Kristina Kiss' Status

[Elaine]

hey guys-

how ironic that i have something to "share" on kiss' birthday, eh?

anywho ... as been speculated the past few months, what everyone probably already knows (or come to the conclusion of) is in fact true.

i 'officially' got word from kristina today that it's true, she will not be returning to team canada and that she will continue to play with fløya in norway.

the people involved already knows and understands the reasons and why kiss made this decision ... and unfortunately it's not really any of our business!

however, kristina wanted me to tell ya'll that she wishes the team all the best as she'll be their biggest fan in norway and that she's happy playing there. and she thanks you for all your support through the years.

personally, i'm kinda bummed that it's "official" that kiss is stepping away from the team, especially when i think she's an amazing player and person and i will truly miss her on the team!!! i don't think there's another player on team canada like her and when it comes to CK and FK, i will defintiely miss her beautiful services!!

but, as i told kristina every time i emailed her these past few months ... regardless if she is playing for team canada or not, i will forever be a kiss fan and will continue to support her in all her future endeavours no matter what.

if you have a message you would like to send to kristina ... whether it to be to show your support, thank her for her contributions to canadian womens soccer or just to wish her all the best ... you can either email it to me or post it over at Go Big Red!!. i'll be more than happy to collect all messages and forward it along to her.

thanks!

ttyl

elaine

[The Beaver]

Pure speculation, but I think Kiss is tired of the lame system Pellerud is employing. I think she may have been miffed, too, that she did not get some key playing time in the World Cup. She is one of the few players both willing and capable of playing the sophisticated brand of soccer we have all been calling for. She passes well, has good vision, is a solid play-maker etc etc/

I am sad to see her leave the team.

[Gian-Luca]

I had thought it was a club conflict issue? Although I suspect there may be more to it than that. It would be nice to know, as she is one of our best midfielders & so far we have struggled without her.

[Elaine]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I had thought it was a club conflict issue? Although I suspect there may be more to it than that. It would be nice to know, as she is one of our best midfielders & so far we have struggled without her.

she resigned with floya in last winter after the wwc...so she sorta "picked" them ... but yes, i think there's a lot more to this than meets the eyes, but i doubt we (the fans/public) will ever really know.

elaine

[The Ref]

quote:Originally posted by Elaine


she resigned with floya in last winter after the wwc...so she sorta "picked" them ... but yes, i think there's a lot more to this than meets the eyes, but i doubt we (the fans/public) will ever really know.

elaine

Unfortunately posting like this encourage further rumors and speculation. If the truth cannot be told because of a gag agreement, then a believable excuse should be made up so the matter is closed.

[The Ref]

quote:Originally posted by Elaine


she resigned with floya in last winter after the wwc...so she sorta "picked" them ... but yes, i think there's a lot more to this than meets the eyes, but i doubt we (the fans/public) will ever really know.

elaine

Unfortunately posting like this encourage further rumors and speculation. If the truth cannot be told because of a gag agreement, then a believable excuse should be made up so the matter is closed.

[eastcoaster]

I hate to say it..but it IS our business. Anytime an athlete decides to walk away from playing for their country, it is a big deal that deserves answers.

Luckily for Kiss, she is not a "name" player, so she can get away lightly. Do you think if Lang, Hooper, or Sinclair did this, that they would get away so easily?

For good or bad, we need know what is going on. The pinnacle of womens soccer is not semi-pro in Norway, but the Olympics and WWC, thus national team play. For her to walk away from a potential medal at Athens is a very very big deal. So I hope she has good reasons. I am sure she will regret the fact that she could have taken part in the Olympics, and did not, as she gets older. If this is about PT, I would advise her suck it up, and then quit the team after the olympics. She is not going to get rich playing semi-pro soccer in Norway, so in my mind club vs country, should not even really be a factor in this case. This is not mens soccer, or mens bball, where there are million dollar contracts on the line.

[red card]

I echo EastCoaster comments. It is our business why a player doesn't want to play for Canada? The same standards we apply to questioning why a men's player doesn't play for Canada need to be set here.

If you (Elaine) or Kristina want to keep it personal, then you're opening a wide open door to rampant speculation.

In this vein, from a soccer perspective, it is bonehead move by Kristina. If it was made due to personal reasons - unrelated to soccer, it should be said.

I'm glad you can pass along this type of info to us - since the Canadian media won't; but, what bothers me about these type of comments is whether you're posting as a friend; a soccer fan; or a quasi-journalist? Because, on the face of it, the "not your business" comment is pretty condescending.

[Elaine]

quote:Originally posted by red card

If you (Elaine) or Kristina want to keep it personal, then you're opening a wide open door to rampant speculation.

ok guys ... i'm just the messenger. i do not know the reasons why kristina stepped away from the team...she did not tell me anything that isn't already known. nor do i think it's my place to ask it from her.

i'm just passing along the message i was given, and in no ways am i trying to start speculation/rumors etc. heck, if i didn't post something about it, i'm sure no one would ever know ... sorta like how burtini's retirement was never made "public" through the usual lines.

perhaps in the future kristina's reasons will surface and come up as it's still pretty "fresh" right now and could be difficult to deal with. but until that happens, i respect her decision to keep things private. that is JMHO.

and no matter how much slack you can throw her way in regards to why she chose to step away from the team when there's so little turnaround b/t the WWC and olympics, or why she's playing overseas in norway or whatever you can possibly say ... bottom line is that kiss made the best decision for her. she's doing what she needs to do. and maybe b/c i'm such a big women's team fan and really don't have the broader "soccer perspective" as all of you guys here do... and that i've met kristina many times in the last few years and respect her so much as a person and player, that you can say i'm being naive and biased--that i'm not being objective in wanting to get the facts and demanding of the truth. but because of this, i'm willing to accept her decision and wish her all the best in the future w/o flamming and/or questioning her decision to do so. it's not to say i'm not going to miss her on the team and all that she brings to the table.

JMHO ...

elaine

[mattbin]

quote:Originally posted by red card

I'm glad you can pass along this type of info to us - since the Canadian media won't; but, what bothers me about these type of comments is whether you're posting as a friend; a soccer fan; or a quasi-journalist? Because, on the face of it, the "not your business" comment is pretty condescending.

Dudes, relax. Why is Elaine's info up for all this criticism? No one else is called to task like this on this board, and most people with "inside" sources are far less forthcoming about what those sources are than Elaine is.

Furthermore, no, you don't have a right to know why an athlete decides to retire from his or her country's team, any more than the public has the right to know why a coach doesn't select a particular athlete.

If someone retires because of a problem with the system or the organization or the people, then yes, it might be in the public's best interest to know the reason so that the system can be improved. But we don't have any more right to knowing why Kiss decided to leave the team than we have the right to know, say, why you chose your wife (or significant other if applic.).

And finally, Elaine didn't say that it wasn't "your" business, she said "unfortunately it's not really any of our business". I suspect that she was anticipating these demands for knowledge of the intimate details, in which case she is proved correct.

In short, Elaine, thanks for your info and perspective. It is valuable and appreciated.


Allez les Rouges,
M@