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France
Women's U-20
Coach Stephen Hart has asked three players from the recent men’s U-23 (Olympic) camp to stay on for the men’s national camp in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu, midfielder Derek Gaudet and goalkeeper Michal Misiewicz will all train with the big club for the first time following a successful camp under men’s U-23 head coach and national assistant coach Tony Fonseca.
With the new season underway, the Canadian Soccer Association already has four national programs training in this month of January. The men’s U-23 (Olympic), women’s U-20 and women’s U-17 teams have all been in action this week while the men’s national team meets up this weekend to begin its 15-day January camp.
The multiple camps are part of the Association’s renewed dedication to the youth programs. This year, Canada is scheduled to operate 10 national teams from the U-15 through national levels. Canada will also host two home games each for the men’s and women’s national programs in 2010.
Canada’s men’s national soccer team announced its roster today for the upcoming camp in USA and Jamaica. The camp runs 18 January through 1 February and includes the international friendly match against Jamaica on 31 January. Coach Stephen Hart has selected 17 players for this first camp of the 2010 season.
“We brought in many young players for a number of reasons,” said head coach Stephen Hart. “We want them to experience an international senior camp and become familiar with our methods. We also want to observe them in an international match.”
The US Soccer Federation, North American Soccer League (NASL), and United Soccer Leagues (USL) announced this afternoon the formation of a new North American Division 2 professional soccer league to begin play in April of 2010. The US Soccer Federation will oversee the league in 2010 while it develops a long-term solution for the future. The new league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Montréal Impact will both play in the NASL Conference.
Canada’s men’s national team finished the year with the official hiring of new head coach Stephen Hart, but it in fact returned to form with a promising run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup when Hart served as interim head coach throughout the 2009 season. After a disappointing FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign in 2008, the Canadian team finished first in its group and reached the quarter-final stage before falling 0:1 to Honduras on a penalty-kick goal.
Overall, Canada posted a record of four wins, one draw and three losses in 2009. It posted four-straight wins from 30 May through 7 July, including back-to-back victories against Jamaica and El Salvador at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada scored eight goals and allowed seven goals against.
Canada’s women’s national team began a new era in 2009 under newly-hired head coach Carolina Morace. The new coach made an immediate impact, helping Canada finish second at the Cyprus Women’s Cup in February. The team displayed an exciting new brand of football as it began a new cycle towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012.
Overall, Canada posted a record of two wins, one draw and four losses in 2009. Three of its four losses came against the world’s number-one ranked USA; its one other defeat was a 1:3 loss to England in the Cyprus Women’s Cup final. Canada scored six goals and allowed 11 goals against.
L’équipe nationale féminine du Canada a commencé un nouveau chapitre en 2009 avec l’embauche d’une nouvelle entraîneur-chef, dont Carolina Morace. Sa présence a eu un effet immédiat sur l’équipe qui a terminé deuxième à la Coupe Chypre féminine peu de temps après que Morace prenne la direction de l’effectif au mois de février dernier. L’équipe a aussitôt adopté un nouveau style de jeu de soccer en préparation pour la Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA 2011 en Allemagne ainsi que le Tournoi olympique de football féminin 2012 à Londres.
Canada’s fourth-place finish at the Francophone Games Soccer Tournament was the highlight of Canada’s 2009 youth teams’ season. It was Canada’s men’s U-20 team that finished fourth at the nine team tournament in October. The team held eventual champion Congo to a 2:2 draw in the semi-final stage, but was then relegated to the match for third place after losing 1-2 on kicks from the penalty mark.
Canadian goalkeeper Michal Misiewicz was the player of note in Canada’s last three games of the tournament. He posted a clean sheet in a 2:0 victory over Cameroon to help clinch first place in Canada’s three-team group. In the semi-final against Congo, he was again spectacular, especially on kicks from penalty mark when he made three successive saves against Congo.
The Impact de Montréal’s 2:0 victory in front of 55,571 fans at Stade Olympique was the highlight of the 2009 club season in Canada. The big win over Mexico’s Club Santos Laguna came on 26 February in the first leg of the quarter-final stage of the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League season.
The Impact more than tripled the previous attendance record for a CONCACAF Champions League match that evening in Montréal. The crowd and atmosphere made “an incredible statement” for soccer in Canada.
