The long awaited new season of the Canadian Premier League is finally here after it was announced that the competition will be kicking off on April 27 in Hamilton and the fans are so excited at the news.
Alphonso Davies, the teenage midfielder, has now become the youngest man to win the award of Soccer Player of this Year in men’s category in Canada. Davies was chosen as the winner through voting by the coaches & media of Canada.
Atiba Hutchinson, the midfielder of Besiktas, who was winning the award for the last 4 years emerged as the runner-up and he was followed by the midfielder of Toronto FC, Jonathan Osorio who was 3rd, goalkeeper of Red Star Belgrade, Milan Burhan – 4th, and midfielder of Glasgow Rangers, Scott Arfield finished 5th. (more…)
A change of the guard is taking place with the men soccer team of Canada with Scott Arfield who would take over as a captain permanently from Atiba Hutchinson. Arfield would lead the Canadians who are ranked 17th against No 177 Dominica at BMO Field. Arfield had left practicing early Sunday and won around 13 caps for Canada after he made his first appearance in 2016. The 35 year old Atiba Hutchinson is undoubtedly the best soccer player and is a key figure in Canada’s camp. Hutchinson has seen a lot be in 78 caps, Europa League and or Champions play under his belt. However, when it comes to his career he is into the twilight and may consider international game post 2019 Gold Cup.
In the recent record-setting transfer deal, Alphonso Davies was the target in a Nike ad. He plays the biggest role to help Canada make it to the FIFA World Cup 2022. Nike recently released an ad and the narration was done by Colin Kaepernick, the activist and football player. The prime focus here was on the determination. Kaepernick said in the ad that if you are born as a refugee, it should not come in the way of playing soccer nationally at the age of 16. This was in reference to the young player Davies.
Bev Priestman decides to leave Canada Soccer as she is all set to join the English women’s team as an assistant coach. He played a significant role to help from soccer talent of young women in Canada. As per Football Association of England, Priestman who is a native of England has been working with John Herdman, the Canadian men’s coach with head coach Phil Neville. The multiple roles of Priestman in Canada Soccer also include being the director of the EXCEL development program for people from 15 to 23 of age groups., the head coach under-20 women’s team and assistant coach for senior women.
Canada soccer official Peter Montopoli has just one more visit to make as he promotes the joint North America World Cup bid. Montopoli is headed to Gibraltar to continue garnering support for the combined Canadian, Mexican and US joint bid for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
Florent Malouda says Didier Drogba was just a lippy unknown when he first shared a dressing room with him. Drogba, despite a recent loan spell, has become one of the most feared strikers in the world. But winger Malouda reveals that, when they first met in French football, he upset their team-mates with his bossy attitude.
Former coach of the Canadian women program John Herdman is set to take over the men’s program. He was named the replacement following the sack of Octavio Zambrano last March. His formal title is national team head coach and men’s excel director.
The shock announcement came on Monday, with the Canadian Soccer Association chief Steve Reed claiming it was “an organizational decision.” Fans reacted as expected, wishing Herdman well but expressing their shock and disappointment in such a move.
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Canada soccer team will be playing a friendly game against El Salvador that will be hosted in Houston later this month. The Canadian Soccer Federation has stated that a part of the proceeds of the match will be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
At the same time, this will allow the Canada team to get some practice and evaluate themselves. Canada has won their last competitive game 2-0 against Jamaica and will want to test themselves against another quarter-finalist of the last Gold Cup.