PHILADELPHIA – Canadian soccer, outside of a brief, glorious run in 1986, is suffused with disappointment, especially on the men's side. That all could change in this coming summer’s Gold Cup.
On Thursday morning, Canada was drawn into a group with Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Jamaica – all teams that have enjoyed greater recent success in soccer than Canada, but all teams that will face unique challenges in this year’s competition.
But head coach Benito Floro is careful to temper expectations from a fan base eager to see its men’s team start achieving the kind of success its women’s team experiences. Even more difficult, many of the Canadian men’s team’s players aren’t playing for a club currently – which can make training difficult.
"It’s difficult, because half our players are in MLS, another half are in Europe, and there are some that aren’t with a club," said Floro at the draw. "So, when it comes to the physical questions, that’s difficult. That’s not in our control. So, what we are going to do is basically construct the training so that everyone winds up in the same place, regardless of where or if they’re playing regularly."
Canada begin their Gold Cup playing El Salvador at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles on July 8, before facing off against Jamaica in Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium on July 11. They wrap up against World Cup quarterfinalist Costa Rica in Toronto’s BMO Field on July 14.
That third game could potentially be a legendary, program-making day for the Reds. Floro spoke at length about both the opportunities and pitfalls presented by that game.
“That game could be a special occasion, but in my experience, the downside is that there’s a lot of pressure on the players,” said Floro. "It all depends on how we stand when we get to that game. If we’re playing that game having won some points ahead of time, from the two previous games, then it’s got the potential to be an extraordinary day, a fantastic celebration. In the end, it’s all down to how we play in those games.”
Working in Canada’s favor is the fact that two of their opponents – Jamaica and Costa Rica – have hurdles of their own to overcome. Jamaica will have just finished competing in South America’s Copa America, and unlike Canada, will have to engage in extensive squad rotation in order to have a fresh squad for the Gold Cup.
Costa Rica, meanwhile, is undergoing a transition in management. The mastermind of their astonishing World Cup success, Jorge Pinto, left the Ticos under some acrimony. His replacement, Costa Rican legend Paulo Wanchope, is untested as a national team coach.
“This is a hard group; it’s not going to be easy for us,” said the dapper, gentle coach from Asturias, Spain. “All these teams, they all have a little more experience than we do. But what we have is hope and desire. We’d like to be doing well enough at that stage of the tournament so that that game, that day, can be a great day for us and for Canada.”
