George
07-15-2003, 05:39 PM
...galling Gold Cup loss
NEIL DAVIDSON
WALTHAM, Mass. (CP) — The Canadian soccer team returned to training Tuesday, knowing their fate at the Gold Cup rested in others' hands and that they only had themselves to blame.
It was a dour practice session preceded by a 30-minute meeting between the players and coach Holger Osieck. The one reporter and camera crew travelling with the team were told to stay at a distance for the post-mortem of the dire 2-0 loss to Cuba.
``We had to address internally some things that were not OK,'' Osieck said later. ``Hopefully that cleared the air.''
Most of the players went for a run after the meeting, held in a circle with Osieck in the middle under the shade of a huge tree. Afterwards Osieck sat on a cooler, his chin in his hand, looking tired and drawn.
But he said he was not about to step down.
``It was a game,'' he said, speaking in a low voice. ``Things didn't go too well. We know what didn't go in the right direction and we have to keep working on that to improve.
``I don't see a reason why just one game should put everything in question,'' he added.
All in all, it was a far cry from the jovial practice Sunday, following the 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
The Canadian men(1-1-0) have finished their first-round schedule and must now await the outcome of Wednesday night's match between Costa Rica (0-1-0) and Cuba (1-0-0) to see if they continue to the quarter-finals or go home.
It doesn't look good for the Canadians, currently ranked 78th in the world.
With goal differential the first tiebreaker, Canada needs Cuba to win or tie or else hope the Costa Ricans win by at least three goals. The Central Americans, ranked 18th in the world, should be able to handle the No. 63 Cubans, especially since they have not played since losing to Canada on Saturday.
While anything is possible at the CONCACAF championship — Canada won the 2000 title after winning a coin toss to survive the first round and finished third in 2003 after surviving a three-team lottery to reach the quarter-finals — Osieck and captain Jason deVos have both acknowledged the Cuba loss essentially buried Canada's chances of advancing. And on Tuesday, the players looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but at practice.
The mood of the camp was captured by the fact that Canada's photographer was told by Osieck that he didn't want the traditional team picture.
The day started on the wrong foot when the team's bus driver headed to the wrong highway onramp and had to pull a U-turn in traffic.
Canada started like zombies against Cuba, went down 1-0 after 15 minutes and then gifted the Cubans a second goal on a giveaway just seconds into the second half on a giveaway.
Osieck was so steamed during the Cuba match that he kicked a water bucket on the sidelines, drenching assistant coach Colin Miller.
There were other casualties. Paul Stalteri was icing a bruised toe in a bucket of ice at practice Tuesday when an errant shot slammed into the container.
Nick Dasovic and Jason Bent nursed blisters while Kevin McKenna also skipped the run because of a twisted ankle.
The Cuba loss exposed Canada's woeful finishing as the Canadians failed to convert any of their 10 shots on target. It marked the 17th time Canada had been shut out in Osieck's 46-game tenure.
Osieck cannot score goals himself, however, and he has limited options in the absence of injured first-choice strikers Tomasz Radzinski and Dwayne De Rosario.
At this tournament, he has used Kevin McKenna and Paul Stalteri, players who have defensive responsibilities at their clubs in Europe, in front and it has showed.
Some of the Canadian players have also shown a petulant side on the field, with Stalteri in particular constantly complaining.
The Canadian braintrust sat slumped in the hotel bar after the loss Tuesday night, hardly speaking as they nursed beers.
A Canadian team official said the Canadians would watch Wednesday's game from the stands at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
"A pretty move, for the love of God."
Eduardo Galeano
NEIL DAVIDSON
WALTHAM, Mass. (CP) — The Canadian soccer team returned to training Tuesday, knowing their fate at the Gold Cup rested in others' hands and that they only had themselves to blame.
It was a dour practice session preceded by a 30-minute meeting between the players and coach Holger Osieck. The one reporter and camera crew travelling with the team were told to stay at a distance for the post-mortem of the dire 2-0 loss to Cuba.
``We had to address internally some things that were not OK,'' Osieck said later. ``Hopefully that cleared the air.''
Most of the players went for a run after the meeting, held in a circle with Osieck in the middle under the shade of a huge tree. Afterwards Osieck sat on a cooler, his chin in his hand, looking tired and drawn.
But he said he was not about to step down.
``It was a game,'' he said, speaking in a low voice. ``Things didn't go too well. We know what didn't go in the right direction and we have to keep working on that to improve.
``I don't see a reason why just one game should put everything in question,'' he added.
All in all, it was a far cry from the jovial practice Sunday, following the 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
The Canadian men(1-1-0) have finished their first-round schedule and must now await the outcome of Wednesday night's match between Costa Rica (0-1-0) and Cuba (1-0-0) to see if they continue to the quarter-finals or go home.
It doesn't look good for the Canadians, currently ranked 78th in the world.
With goal differential the first tiebreaker, Canada needs Cuba to win or tie or else hope the Costa Ricans win by at least three goals. The Central Americans, ranked 18th in the world, should be able to handle the No. 63 Cubans, especially since they have not played since losing to Canada on Saturday.
While anything is possible at the CONCACAF championship — Canada won the 2000 title after winning a coin toss to survive the first round and finished third in 2003 after surviving a three-team lottery to reach the quarter-finals — Osieck and captain Jason deVos have both acknowledged the Cuba loss essentially buried Canada's chances of advancing. And on Tuesday, the players looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but at practice.
The mood of the camp was captured by the fact that Canada's photographer was told by Osieck that he didn't want the traditional team picture.
The day started on the wrong foot when the team's bus driver headed to the wrong highway onramp and had to pull a U-turn in traffic.
Canada started like zombies against Cuba, went down 1-0 after 15 minutes and then gifted the Cubans a second goal on a giveaway just seconds into the second half on a giveaway.
Osieck was so steamed during the Cuba match that he kicked a water bucket on the sidelines, drenching assistant coach Colin Miller.
There were other casualties. Paul Stalteri was icing a bruised toe in a bucket of ice at practice Tuesday when an errant shot slammed into the container.
Nick Dasovic and Jason Bent nursed blisters while Kevin McKenna also skipped the run because of a twisted ankle.
The Cuba loss exposed Canada's woeful finishing as the Canadians failed to convert any of their 10 shots on target. It marked the 17th time Canada had been shut out in Osieck's 46-game tenure.
Osieck cannot score goals himself, however, and he has limited options in the absence of injured first-choice strikers Tomasz Radzinski and Dwayne De Rosario.
At this tournament, he has used Kevin McKenna and Paul Stalteri, players who have defensive responsibilities at their clubs in Europe, in front and it has showed.
Some of the Canadian players have also shown a petulant side on the field, with Stalteri in particular constantly complaining.
The Canadian braintrust sat slumped in the hotel bar after the loss Tuesday night, hardly speaking as they nursed beers.
A Canadian team official said the Canadians would watch Wednesday's game from the stands at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
"A pretty move, for the love of God."
Eduardo Galeano