Carolina Morace named new women’s head coach

The Canadian Soccer Association announced today the hiring of Carolina Morace as head coach of the women’s national program. Mrs. Morace, who was unveiled today at a press conference in Toronto, assumes control immediately before the team’s two-week camp in California which begins this Sunday.



“We have embarked on a new era in women’s soccer in Canada,” says Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. “Coach Carolina Morace’s hiring underlies our determination to put forth one of the best programs in the world. Mrs. Morace has but one direction: to lead Canada to victory.”



Mrs. Morace inherits a Canadian team that came within an extra-time goal of knocking off the number-one ranked USA at the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. The team has participated in each of the last four FIFA Women’s World Cups, finishing ninth in 2007 and fourth in 2003. She will also head the program’s U-20 team, a team that recently won gold at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship over USA.



“My objective is to lead Canada to an Olympic or FIFA Women’s World Cup medal and to ensure that Canada plays at the highest level of international football,” says coach Morace. “We must all work together to achieve this one common goal. Everyone must do their part in this so that our goal will become a reality.”



Mrs. Morace is the former head coach of Italy’s national and youth teams, a post she held from 2000 to 2005. During her tenure, she led Italy’s top team to a fifth and eighth place finish at the European Championships (2001 and 2005).



Mrs. Morace was also a fantastic player, scoring 105 times for the national team in 153 international games. She took part in six European Championships as well as the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup China 1991.



Most recently, Ms. Morace was named a world ambassador for women’s football by FIFA president Joseph Blatter. She puts on countless clinics around the world and has been teaching football at the University of Motor Science in Rome since 2007.



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, has an all-time record of 89 wins, 30 draws and 103 losses since 1986. It has a record of 33 wins, eight draws and 20 losses in FIFA and CONCACAF competitions, including top-10 finishes at each of the last three FIFA senior women’s events.