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Growing up in Canada, dreams of becoming one of the top midfielders in European football, winner of league titles in two different countries, and capturing two European Cups are often isolated to pantomimes played out through casual kick abouts on a local field. Yet, through tremendous athletic ability and a quenchable drive to succeed, Owen Hargreaves has realized those dreams and is poised to become the anchor in Manchester United’s star-studded midfield.
Although the Red Devils achieved great team success by winning the Premiership and the Champions League last season, Hargreaves himself continued to blossom as a player. Known primarily as a tenacious holding midfielder with Bayern Munich, he showed fantastic offensive potential in his first year in England that alluded to the attacking abilities he had shown in appearances with the English national team.
While his pre-season preparations have been stymied by a tendinitis injury, Hargreaves is working hard to be at his best to help United retain their titles and is confident that the Red Devils can build upon last season’s double success. Soccer360 spoke exclusively to Hargreaves about the drama of penalty shootouts, his career thus far and why he is still so hungry for even more winners’ medals.

Ronaldo had just missed and Frank Lampard had just converted his penalty, talk about what you were feeling as you stepped up to the spot knowing that had you missed you would have handed Ashley Cole a chance to win Chelsea the Champions League in the shootout
Well, I didn’t have any doubt to be honest. We practiced penalty kicks and I have never missed in competitive games, and I’ve taken a few in the European Championship and the quarterfinals for England. So, I had experience taking a penalty in a crucial situation, and I am confident in those situations. It is something you don’t want to be remembered for, and if you miss you know there is a good chance that you will be. In my mind I had no doubt that I would score. The only thing I thought of was that all the England players knew me, and they knew me pretty well. In the World Cup in Germany, we practiced penalty kicks for almost a month everyday, and I went to the same spot everyday. I had played with Michael Ballack at Bayern Munich and he knew where I would go as well. That was a concern, but when I went up initially my thought was to place it in the bottom left corner — Cech’s left and my right — but when I went up I knew everybody would have told him I was going to shoot top left, which I ended up doing. But when I went up I looked at the goal and it looked quite small, so I just thought do what you do best. And I was just hoping my best would be better than his best.

Just as Nicolas Anelka was about to take his spot kick there was a United player kneeling down with his face in the turf. Who was it? And what was your reaction once Edwin van der Sar saved Anelka’s penalty?
I think that was Anderson; I think he just couldn’t watch. A lot of people are like that. My mom was like that — she said she didn’t really want to watch some of the penalties. When you’re watching it’s quite nerve-racking, but when you play, when you take the kick, you have control over the outcome so you’re quite relaxed. But I remember being in those situations, especially with England at the World Cup, and like I said before it’s something you don’t want to be remembered for if you miss. So, it’s important in those moments to be confident, to make a positive picture and envision scoring and not think about missing. If you do envision missing, or possibly missing, then there is a very good chance that you probably will miss. I have been in those situations before, and I knew the kind of negative effect that it had had on me so I tried to be positive and spoke to everyone. I am really happy it all worked out because I have been on the losing end with England a couple of times.

How does it feel to have been a part of two Champions League winning sides, with both Bayern and United?
Well, I think I am lucky in a way because even as a kid all my teams won, whether it was the city leagues or the provincials. I have been fortunate to be successful even at a young age. Winning is just part of me and with all the teams that I have played with. When I went to Bayern Munich and played on their youth team, we won more often than not. And playing for the first team in my first season we won the league and the Champions League, and the same happened with Manchester United last season. I have always expected to win, and sometimes a draw, at many of the clubs I played at, was a bad result. Each time I go out on the pitch, no matter who we are playing, I expect us to win. That is my mindset and it’s great to have the opportunity to play for a club where those are the goals; just to win and everything else is not enough.

On a personal level, you had so many great games from last season, what was your most cherished moment?
There were some great ones! My first game, my first goal, playing against Manchester City, although we didn’t win. But the goal against Arsenal [winning goal in the 2-1 victory on April 13th] was big for the team, because if we didn’t win that game the league could have a different outcome. That Arsenal goal was key.

How have you come along preparing for this season? You said recently that you felt you haven’t been 100 percent at your time so far at United and you are going to get better. You broke your leg the season before you joined United and you’re currently getting over a tendinitis injury. How frustrating has it been trying to get to full fitness?
I broke my fibula the season before I came to United, and saying I broke my leg is so big but it was actually just an unfortunate injury. I got a knee into my bone at a time when I jumped up and my muscle wasn’t tense. It sounds so serious, but that injury compared to this was a piece of cake. Bones break and they heal and you’re stronger and better for it afterwards. Whereas with this one, [the doctors] said it probably happened when I was 12 or 13 when I just started to grow, and the more sports you play on it the more it sets in. But I really didn’t get the symptoms until a later stage last season. It is something that you just have to manage and keep an eye on. The medical department has been doing a lot of work, and I have been doing a lot of work in the gym. It’s just something I am going to have to stay on top of and put a lot more work into then a lot of players might have to.

What is the timetable for your return?
I am taking it day by day, and I am trying to do as much as I can everyday and go with how I feel. I have been set up with a program and the goal is to be fit as soon as possible. I’m not sure what game that is going to be, but I am starting to feel pretty good.

Looking ahead to this season, it is so hard to sustain success, especially with how competitive the Premiership is. John Terry came out just prior to the start of the campaign and said that United peaked last term. How tough is it to get everybody motivated to sustain that success?
It is all about motivation, and a lot of the players at this club are self-motivated and you can see it in the training program and the things they do off the pitch to stay on top. All our players are at the top and our training games are well contested, so that is not a problem. The only thing is because the other teams don’t win they look for areas they can improve, and all the teams in the Premiership have gone out and tried to improve in different areas, and because we are the champions we do not necessarily have to. We are just going to have to play to our best and if we do that then more often than not it is going to be better than everyone else’s best.

After achieving so much last year, what are the expectations this season? In terms of silverware, United could only do better by winning the treble, which they did in 1999. However, is the top priority retaining the league and the European Cup?
I think [the treble] is very, very difficult to achieve now in football. The money that’s involved, and the strength of the clubs to go out and get the best players, makes it very difficult to stay at that level in any competition. We did a tremendous job of it last season and with a bit more luck against Portsmouth we could have easily been in the Final of the FA Cup as well. The goal we set for ourselves is to win the league and get to cup Finals, but only one team can win it in the Champions League and there are some impressive teams in the competition this season. Inter Milan is stronger with José Mourinho, and the English teams are strong — Liverpool, Arsenal, ourselves and Chelsea. Then there is Real Madrid, Barcelona. Bayern Munich is back in it and there are always one or two dark horses. It is going to be very difficult, and you have to take it stage by stage and hopefully you peak at the right time, have your key players fit and healthy, and play your best football when you need to.

This upcoming term will be your second in England, and after working your way into the ranks with Bayern you’re doing the same with United. What have you learned playing alongside Scholes, Giggs and Ronaldo, and what are some of the differences you’ve seen between the Bundesliga and the Premiership?
I enjoy the coaching aspect. I think there is more coaching involved and I enjoy that. From all the people that surround the team, from the medical department, to the gym area, to the coaching staff, there is a coach for everything. It is really well organized and everything is private and there is nobody there. At Bayern Munich sometimes we would have 5,000-10,000 people watching training when there was a holiday, so you couldn’t really focus in on your work. But United’s training ground is completely private, and you can really work on a lot of things and there is just the player’s hunger and drive to be the best. And there is a fantastic energy, a tremendous positive energy within the group because everyone is the best at what they do and that is why they are at Manchester United. To bring all these people together from different parts of the world to create something unique creates camaraderie within the team that is the best I have ever seen. Most of all the level of football and the desire from everyone is great to be a part of.

There are so many North American players having success in Europe, specifically in England. What does it say about the talent level on this side of the Atlantic and how they are adapting to the European game?
I think it is very individual, and it shows that no matter where you’re from or where you grew up it all depends on the amount of drive, commitment and effort that you want to put into it. It is not always the most talented players that make it this far. People say it’s about luck and it’s not; you have to put in a lot of hard work and make a lot of sacrifices that most people are not willing to make at a young age. That is the only reason I am here. I am very lucky to be athletically gifted, and I put in a lot of hard work when other people around me didn’t want to. I just saw what I wanted to achieve and I saw that opportunity to achieve something. Growing up in Calgary, I really don’t think it was a possibility until it was open for me. Once it was open there was no way I was going to let it pass me by, although there were a lot of people who didn’t think it would work.

You’ve talked about how Canadians think you have a German accent and English players believe you have a Canadian accent. I’m sure you’ve had to endure quite a bit of teasing from the England players in the locker room.
Oh yeah, I get it all the time! I can’t help where I grew up and I can’t change the way I speak, and I get it all the time. I am a bit of a global person in many ways and Gary Neville asked me recently whether I would live in England when I was done playing and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I feel comfortable anywhere. I am very proud about growing up in Calgary and I had a fantastic childhood there, but I am really happy I moved away at 16 to experience something completely different. I can only recommend it to anyone to leave their comfort zone and take a risk, take a chance, and see where it takes you.

In some of your articles on the BBC Sports website you’ve talked about your life growing up in Calgary, where football is not the number one sport. What were some of the things you did to pass the time when you were not playing football?
I supported the Calgary Flames and I used to go watch games. I remember I had a Theoren Fleury shirt and I used to deliver him his newspaper when I got older because he lived near where I grew up. That was quite exciting when I was a young kid. I was a big Flames fan and I used to go watch the Calgary Stampeders games. That is what is great about growing up in North America because you get exposed to all different kinds of sports, while the kids in England mostly play football or cricket. I played everything I could get my hands on: I did badminton, volleyball, hockey in the winter, and indoor and outdoor soccer. I loved everything. For a time I loved playing basketball more than playing soccer. I think that is part of my athletic ability, and I benefited from playing all those different sports

Your decision to play for England is old news and you’re having so much success with the English national team. How have you dealt with the criticism from people in Canada who have not accepted your decision, and those fans in England who were not convinced early on?
The one thing I realized is that I cannot please everyone. Obviously everyone has an opinion, but the most important opinion is mine and my family’s. It is my life and my career, and it’s what I wanted to do. At the time, I was breaking into the Bayern team and the Canadian set-up was not well organized, it was not well run. I received a phone call to come join up in a camp and they basically threatened me if I didn’t come. I just thought if they really wanted something they would have not gone about it that way, and I don’t think it was handled really well. I was just really focused on breaking into the Bayern team and trying to be successful. I never realized the doors it would open for me with England, to represent England, where my dad is from, my granddad is from, and where all of my dad’s family is from and still live. It was a great honour for me and I knew it would make my dad very proud, and from a football aspect that decision made itself. A lot of people say they don’t understand or that I should have played for Canada, but I had to make a decision about what was best for me and I am very happy that I made the decision. At the time, a lot of people said I would only play one game and I said ‘fine.’ I love challenges and I have always taken a challenge, and I am quite happy about where it has taken me.

When you talk about threats if you didn’t join the Canadian camp, was that from the CSA?
Yeah. They called me up — I was 18 or 19 — and they wanted me to go to a camp in British Columbia. It was a 12-hour flight and I was in the middle of breaking into Bayern’s first team, and I could not have gone away because it would have completely affected my entire career. I could not risk being away, especially just for a training camp, and they said, ‘If you don’t come then that’s that.’ And I said, ‘That’s fine, it is a decision you make and not me.’ I don’t think all the facts were known, but it’s not important because I can only tell my side of it and why I did something, and I cannot please everybody. The most important thing is that I am happy and I am comfortable because it is my life.

Are you doing anything on a grassroots level in Calgary? Have you had the chance to hold soccer camps there?
My breaks are so short; I only get about three weeks off all season and I live in Calgary in the summer for a week, but it is something I have thought about and would like to get into. I just don’t have enough time. My focus has to be on my career, my health and relaxing in the off-season when I get a chance. But I have thought about it and spoken about it with my family, and it something that I would like to do, but it’s going to have to be at the right time.

In a whirlwind 24-hour period, Dwayne De Rosario went from helping the Houston Dynamo secure a 2-0 win over DC United in Washington DC — a match that had to be rescheduled several times due to lighting and power outages — to scoring the game winner, from the penalty spot, in the 2008 MLS All-Star game. Soccer360 caught up with the jubilant, but fatigued, Scarborough, Ontario native after the game and true to his nature, De Rosario spoke openly about his love for his city, his season thus far, and trying to create a winning atmosphere at home against Canada’s World Cup qualifying opponents.

Once again you score a big goal in a big game. No one else was going to take that penalty were they?
Only me! Only me! My first thought was just putting the ball on target and just burying it and finishing the chance because for me that was a dream come true. Scoring in a game of this magnitude is huge. People don’t understand how big this game is because this is an opportunity for us to showcase our talent throughout the world and to show everyone how good this league is. These games are big and I am happy to score a big goal, in a big game, in a big city!

Coming home, how did the crowd’s energy feel?
For me it is a dream come true to play in my hometown. The fans are great, the atmosphere was great and you cannot ask for more. It was a long day though! We had a delay with our flight getting to Toronto and Pat [Onstad] was saying, ‘I don’t know if it is meant for us to be there.’ And I said, ‘I don’t care man!’ I was thinking of alternative routes to get here. I was thinking of how long it would take to drive from DC to Toronto? If I fly to Montreal and drive how long would that take? I really wanted to be here and be a part of this!

Did you pull some strings with MLS commissioner Don Garber to be here because, unfortunately, you were not selected as part of the starting XI?
No, no strings were pulled but it is an honour for me to be picked by the commissioner. I am so happy to be here and I am glad that I had an impact on the game.

Did you ever expect something like the MLS All-Star game to happen in Canada, especially Toronto? Only a few years ago the Toronto Lynx of the United Soccer Leagues were only drawing a couple dozen people.
I hoped it would happen at some point, but I am glad the league and MLSE stepped up to say, ‘We need a soccer-specific stadium and we need a professional soccer team in Toronto.’ You’re are now seeing the benefits of that, and I think some people are saying, ‘Damn, maybe we could have made this stadium a little bit bigger.’ The amount of support out here is tremendous, and it’s not surprising to me growing up playing soccer in Scarborough and knowing that there is a knowledgeable community here — a lot of different ethic groups that play football, play soccer, and know the game.

How would you rate your play, and the play of your team as a whole so far this season?
I have been all over the place from midfield to forward, so I have had to make a few adjustments, but I think I have been playing particularly well. You know I have scored four goals. Could I have scored more? Yes, but our team is starting to pick up stride and we’re in the semifinals of the SuperLiga, only four losses, and I think about 20 ties, so there are a lot of positives to take out of that. We know we have a good team and that we have guys that can change the game at any given moment, so hopefully with success in the SuperLiga and the win against United we will continue to move forward with that momentum.

Julián de Guzmán came out a little while ago and said that the men’s national team had voiced their concerns over playing at BMO Field, pointing to the FieldTurf and the level of support the men’s national team would receive. After seeing the level of support in the All-Star game, does it change your mind a bit?
At the end of the day what is more frustrating is the fact that we tried to negotiate this last year and the CSA waited until about a week before we had to make a decision, so that pushed our backs against the wall which was really unfair. At the end of the day we have to create environments where we always have the upper hand, especially in World Cup qualifiers. We cannot put ourselves in situations just to make money by selling tickets. We have to be smart, we have to look at our opponents, and we have to play our opponents where we have the most advantage. In saying that hopefully Canada fans come out and support us and not so many Jamaicans fans come out. I am looking forward to it. It’s a done deal and you have to put it behind you and hopefully the rest of the guys come out ready to perform and ready to play.

Do the players feel that there is a better atmosphere and a better playing surface at Stade Saputo in Montreal?
There is nothing better than here at BMO! Is the field better? Yes, 100 percent. The field there is terrific; they have done an excellent job on that field. But Toronto is definitely a lot better when it comes to the stadium and the atmosphere. So, if we could take the field in Montreal and put it in Toronto that would be the ideal situation. But that is not the reality and the game is here, and we have to come here and get a result and that is the bottom line.

There is no name more recognized in Canadian soccer than Bob Lenarduzzi. Possibly one of the most successful international and club players in Canadian soccer history, although he began his professional career with Reading FC in England’s lower divisions, Lenarduzzi was a pivotal part of the Whitecaps’ success during the 1970s and 80s in the NASL, and is part of a select group of Canadians who have played both in the Olympics and in the World Cup.
Uncompromising as a defender, Lenarduzzi brought the same steel to the Whitecaps front office and was instrumental in helping to reshape the franchise into a hub for youth development in North America and a front-runner for an MLS franchise. Soccer360 spoke to him from his Vancouver office about youth development, MLS and why he may be willing to ‘bet his house’ on Canada’s success in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

How would you rate the Whitecaps’ season both on and off the field?
As far as the on-field aspect of it goes, we have been inconsistent. One of the things that we are pleased with is that we are at or near the top. We have ten games to go and have a lot of those games at home, and we have a realistic chance of finishing top spot overall. That’s encouraging, especially because we have transition in terms of our playing staff last year. We were not sure how we would adjust to that, but for the most part it has been pretty positive.
As far as our Vision 2011, we are continuing with it in spite of the things we cannot control, which includes our MLS opportunity and certainly the stadium that we have been after for the last four to five years. Those are two things we cannot just snap our fingers and think they’re going to happen. We are going in thinking they will happen and preparing ourselves as a club on the field and off the field from a marketing perspective, an event management perspective, and from a ticket sales perspective. We want to continue to get better with each year that goes by, so when we get to 2011 we will be able to hit the ground running assuming that our objectives are realized. That of course being MLS. And we do have BC Place as a very viable [stadium] alternative for us right now in terms of 2011, which will be a building that is upgraded. But we are still in pursuit of that waterfront stadium as well.

Steve Nash recently came on board with Vancouver’s bid to get an MLS franchise. Do you think, given the Whitecaps’ long and illustrious history as one of the pillars of professional in Canada, the club need to be in MLS? Is it only a matter of time before the Whitecaps are in MLS?
We certainly hope that and we will be submitting our bid by the deadline of October 15th. That bid will illustrate why we should be in: our history and the fact that throughout our history, both on the field and the ticket wicket, we have had success. Right now we play in a 5,200-seat capacity stadium and we are close to selling that out on a regular basis. Prior to that the original Whitecaps had a seasons ticket base of 22,000 and an average attendance of 28,000 in 1980. We have won championships as the original Whitecaps and we won championships as the 86ers, and we recently just won a championship in USL-1. And when you look at the support we have, which will be illustrated in our bid, from a municipal government, a provincial government, and the business leaders in the downtown core, they are all excited about the Whitecaps in MLS.
We are on the verge of a groundbreaking relationship with our provincial association, whereby we will partner with them not only on the technical side of the game but also in the commercial side as well. They are also excited about the prospects of playing in BC Place and the new stadium, and about a residency and development program that is, and I have no hesitation in saying this, the best in North America including any of the MLS teams right now. We invest $750,000 in our residency program that allows the players to come in and play, go to school, and we take them abroad: We have sent two players this season to Energie Cottbus to play in the Junior Bundesliga. So we think we have all the bases covered, and all of these things have been a work in progress the last three to five years, but more recently under the ownership of Greg Kerfoot.

With MLS being such a hot property now and with so many cities in both Canada and the U.S. vying for franchises, how unnerving is it for everyone associated with the Whitecaps waiting for the league’s decision?
There is some anxiety, but what you cannot have that do is paralyze you. From our perspective, when we submit our bid we think it will be fully encompassing from grassroots to professional soccer to the support of the business community in the city and to the history of the club. All of those things look pretty good to us, and our only hope is that they look pretty good to MLS as well when they compare our bid to the other bids that they have. We now have Steve Nash on board and he is a sporting icon, not just a sporting icon but an icon in general in our country. He has a visibility in the United States as well, so I don’t think that hurts our cause to have someone like him who is not a fair weather fan, but who loves the sport of soccer and his brother plays with us as well. That is another component of our bid that we think sets us aside.

How important are the Whitecaps to the fabric of professional soccer in Canada?
I am big on history, and certainly the professional game here in Vancouver has had its up and downs. As it happens, I have been a part of most of those ups and downs in one capacity or another. Even prior to getting involved, I sat inside Empire Stadium and watched the Vancouver Royals play in 1967 as a 12-year-old, and I do believe that given the staying power soccer has had in this province that that does count for something. When I say it counts for something I don’t mean on its own, but I think when you combine that aspect of it with all of the projects and the commitment that we are making to the game in this part of the world, that we are feeling like we are in a pretty good place right now. But we cannot control what the future holds; all we can control is that we put our best foot forward.

Do you feel now with the success of Toronto FC, the building of Stade Saputo, and everything the Whitecaps are doing with Vision 2011 that professional soccer in Canada has entered, or is on the verge of, a Golden Age?
I think it’s all relative. Ideally, we wouldn’t be as excited as we are about the fact that we have a professional team that has proven that it can be viable in the professional sports world, and two others that look like they could be capable as well. Ideally that would have been a carry-over from the old days of the NASL. It’s no coincidence that our international success is directly tied to the professional game in this country. I played in the NASL and there is no doubt in my mind that I was fortunate enough to play in a World Cup and play at the Olympics because of the experience that I got in the North American Soccer League, as was the case with the majority of my international teammates at the time. And it is no coincidence that as the result of the demise of the NASL, we did not have that full-time environment that we had in the NASL days.
The NASL was lighting in a bottle. Nobody planned for things to go the way that they did. Nobody planned there to be only friends and family watching the Whitecaps in 1974 at Empire Stadium and then five years later having sell-out crowds at that same stadium. But as quickly as it came, it went. That is the difference with what we have now. MLS, who I think have done a great job of managing expansion and making sure they had stability, were fortunate to secure the Kraft family, the Anschutz group, and Lamar Hunt. Those owners in time should be acknowledged as the people responsible for putting their finances behind a sport that was popular at the grassroots level. If they had not done that, I doubt anyone would be talking about MLS right now. The fact that we are at a stage now where there are more cities interested than spots available is a credit to how MLS has gone about growing the league since the 1994 hosting of the World Cup. So, is this a dawn of a new era? It is the dawn of a new era. But what we cannot afford to do is assume that we do not have to work at it. It’s not baseball, it’s not football, it’s not hockey. Ours is a sport that we have to continue to sell and we need to find a niche so we don’t need to rival the NHL, we just need to find our niche.

Finally, when you take a look at Vision 2011, how confident are you that the Whitecaps will be able to accomplish those goals and be either the 17th or 18th franchise in MLS by 2011?
I am confident based on the bid that we will be putting in, and if it is based on the information that is in that book and matching that up with any other perspective franchise, there is no doubt in my mind that we should be one of the two [franchises]. The one aspect that I believe will require more discussion is the business opportunity for soccer in this country. I know MLSE have been talking to MLS about if there is further expansion into Canada what are the business opportunities, and given the fact that Toronto have had the success that they have had you’d think their recommendations would be valued by MLS. So, the fact that they are looking into that side of it encourages me that they are serious about expansion in Canada.

If you could put your 25 years in Canadian soccer into one word, what would that word be?
Fortunate. When you have been able to represent your country as a player and as a coach I view it as a great privilege and a real honour. Even though there have been some incredibly tough times along the way, I would not trade the experiences of representing Canada with anything.

You were an important part of that 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign, and you played in the World Cup in Mexico. How special was that experience?
It was a wonderful experience although, to be honest, at the time it was a bit of a blur. The combination of not playing in a professional environment, which was the case with most of the Canadian players at the time, along with who we had to play in our group — including European champions France — it put us under tremendous pressure both individually and collectively. The reality is we were a group of decent technical players that were good athletes with tremendous characters but with limited experience at that level. As a result, there was always going to be a lack of confidence. Nevertheless, Tony Waiters did a great job in preparing us for the tournament and in the end we performed well. We definitely deserved to get a result against France but in the end it wasn’t meant to be. It is very disappointing that we have not qualified since, but I do think it highlights the enormity of the accomplishment from 86. At times people unfairly criticize our performance in Mexico, but when you take everything into account and consider how difficult it has been to repeat the feat then it puts an exclamation mark on the achievement.

You have been a part of the development of many of the players that currently play in the men’s national team, so what do you think it’s going to take for this side to get to South Africa in two years time?
Away from the field we need strong leadership starting from Dale Mitchell. I think he is going to have to be very strong and will need to make tough decisions along the way. A problem with being a national team coach, particularly within the Canadian environment, is that you are at times under severe pressure to make political decisions instead of what I would term as making the correct ones. This applies to organizational, staffing and even player issues. You have to do what you believe is right not what other people think is right. Good preparation has also been talked about, and the players have made their views known. The CSA are surely now very aware of the importance of good preparation and what it means to the players and coaching staff. Hopefully this can be improved. Although to be fair, we should also keep in mind that with the majority of our players playing in Europe, they are under availability restrictions that limits our preparations anyway.
A positive attitude is also very important and from everyone, including from the media! What worries me is that people look for excuses, some maybe legitimate but others are not. I mean, we know about the standard of CONCACAF officiating, but it doesn’t give us the right to then display or encourage a lack of discipline, which has happened with our last two World Cup campaigns. Dale needs to set the example here. As far as the on-field issues it will be important for Dale to get the defensive shape right along with the right players in the right slots. Even though we have looked suspect at the back we definitely now have some depth particularly in full-back positions: Paul Stalteri, Ante Jazic, Jim Brennan, and Mike Klukowski. What is exciting is that if we can defend well then going forward we can cause any of our rivals problems. Julian de Guzmán, Dwayne De Rosario, Rob Friend, Atiba Hutchinson, and Ali Gerba give us some great options and will allow us to score regularly.

You have coached both the country’s men and women. Do you think the CSA invests more in the woman’s team than the men’s?
The optics of that statement could be true because it does seem like there is more support for the women’s program, but it is a bit deceiving. Consider the female youth teams — the Under-17s and Under-20s — they have only been in existence for 5-10 years, whereas the men have been around for 25-30 years on the youth team level. Just on that fact alone the support has been far greater for the men. Also, the fact that the senior women play many more international games than the men is a reality of the women’s game in that they are not full-time professional footballers on the same level as the men. You simply could not have 25-30 international games a year on the men’s side, it is impossible. We need to balance our thoughts about where the women’s game is in the grander scheme of things, but I would not put too much leverage in the statement that the women get more support than the men. Also, until the reality of CSA funding changes from a reliance on nationwide membership dues, which account for 45% of overall revenue, it is difficult to be critical. The ratio of female to male players is practically even, which in essence means there is tremendous political pressure for balanced funding of both programs.

Is this then a time when the CSA has to put its money where its mouth is, and give most, if not all, its financial support to the men’s team?
There should be an improvement in the amount the men’s team receives, but most of it? No, it is unrealistic. There are too many other areas of the game that would unfairly suffer if we did that.

There are over 850,000 Canadians that are registered soccer players in the country. That is 300,000 more than play hockey. Yet, Canada still languishes outside the top 50 in the FIFA rankings. What is it going to take to raise the level of the sport in this country?
First of all what we need to do is recognize our strengths and weakness and then be realistic as to what our potential can and should be. To think in terms of Latin America or Europe is too far fetched. We are different and cannot realistically attain what they have. Our sporting culture is entirely different. What we clearly do not have here in Canada is a professional soccer infrastructure that exists in all other parts of the world, including Europe and Latin America. Having this kind of system is important because it fuels the motivation of the soccer industry itself, which in turn develops the correct attitudes for players to train, coaches to coach, and administrators to go about their business. Not having a legitimate professional infrastructure has been our biggest obstacle from being a regular World Cup participant on the men’s side.
Nevertheless, there have been some very positive developments in the last two years with the emergence of MLS in Toronto. What this has proven is that there is an insatiable appetite for the professional game here and, therefore, hopefully in the near future MLS franchises will be established in Vancouver and Montréal and maybe even in Ottawa. What this would all boil down to is an improved professional system that will eventually lead to the development of more professional Canadian players thereby increasing our national team’s player pool and enhancing our chances of competing effectively on the world stage. When this happens then we will be closer to maximizing what our potential is because the professional game will lead the country in terms of development and attitude. When you pay people good money to be players and coaches at this level it will undoubtedly enhance the image, standard and profile of soccer in Canada.

What can Toronto FC do to strengthen the professional infrastructure, in particular aiding in the development of Canada’s top talent?
What we lack in this country, and maybe Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment can be it, are visionaries, people that can grasp what we need to do to be able to impact and change the game. That is what is going to be tricky for Toronto FC. How are they going to be able to influence the system? They have already used their prestige, status and financial resources to positively influence the game here. They have to be aware that they will reap huge benefits down the road from developing Canadian players. Some of the players on the national squad right now — de Guzmán, Hume, De Rosario, Hutchinson — are from the Toronto area and are worth millions and millions of dollars. That conveyor belt of talent is not all of a sudden going to stop. If they can harness the up-and-coming young Canadian players then they have a great chance of impacting the game here in the long term. Also, being supportive of other Canadian MLS franchises can only make sense for them. Creating local rivalries between Canadian teams will benefit everyone involved in soccer.

You’re a coach in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) system with York University. What role does and can the CIS play in the development of that professional infrastructure?
It is a hidden gem and it is an opportunity if we can have that vision to be able to see what it can provide. We are like the United States in terms of sharing the same sporting model, and the model in the U.S. revolves around the collegiate system. The collegiate system itself in the U.S. is a development part of the United States Soccer Federation. The NCAA feeds directly into MLS, and for the past two years Toronto FC has drafted American players out of the NCAA system. This system provides credible competitive development for players and it is also an avenue for coaches to learn and develop. Keep in mind that Bob Gansler, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley all learned their trade coaching in the collegiate system. The same thing can happen in Canada if we have a positive approach. There are not many opportunities in Canada for coaches to develop. If we were to look at the potential of the university system throughout Canada, and with strong support and visibility in the media, support from the institutions themselves in terms of making coaching positions full time throughout the country, and then support from the CSA, we could then have a situation down the road where Canadian MLS teams draft Canadian university players and hire coaches from the Canadian university system.

Is the onus on the CSA to do whatever it can to persuade talented Canadians like Owen Hargreaves and Jonathan de Guzmán to play for Canada, or is it out of the CSA’s hands?
The onus is on the CSA to do whatever they can to persuade the players to play for Canada. Whether Owen Hargreaves was going to play for Canada or not I think the way the CSA handled it was poor. They made a mistake because he was not selected for the Under-17s and the CSA did not go that extra mile to be able to get him to play for the country. The Jonathan de Guzmán issue extends beyond Canada, because many players are doing that now, much like [Miroslav] Klose being from Poland and playing for Germany. And I think FIFA has sat on their hands on this one and opened a Pandora’s box. What are we talking about now? Are players going to be eventually transferred from one country to the next for money? For me it should be crystal clear: If the country where you were born, or have lived for 10-12 years, wants you to play for them then I don’t think you should have the right to go and play for another country. There has to be something where FIFA can step in. The people that say it’s okay for a player to go and play for another country do so much damage because it justifies and permits a player to turn around and say, ‘Hey it’s okay to go play for England or Holland because Canada is not a soccer country.’
Players like Owen and Jonathan had and have an unbelievable potential to leave a legacy of playing for their country. If they, after they are done playing, come back and live in Canada, there has to be some kind of negative feeling about that. There is no other way of saying this but let’s be honest, if your parents live in Canada, and your brother plays for Canada, you lived here for 12 years and still call Canada home then the decision to play for another country, in the Jonathan de Guzmán Holland situation, then it is absolutely self-serving and a slap in the face of Canada. For Bobby de Guzman to say he is not a part of the decision-making process is in my opinion disingenuous. The link between father and son is too strong for there not to be an influence. I have not had the good fortune to have children yet but when I do, and if they are good enough to play a national team sport, then Canada is who they should play for. Period. Without a doubt Hargreaves and de Guzmán would help Canada immensely. But we cannot talk about that now because Hargreaves is never going to play for Canada. Hopefully Jonathan changes his mind and he makes the decision before Holland turn their back on him. In either event the next Owen Hargreaves is going to come; the conveyor belt of talent is not all of sudden going to stop. It is going to continue, we just need to recognize it.

From all the experiences you have had over the last few decades in Canadian soccer, what one moment sticks out in your mind?
I would say qualifying for the World Cup for Canada and running around the field with the flag with Randy Samuel. The importance and the accomplishment of that knowing that we have not qualified 24 years later is truly remarkable and it will now last forever. Nevertheless, I really do hope this current group of Canadian players can end the drought as it would propel the game forward in this country like it never has before.

Can you still remember the starting eleven that played against France in the first game of the 1986 World Cup?
Paul Dolan at goalkeeper, Bob Lenarduzzi at right-back, Ian Bridge at centre-back, Randy Samuel at centre-back, Bruce Wilson at left-back, Paul James in the middle of the park with Randy Ragan, David Norman on the right, Mike Sweeny on the left, Carl Valentine Igor Vrablic up front. You never forget.