroad.
We are training today. The training sessions
are moderately intense for the players and
mildly intense for the coaching staff. As the
athletic therapist can take care of almost any
on-field medical problem I spend most of my time
standing around at training sessions pretending
I am sizing up potential life-threatening game
time medical situations. Actually I spend most
of my time retrieving balls for the goalkeeper
coach, a crusty Liverpudlian who sounds a lot
like Ringo Starr. I enjoy doing this for two
reasons - one because he is an excellent coach
and our goalkeepers are amongst the best in the
world because of his handling. And two, because
he is also the equipment manager who is
responsible for doling out the jazzy kit that
sporting teams wear. Like colour-coordinated
with team logo track suits, golf shirts and
running shoes. This trip is no different as I
am given all new kit and I must admit it looks
great with the stylized Canada maple leaf
sitting on top of a soccer ball.
The day ends with a late supper. We are staying
at a regional training center in a dormitory
setting. The French have these centers all over
the country and they are spartan but
professionally administered. Centers like these
have produced outstanding French soccer players
like Robert Pires and Thierry Henry.
3 June 05
I think I am finally becoming unjet-lagged.
Even with my time zone shifting in BC the long
travel day(s) caught up to me. Today we play
Morocco in an exhibition game. There is a large
Moroccan population in this part of France so we
can look forward to lots of screaming, patriotic
Moroccans at the game. Nothing like an official
away game to get us into the World Cup spirit.
It takes 1 ½ hours to get to the field. True to
form the crowd is mostly comprised of
pro-Moroccans. We start off fairly brightly and
take the game to the African side. I should
talk about African soccer because I think most
people would assume that Africa is a football
outland and shouldn’t produce good players.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Africa
typically produces terrific soccer players who
are very physical (read aggressive) and athletic
(read running, leaping, and kicking like Lara
Croft). African teams clobber opponents with a
marvelous combination of size, speed and skill.
Some say it is because they develop earlier than
their Caucasian or Oriental counterparts. Some
complain that because they are coming out of
Africa you can never be sure if they are telling
the truth about their ages. But everyone agrees
that any team that qualifies out of Africa is
going to be talented.
The Moroccans didn’t disappoint. Although not
big they were fast and handled the ball
extremely well. The partisan crowd helped
indeed. Our boys were plucky though and we
managed to defend well not letting them get any
real chances in the first 75 minutes of the
game. We even came close to scoring ourselves
when one of our strikers got behind their
defenders for an open shot on net. Which he
powered past the far post by about 20 feet.
In the last 10 minutes we started to break
down. Maybe it was jet lag but the discipline
in our game went on an extended break and the
Moroccans, who had been probing most of the
second half, found their opening. One of their
players carried the ball through and around
three of our players and as soon as a fourth
approached him he cooly laid the ball off to a
team mate at the center of the eighteen yard
line. Players at this level of competition and
age do not dream of being rich or having
beautiful girl friends. They dream of receiving
a sideways slow roller along the eighteen so
that they can punish the ball, opposing
goalkeeper, and back of the net all with one
tremendous hoof. The Moroccan answered the bell
and our keeper dove valiantly but missed the
ball by a wide margin. Morocco -1 Canada-0.
We then really broke down which is
uncharacteristic of this team. Balls were going
all over the place and the Moroccans, urged on
by their now lusting fans, began making multi
attacker surges towards our net. In injury time
one such surge found a Moroccan wide open on the
left side. Our defender moved to cut him off
but arrived late. He had two choices at this
point. Take the high road and let the Moroccan
proceed unmolested to the net and hope he shot
poorly. Or physically malign him and hope to
get away with murder. Our player who is also
our captain and a first-class kid chose the
latter. The referee did not hesitate. As soon
as the Moroccan went down the whistle was
blowing and the arbitre was pointing to the
penalty spot. Although you may see lots of
misses in penalty shootouts it is rare to see a
miss on a penalty shot during regulation time.
It is the slam dunk of soccer. No question
about this result: Morocco-2 Canada-0.
The bus was silent on the way home mostly
because everyone was asleep. And disappointed.
4 June 05
In spite of the poor showing the coaching staff
was upbeat today. It was really only the last
ten minutes of the game that stunk. They also
referred back to our qualifying tournament in
Honduras in January. We had assembled the team
in Tampa to play an exhibition game prior to
proceeding to Honduras for the qualifying
tournament. We played the US Under-17 team and
went up quickly 2-0. The Americans rallied and
came back to beat us 3-2, scoring their last two
goals in the last 4 minutes of the second half.
In a funk we went to Honduras and won all three
qualifying games and entered the World Cup as
the top seed from our region. So there was a
precedent for our pre-tournament stinkiness.
The
coaching staff conducted a “recovery” workout in
driving rain conditions. Because I was freezing I
decided to participate as much as possible by doing
the warm-up run and chasing every errant ball that
left the field. In spite of the BC-like weather and
the fact that this was a short workout most of
players stayed on the field long after the coaches
had dismissed them and worked on individual skills
and shooting. A group of the players were playing a
game where they stood in a large circle and kicked
the ball to each other. Once the ball was kicked
the player who was receiving the ball had to drop
and do a pushup before the ball arrived.
Dale has given the team the rest of the day and all
day next day off. In addition the players were
given 40 Euros to go into Lens and sight-see a bit.
5 June 05
An off day with no training scheduled. It has
gone from being quite muggy in northern France
to chilly and wet. It was suggested to us that
we visit Vimy Ridge which is 4 kilometers from
Lievin. I do not wish to insult military
historians but I know very little about this
famous Canadian WWI battle site. In a nutshell
the French and Germans were stalled on this
ridge for several months. Their front lines
were less than 50 meters away from each other.
The British command decided that they could not
bring troops forward without the Germans seeing
their manouevre as they commanded the high
ground. So the British using Welsh miners dug
over three kilometers of underground tunnels
over six months. They then moved troops forward
to the most frontward trenches through the
tunnels and launched them in a dawn attack.
Over the next four days four thousand Canadians
died in the attack but Vimy Ridge was taken.
As all the players were out and about the staff
decided to visit Vimy. We wanted to see the
tunnels as they are obviously the highlight of
the area. But when we arrived we found out you
needed to attend a guided tour to see the
trenches and the tours ran every 45 minutes. As
we were short for time we just walked through
the trenches and came across two guides who
engaged us in conversation because we were all
wearing our Soccer Canada/Adidas track suits.
These two guides were both from Canada (as all
guides are at Vimy). They explained to us that
Vimy Ridge was donated to Canada by the French
because of the heroic actions of the Canadians.
We were fascinated and they asked us if we were
going to do the tunnel tour and we told them we
had to get back to a team dinner and explained
the purpose of our visit. It was their turn to
be fascinated(as these guides were both women in
their 20's) when they found out we were
chaperoning 21 Canadian men around their age.
After chatting a bit more we thanked them for
their info and went to look at the memorial.
After we had walked about five hundred meters we
heard this gasping call, “Wait, Wait.” It
turned out to be one of the guides who had run
after us. She had spoken to her supervisor after
talking to us and offered to give us a private
tour. We were thrilled and over the next 30
minutes were treated to an outstanding narrative
tour of the tunnels. If you are ever in
northern France, Vimy Ridge is an obligatory
stopping place. Heck, it now joins Blue Rodeo,
Andre Gagnon, and Gordon Lightfoot in the
Canadiana standard-bearer ranks. And if you go
in a group and wear colour-coordinated outfits
bearing the good old maple leaf you may just get
a private tour.
6 June 05
I am getting a little tired of France. Maybe
it’s just having to listen to a language that is
not your mother tongue. But most likely it is
the food and lodging. It really is bad. I have
held off discussing it because I promised Bill
Oliver when I offered to write this that I would
talk about World Cup soccer. But sorry Bill.
French cuisine in this part of France is
abominable. There.
Today we were supposed to play our last
exhibition game before going to Holland. The
game was to be against a Belgian select team in
a town called Pecq. However, when we arrived
for the game the field was unplayable. It was
hard and dry and had deep gouge marks in it that
were just begging to grab and sprain errant
ankles. So we informed the locals and carried
on to our hotel in Tilburg. We arrived well
after midnight and had a late meal which put to
shame all the horrible meals we had consumed in
France the past week.
7 June 05
In spite of our late arrival we trained the next
day after a sleep-in. The team seemed tired and
we let them have the rest of the day off. I
attended a dinner hosted by the local Tilburg
government and business community on behalf of
the competing teams in this city - Canada,
Syria, Italy, and Colombia. It was held in the
city hall which was originally constructed in
1850 as a southern castle for Willem II but he
died before the building was completed. Upon
its completion the castle was bequeathed to the
city and they transformed into a city hall. The
city honored the king’s memory by naming their
Dutch first division soccer team FC Willem II
(pronounced twey). Trust me, this is a huge way
to honor someone.
8 June 05
Today we played an exhibition game in Utrecht
about one hour from Tilburg. Prior to traveling
to Utrecht we took the team into Tilburg and let
them look around. It is a charming little town
with designated bike routes on every street in
the urban area. This cuts down on vehicular
traffic immensely and everywhere you look people
are riding bikes. People of all ages.
Consequently you don’t see that background
obesity that is so prevalent in North America.
Obviously, there are people with weight problems
in Holland but overall they seem to be very
healthy and active.
The exhibition game was against a local all-star
team. Although they were talented they were not
fit - their season ended about one month ago.
When I say fit I mean game fit which is an elite
level of fitness. I mountain bike three times a
week and run twice a week. I go to the gym to
do strength training 4-5 times per week I am
not game fit. Our boys defeated this talented
but unfit team 7-0 and the score flattered the
Dutch team. It was not a good game but at least
we scored some goals and will now wait for our
first game on 12 June. When the game was over,
most, if not all, of the Dutch players got on
their bikes to ride home. The first game of the
tournament is 10 June and will feature Holland
versus Japan.
9 June 05
As our first match approaches things are winding
down. Training was kept to a very light session
and then the team was given the day off. Some
of the staff were invited to go to visit the
Canadian War Memorial and Cemetery in Groesbeek.
I had been so fascinated by Vimy Ridge that I
jumped at the opportunity. Over 2300 Canadians
are buried at Groesbeek and these casualties are
mostly as a result of the great offensive to
retake Holland that is portrayed in the movie,
“A
Bridge Too Far.” We took some photos and
stopped several times on our trip to look at the
sites. This part of Holland is charming with
lots of pretty little villages that are
exquisitely clean and maintained. I was
informed by our driver that the Netherlands is
the 2nd most affluent country in
Europe. Switzerland is 1st. I am
not surprised by this.
10 June 05
I am running out of some medical supplies and
spent the morning at a local pharmacy (apotheek)
replenishing. Specifically, I am being depleted
of allergy medication. Some of the boys are
really suffering with conjunctivitis and
rhinitis (itchy eyes and running noses).
Fortunately, most of the effective medications
are approved and not on any prohibited list.
However, the more resistant cases require
medication (steroids) that in turn requires
special dispensation from the FIFA Medical
Committee to prevent a positive drug test
result. FIFA is committed to doping control,
although not as fanatically as the International
Olympic Committee (IOC). Several forms, faxes,
and approvals later I am able to obtain the
medications I need and get the boys treated.
Because our first game is at 2030 on 12 June we
spend the next two days engaging in evening
training sessions to simulate game time
conditions. One of our players suffered a
severe ankle injury during training. I was
concerned enough that I wanted to obtain an
x-ray but did not want him sitting in an
Emergency room for four hours waiting to be
x-rayed while the usual Friday night drunks and
fights staggered in and got sewed up. So I
spoke to the FIFA appointed local medical
liaison who was also team physician for the
local first division soccer team (Willem II).
He offered to get the x-ray performed
immediately and off we drove to the hospital.
Well, even with local pull, immediately meant an
hour at the hospital. Fortunately, there was no
fracture but the player was done for the
tournament. I then spent the next two hours
preparing a medical report to FIFA to allow a
replacement player to be approved to travel from
Canada to join the team.
Overall a busy day. But this is often the way
it is in the immediate lead-up to the actual
game playing.
11 June 05
We spent the morning in a team meeting. All
very secretive as we were showing films of the
Syrian qualifying games. The coaching staff is
getting a little paranoid and want to ensure
that none of the other teams know how we are
training or what we are studying. All of the
teams in our group (Syria, Colombia, Italy, and
Canada) are staying in the same hotel in Tilburg
so the opportunity for eavesdropping certainly
exists.
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In the afternoon I had to attend a
“technical meeting.” This is where
all the FIFA officials at this venue
brief the teams on the following
day’s game activities. Everything
is discussed. Colours of team
uniforms, security, and doping
control are all detailed and
exhausted. We have been informed
that at least two of our team and
possibly four will be tested after
each game. As team doctor I must
accompany each player to doping
control and remain with them until
testing is completed. Depending on
the venue this can take 2-4 hours.
As our game does not start until
8:30 pm tomorrow is going to be a
long day.
The day ends with us watching the
match highlights from the other
venues. Honduras, who we beat 1-0
in qualifying, lost to Chile 7-0.
This is moderately sobering. The US
team, who we lost to in an
exhibition game in May 2-1, beat
Argentina, a pre-tournament
favourite, 1-0. This is somewhat
mollifying.
12 June 05
Game Day. When I went into the
lobby before breakfast there were
dozens of Colombian fans in the
hotel. Where did they come from?
Was there some large population of
Colombians living in Europe? The
answer is no - this Under-20 team
won South America. These supporters
had come all the way from Colombia
to watch their team win a World
Cup.
Breakfast, light workout, lunch,
obligatory down time, pre-game
snack, and then team meeting. These
meetings are well-conducted. I
stated at the outset of this journal
that Dale Mitchell prepares these
boys very well. He broke the whole
game down for them in terms of
attacking, defending, free kicks and
possible in-game changes the Syrians
would make. The rest was up to the
boys. They appeared to be in a
light and playful mood.
As we were both staying in the same
hotel the Syrians and Canadians left
the hotel at the same time in
separate buses accompanied by a
police escort. When we arrived at
King Willem II stadium there were
hundreds of Syrian fans out front,
cheering and waving Syrian flags.
We let the Syrians disembark from
their bus first, to the rousing
encouragement of their supporters.
After they were in the stadium we
slowly began to unload our bus
hoping that the Syrians would
dissipate. They didn’t and to our
surprise gave us a loud welcoming
and enthusiastic ovation. A nice
gesture.
The Colombian-Italian game was in
the late stages as we entered Willem
II. The stadium holds 14,700 and
was 3/4 full. The vast majority of
these fans were wearing the striking
Colombian yellow with blue and red
trim. They were loud and even
though the score was still tied at
0-0 appeared to be having a lot of
fun. Because of the size of soccer
stadiums and the massive difference
between the speeds of sound and
light an observer at a soccer game
will see things for what seems like
a long time before he or she hears
them. This is especially true for
shots on goal. The ball is struck,
a save is made and then you hear
this cannon-like, “OOOOOOOOHH,” from
the crowd. This stadium was pulsing
and although the Italians are
outstanding defenders it was only a
matter of time before the Colombians
worked some podiatric magic and
scored. This happened in the 75th
minute and then again in the 88th.
And the Colombian fans went crazy.
The Italian coach was quoted after
the game, “there was nothing else we
could do - they (the Colombians) are
a quality side.” High praise
indeed.
Now it was our turn. We knew we had
to get off to a good start. We had
seen Colombia and Italy and we knew
that if one win was possible in this
tournament it would be against
Syria.
There had been some rain during the
Colombian-Italian game and the field
was slick. We started with the ball
and it was obvious the ball was
going to skip when it landed on the
ground. In the third minute one of
our defenders laid a routine pass
back to our goalkeeper. When a
keeper receives a pass from teammate
he cannot pick it up but must either
kick it or head it away. Our
goalkeeper, who is naturally
left-footed, attempted to clear the
pass with his right foot. As the
ball was wet and skipping and he was
a little jittery, he hit a perfect
sand wedge and the ball went
straight up in the air. An
opportunistic Syrian striker zeroed
in and out jumped our keeper, who
was still at this point not allowed
to use his hands to field the ball,
and headed the ball towards the
gaping net. One of our defenders
heroically slid to stop the ball
before it entered the net but he was
late. Syria 1 Canada 0. Not the
start we were so anxious for.
This seemed to throw pepper into our
guys’ eyes. They started to play
with a little bit of nasty which was
what we needed from the outset. For
the next twenty minutes we set the
pace and the tempo. We were getting
terrific runs down our right side
and had several corner kicks.
Although we weren’t assaulting the
Syrian net we were having the most
possession and making the Syrians
chase us. And then in the 35th
minute we got another corner. Our
drawn up plays that we practice a
lot call for a bunch of our tall
players to crowd the opponent’s net
and hopefully one of these “trees”
will get his head on the ball and
direct it towards the net or another
teammate. It was a good cross on
this corner but sailed over the
heads of all the trees. We were
just starting to groan on the bench
when at the back post our smallest
player knocked the ball over the
Syrian goalie with his head. Syria
-1 Canada-1.
For the rest of the half we showed
lots of promise and direction. When
the half ended the players left the
field confidently and expectantly.
I had to leave the locker room to
attend the doping control “draw.”
This is where the FIFA medical
officer draws four numbers randomly
that correspond to player numbers on
each team. The first two of the
draws will submit to drug testing
following the game.
We started the second half with a
renewed sense of purpose. All three
of our Canadian fans, recognizable
by the Hockey Canada jerseys they
were wearing, were ecstatic in their
encouragement. The final 45 minutes
were a melange though of stellar
offensive effort coupled with
indifferent defensive challenges.
We never did manage to go ahead and
ended the game tied 1-1. Although I
did not get to assess the mood in
the dressing room immediately
following the final whistle ( I had
to accompany our two players to drug
testing) we definitely felt like we
had let one get away.
The drug testing took over two hours
as the two players were dehydrated
and needed to drink 8 bottles of
water each before they were able to
produce a urine specimen. We
arrived back at the hotel at 12:30
am.
13 June 05
A day to take stock. In any endeavor
whether it involves material sales,
delivery of health care or playing a
competitive sport you have to have a
goal that reflects an objective
assessment of abilities and effort. In
sport this is often viewed as winning.
And we were no doubt in Holland to try
and win. But with a young team like
this it is important to address
development. We were really in Holland
to give these players a chance to learn
and react in a controlled environment
that will allow them to perform on the
senior World Cup stage where the
critical observers will number in the
billions as opposed to in the
thousands. And taken in that context
our early blunder that led to a Syrian
goal and ultimately a tie in a game we
probably should have won is not
catastrophic. In fact, if one views it
as a learning experience then hopefully
it won’t be repeated and we can put this
behind us. So much for the party line.
We need to win.
Next up is Colombia. The experts picked
them as the pre-tournament favourite.
We spent most of the day today
recovering - light workout on the field
for those who didn’t play and
hydrotherapy for those who did.
Although it is always a great experience
to travel to new destinations I am
starting to get tired of being away from
home. It is the down time that makes
you homesick - too much time to think
about all those projects at home.
14 June 05
A very quiet day. Technical meeting in
the morning. No positive drug tests so
far in the tournament. In the afternoon
we had a photography session with a
contracted photographer from Edmonton.
We have had a cameraman from Colombian
national TV following us around for the
past two days. Apparently there is some
concern we may pose a problem for the
Colombians. They must have missed our
Syrian game.
The day ends with some big results.
Morocco clobbered Honduras 5-0.
Something is definitely wrong with
Honduras and it’s not just culture
shock. Spain (who are looking stronger
and fitter every match) dismantled
Chile, yes Chile, 7-0! The U.S. tied
Germany 0-0.
15 June 05
Game day.. We had a light workout in the
morning and then lunch. Dale then held the
teem meeting and his pre-game briefing was a
gem, even by Dale’s standards. We had taken
a few knocks during the Syria game. Enough
to consider sitting a couple of our
starters. Recognizing that it would be best
to give these players some time off Dale
opted to go with a slower more defensive
line-up. And it almost worked.
When we arrived at the stadium 90 minutes
before game time there were a couple of
thousand Colombian fans already there. What
is so remarkable about these fans is that
they genuinely seem to be having a good time
at the games. And when they applaud they
are cheering for the efforts of both teams.
This was especially noticeable in the early
going when they tested us often and hard and
our goalkeeper made some spectacular saves.
For the first 80 minutes of the game we held
them off. Basically we tried to slow them down
and dog their fast front line. They had some
excellent opportunities while our forays towards
their net were few and easily thwarted. Then
they got their second free kick in just
under three minutes in front of our net just
outside the eighteen yard line. For those of
you unfamiliar with soccer this is a danger
zone. The fact that we were able to prevent
their first attempt from this spot was a great
credit to our defense. However the second one
banged off our post and one of their poaching
strikers pounced on the rebound and slotted it
into the net. Colombia 1 Canada 0.
The Colombians then really started to turn it
on. The strength of South American teams is
that when they make substitutions late in the
game they do not sacrifice team play as the subs
are just as good as the starters. We are not as
deep on our team and as the game wears on every
team has to make subs. The positions most often
substituted for are the strikers as they tire
from all the sprinting charges they make at the
other team’s net. So the Colombians make a
couple of these “super subs” and one of these
players makes a terrific shot on our goal
towards the end of the game that our keeper
probably would have stopped in the first half.
But he was pretty exhausted at this point after
facing 90 minutes of everything this talented
Colombian team could muster. And it was a
fabulous shot - a low screamer that scorched a
trail in the grass as it went into the lower
left corner of the net. Colombia 2 Canada 0.
And that’s how it ended.
But we had some good news when we got back to
the hotel. No significant injuries and Syria
had stolen one from Italy defeating them 2-1.
The implications of this are huge - most notably
that we can qualify for the second round with a
win over Italy. And if the Syrians could do it,
well, we were quite confident that we could too.
16 June 05
Today we travel to Kerkrade which is in the
extreme south of Holland near the German
border. We will play Italy there while Syria
and Columbia will stay in Tilburg and play their
final game at Willem II stadium. FIFA does this
so that the final two games of each group can be
played at the same time to try and eliminate
collusion that might occur between teams. For
example, there is a lot of animosity between
European teams and if there was another European
team in our group they would be willing to help
in our cause against Italy.
The Italians are quite a collection. They had
to have special sparkling water (frizzante) and
their own Parmesan cheese brought into the hotel
because Dutch (you know where they make Gouda,
Edam and Limburger cheese) cheese wasn’t up to
snuff. Our Dutch liaisons assigned by FIFA were
sitting around one night telling us how to upset
the Italians:
“Steal their sparkling water.”
“Take away their cell phones - then they can’t
talk to Mama.”
“Confiscate their hair gel.”
The Italian media in their coverage of their
Under-20 team have alternated between
disgustedly dismissing or completely ignoring
the team. After the Colombian game in which the
Italians hung around for a good portion of the
game the Italian press crowed, “they (the young
Azzuri)don’t deserve to be in this tournament.”
We didn’t get to see or hear their reaction
after the Italian loss to Syria.
But more than any other time in this tournament
we have a chance to win and advance. I must
return to Canada on 19 June so if the team goes
on to the next round I will have to follow their
efforts back home.
As I mentioned Kerkrade is in the most southerly
portion of the Netherlands. Our Dutch liaisons
tell us the dialect is very Germanic in this
part of Holland. It’s all Dutch to me. But I
am learning some. I can’t wait to get home and
try out what I have learned on some of my
elderly Dutch patients. They will be tickled
pink, er, orange.
17 June 05
A non-descript day. The food is better here
than in Tilburg. Staying with us in the hotel
are the Japanese and Australian teams. They
play each other tomorrow and they are both in
the same boat as us. It is win or go home. The
Italians are staying in a separate hotel in
Maastricht - about 30 minutes from us. We
trained at the stadium where we will be playing
against Italy. It was a beautiful pitch - more
of the same of which we have become accustomed
during our stay in Holland. Canada is the host
for the World Youth Championships in 2007 and we
do not have one field that compares to those
which we have seen in the Netherlands let alone
6 to cover all the proposed venues. I am not
sure what the Canadian Soccer Association is
going to do.
I went for a run along a local bike path near
the hotel. It is a wonderful resource to have
so close. No cars to worry about. I am going
to miss this immensely.
Early to bed because tomorrow we need to have
it. Not much to see in the way of injuries -
the players are all keen to get on the field and
so tend to minimize anything going on.
18 June 05
Bright and sunny out today. Many of the Dutch
people - liaisons, hotel workers, bus drivers -
are encouraging and predicting a win for us
against Italy. We know it is possible and will
propel us into the next round. We don’t even
have to play the “numbers game.” No matter how
many goals we score or allowed to be scored ( an
important tie-breaking consideration in World
Cup tournaments) as long as we win we are
through.
We arrive at the stadium and for once our
Canadian fans outnumber the Italian supporters.
You even look around and count several red maple
leafs adorning the railings of the stadium. I
again take pictures of the Canadian faithful and
they wave and laugh at me as I do.
For the first time since the Morocco exhibition
game we get off to a bright start. We get some
good ball in the middle and move forward on the
right side with some surprising penetration.
The Italians on the other hand really start to
move the ball after the initial opening
moments. They end up generating more offence in
the first fifteen minutes that they did in all
of their first two games. They also attack our
right side as this is where our weakest defender
is. Their scouting is accurate although our
defender does not blunder in defending it is his
counter-attack passing that is lame and
misdirected. The Italians have a tall forward
in the middle who receives and distributes the
ball well. Our scouting said he is a good
passer but is slow and won’t get behind our
defence. In the 23rd minute he
catapults a header from ten yards over top of
our keeper and into the net. Italy 1 Canada 0.
As in the Syria game this early goal in a game
we desperately need to win energizes us and we
start to have more ball possession. We get a
dazzling chance in the 35th minute
with a bewitching run by our right midfielder
with an accurate cross that finds the head of
our best striker 7 yards in front of the net.
This player scored four goals for us in
qualifying in Honduras, some of them hilight
reel gems. This ball splats off the side of his
sweaty scalp and goes wide of the net. In
Honduras that ball would have gone in.
We end the first half down a goal but we have
seen enough opportunity in the first 90 minutes
to know the Italians will yield favourable
circumstances for equaling the score.
My memory of the second half is sketchy even
though a lot takes place. The Italians score
right at the start of the second half. Then we
are able to pull one back with a marvelous free
kick from our Dutch player. This is a kid who
was born in Canada to Dutch parents who soon
after his birth moved back to Holland. Where he
has lived ever since. He is for all intents and
purposes Dutch but he has a Canadian passport
and will never make a Dutch national squad. So
he is on our team. And he is a great player.
In classic “bend it like Beckham” style he
topspins the ball over the Italian wall and past
the airborne Italian keeper. Italy 2 Canada 1.
But that is as close as we get. The Italians,
playing the best football of this tournament so
far, score two more goals against our suddenly
transparent defence. They look good and I can
only marvel on the bench at the quality effort
the Italians have brought to the pitch. When
they score their 4th goal their bench
players and staff storm onto the field. This
fourth goal will see them through to the next
round even though they only have one win. So we
go home.
19 June 05
FIFA does not like to let losing teams hang
around after they are knocked out of the
tournament. It might lead to unacceptable
behaviour by sullenly drunk and remorseful
players. So we are on a bus at 0830 to
Amsterdam to catch our flight home. In this
case to Toronto (damn bean towners) with a
connection to Vancouver (DAMN bean towners). We
feel fortunate though because the Australians
who tied Japan but were still knocked out by
goal differential have to leave the hotel at
0400 to make their flight.
We are in fairly good spirits on the bus to
Amsterdam. Well, I should say the team is hung
over quiet on the bus. So are some of the
staff. It has been a long three weeks and I
think everyone is glad to be going home.
On
the flight home I am asked to see an elderly
passenger who according to the flight attendant,
“keeps passing out.” I am wondering how they knew I
was a doctor but as I get up out of my seat I see
several of our players chatting up the prettier
flight attendants. The passenger is Dutch and seems
to be fine. However I spend the next three hours
monitoring her vital signs and reassuring her
husband that they can continue on to Canada and get
some tests done there. When I first assessed her I
had no medical equipment so I asked the chief flight
attendant to bring me the medical bag that I know
all Air Canada flights carry. He said he could
bring it to me if I showed him proof that I was a
doctor. He wanted this proof because the medical
bag contains all kinds of goodies including
narcotics so they can’t just let anyone dive into
it. Believe it or not I don’t routinely carry
identification on me that specifically states I am a
physician. I find if you put it on things like
credit cards you end up paying “M D” (money
dispenser) fees. So I informed the flight attendant
he could ask the head coach and he could vouch for
me. The FA goes, “I still need to see some kind of
ID.” I am flustered at this point because even
though this woman is responsive and in fact lucid I
still have not taken any vital signs on her yet. So
I respond, “You have two choices. You either inform
the captain he has to make an emergency landing so
that this woman can seek medical attention or you
bring me the medical bag.” As a former pilot I know
this is the last thing the captain wants to hear.
He replies, “But we’re over water right now.” I
repeat, “ You still have two choices.” He mirrors
the same exasperated look I gave him ten seconds ago
but to his credit goes to retrieve the medical bag.
So
we landed in Toronto without further incident. And
then took the shuttle to the other terminal. At
this point we said our goodbyes as everyone took
different routes out of Toronto. A lot of these
same kids will be competing for positions on our
Olympic team. The Olympics, by agreement of all the
member nations of FIFA showcases soccer players
under 23 years of age. Olympic qualifying will
start next year and hopefully I will be able to see
more of this group because despite being
out-talented they showed a lot of good ol’ Canadian
heart and gumption.
28 June 05
Just to finish up. Today in the semi-finals
Argentina defeated Brazil and Nigeria defeated
Morocco. Argentina started the tournament out very
slowly losing to the US ( a very long 17 days ago).
But after advancing from the first round they beat,
in order, Colombia, Spain, and Brazil. Amazing.
Morocco was an even bigger surprise. But maybe we
shouldn’t have felt so bad losing to them in
northern France way back when. |
