With Stephen Hart resigning as the head coach of the Canadian Men's National Team nearly one month ago, all eyes have been on the vacancies created as the program looks to reestablish itself yet again after another failed World Cup Qualifying campaign. With assistant coach Tony Fonseca becoming the next Technical Director the critical position that remains to be filled is that of the head coach.
The first time Tony Waiters was approached with regards to Canada he looked over a map and said simply "It's mission impossible". Many who follow Canada's National team know the challenges of this country's position in CONCACAF that have limited its success for the last twenty-five years.
Looking at the next chapter in Canada's attempt to become a legitimate contender in CONCACAF begins with the next head coach. The Voyageurs supporters group has already had a thorough discussion on potential candidates and what might be required for this country to recapture the success from 1986.
In this RNO roundtable the discussion begins with the only journalist to have been on the ground covering every match Canada played in this campaign of qualifying, Gavin Day. He is followed by Kamal Hylton who has followed Canadian youth development extensively and along with Gavin covered Canada's attempt at qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. The last member is co-founder of RedNation Online, Ian Clarke, who hosts East Side Stand Up, which covers Toronto FC as well as the men's national team.
Four questions were asked with regards to the current state of the available coaching position for the senior men's national team, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments after.
What qualities do you think it is fundamental that Canada's next Head Coach must possess?
Gavin Day (GD): Given Canada's lack of depth and limitations on
the talent front, the new man in charge will have to be someone with
experience making the most out of what's given to him. Somewhere in the
region hopefully there's a CONCACAF-version of David Moyes who will be
able to take the current crop of players as well as those who are next
in line and have the squad know what to expect and how they should play
whenever they pull on a Canada kit. And someone who can either come up
with a system that suits Canadian attackers or can solve the riddle of
why Canadians can't score when they play for Canada would also be
welcome.
Steve Bottjer (SB): I think the Canadian National Team is at a crucial juncture and really needs to bring a Head Coach with a different level of experience compared to the previous head coaches the team has had. A large number of the players who represented Canada during the recent qualifying run will not be back for the next one. Therefore, it is imperative that Canada’s next Head Coach has shown both a proven ability to qualify teams for major tournaments and that he has been able to do so with younger players. Furthermore, I think it is vital that the next head coach comes with a curriculum vitae that will give the program a confidence boost and that will highlight that the powers that be are focused on taking things to the next level rather than treading water.
Kamal Hylton (KH): The main quality that the next Head Coach of
the Canadian Men’s National should possess beyond tactics or philosophy
is the ability to maximize talent and emphasize youth, the 8-1 loss in
Honduras closes the book on a cycle of players and is the beginning of a
youth movement with the likes of Samuel Piette, Lucas Cavallini, Doneil
Henry, Shaun Saiko, Russell Teibert, Bryce Alderson etc… needing to
play bigger roles. The next head coach will need to help these players
not just coast on potential, but give them as much exposure to the
riggers of CONCACAF and develop their mindset and confidence to go along
with their individual qualities. After that the focus can be put of
tactics and philosophy.
Ian Clarke (IC): Well I'm sure it's obvious, will be echoed here and already around the interweb, but without question the first qualifier needed in our next head coach is experience. Of course that is followed up with what kind
of experience, and that is where it gets a bit tricky.
If we start with where we are now and what the National Team just went
through, and see that Stephen Hart had never lead a Canadian Team, at
any level, to qualification in a major tournament that tells us something. But even before that we need to realize that the man he replaced, Dale Mitchell, had that bit of experience, taking the U20 side further than it had ever gone in a World Cup, yet he failed at the same stage as Hart with our senior side.
Looking at this question with qualifying for a World Cup being paramount, which it should be, certainly would narrow down the list. Experience coaching a senior side, experience coaching a National Team senior side and experience taking a National team, ideally in CONCACAF, to a World Cup, while sounding completely unrealistic these individuals do exist. I remember asking this same question after 2008 to Paul James and the short-list of people he named seemed completely out of reach, but his simple response to bringing them on board was, "Are you serious about qualifying or not?"
Former national team player Paul Peschisolido has been vocal in expressing his desire for the position. Do you think he is the right man to lead Canada given his experience as both a player and a manager?
GD: It's just too soon for Peschisolido
to be in charge. Holding the reins at Burton Albion is a far cry from
being in charge of a Canadian team that will have to take points in some
unique situations that are only present in CONCACAF.
I have nothing but
respect for Peschisolido for what he did as a player but ust because
you've played in places like Honduras and the atmosphere that goes with
that--he's also one of a number of players of previous generations that
also failed in those same environments so I doubt he'll have the secret
Canada needs to get rid of that sense of inferiority and play with some
swagger on the road.
SB: I admire Paul Peschisolido, believe he was a fantastic player and would love to see him involved with our national team program. That said, with Tony Fonseca moving into the Technical Director role, I’d actually prefer it if Peschisolido came on board as an assistant coach instead. At this point in time, I don’t see him as experienced enough for the top job, but I do think he has a lot to offer. With some time under his belt as an Assistant Coach under the right International Head Coach, I think he would be better placed to take over as National Team Head Coach at some point in the future.
KH: I’d say I’m glad he has expressed his interest in actually
wanting the job, as given the unique nature of both Canadian soccer and
the CONCACAF region I get the feeling many coaches around the globe are
either dismissing it entirely, shying away from it or unaware it even
exists (it wouldn’t be surprising). However I feel the team needs a
manager with some sort of international coaching experience, as he’d be
leading a squad mostly full of younger players getting their first few
senior caps and they need a figure they can look to and be confident he
knows what he’s doing. Being a former international player within
CONCACAF is an asset, however given where the Canadian program currently
sits they need someone with a little more coaching experience at least
until the new crop of players have a better understanding of
international soccer. I believe he’s definitely a candidate for the job
down the road, however at the present moment this might be too much too
soon.
IC: Given my answer to the first question, as much as I support him as a player and as a manager at his time at Burton Albion, I don't think his CV meets the requirements to lead Canada to the World Cup, or even the Hex. While his comments about bringing Junior Hoilett into the fold are tempting, it says nothing about what to expect in terms of his coaching ability, which at this point was tested at the level of League Two in England. In my opinion, now is not the time to test something out or give it a trial, Canada should be looking at proven track records that line up with what is needed in our country, but also our region.
Tony Fonseca was recently named Technical Director for the Canadian Soccer Association and the main argument for his hiring is his understanding of the Canadian and CONCACAF soccer landscapes. Do you think Canada's next head coach should be a Canadian or someone from another country?
GD: It doesn't bother me whether or not they're Canadian. What
matters is what they can do to get results. One just has to look at Sven
Goran Eriksson and the difficulties he had in Mexico to realize that
CONCACAF is completely different from European football. If a European
coach is brought in there would certainly be a period of adaptation and
getting used to how teams play in this region. If they go with the
foreign route, it has to be someone who knows the ins-and-outs of the
region so someone with a CONCACAF background would be the preferred
option. I'm not saying no European coaches. There are those like Bora
Milutinovic who have achieved some success with CONCACAF countries but
getting someone who knows the region is the priority so as to minimize
the period of time he'll have to become familiarized with the task.
SB: I’d love to be able to say that I think the next Head Coach should be a Canadian, but right now I think the best situation would be one in which a very experienced head coach from the outside would be able to come in and both lead the senior national team and act as a mentor for promising young Canadian coaches like Nick Dasovic and Sean Fleming. Essentially, I believe the organization needs someone with the experience and gravitas that Holger Osieck had. Obviously, there were issues during Osieck’s reign, but my hope would be that things would be different this time around and that we have both matured as a soccer nation in the last twelve years and that the right interview process would ensure the requisite communication skills are present in the selected candidate.
KH: I couldn’t care less what it says on their passport, they
could be from Mars as far as I’m concerned so long as they’re committed
to the job, are given fair warning what they’re getting involved in and
have the same vision as how the CSA want to play (unlike the
“philosophical differences” with respect to the Montreal Impact for
example).
IC: While knowing the Canadian landscape certainly is an advantage, with Fonseca in place in the position as Technical Director, I don't think it is necessarily now a requirement for the head coach. As eluded to earlier, and I'm sure there's little room left on the bandwagon, a CONCACAF-based coach would be ideal. However, I've seen some names mentioned from countries such as El Salvador or Mexico and I'm not convinced that is the route to go. To cut to the chase, to ensure Canada has the best chance at advancing to a World Cup, I think we should look south of the border and see who is available from the shortlist of former USMNT coaches.
Given that the qualification process for the 2018 World Cup is a number of years away. How important is that the CSA hires the next Canadian Men's National Team Head Coach in the relative short term?
GD: I think they can still wait a few
months. If they roll into 2013 still without a coach it's hardly the end
of the world. Reportedly, Canada will be getting a friendly at the end
of January but even then I think they don't have to rush just for that.
I'd say the latest they should wait is have someone on the job by the
beginning of March. In March, there is the possibility of lining up a
pair of friendlies so it would be the first chance a new coach would
have to get an extended camp in with hopefully a good-sized squad so as
to look at a number of players.
After that the new
coach would have until June to digest what he (or she--we do live in the
21st century!) has seen and the talent that is at their disposal so
that there's a better of an idea of which players will be brought back
into camp in June prior to July's Gold Cup.
SB: I don’t believe it is absolutely fundamental to have the next Head coach in place in the very near term. First and foremost, it is important that they get the hiring right. While many people are emphasizing the manner in which Canada was recently eliminated from the qualifying process for Brazil 2014, the fact of the matter is that team basically only missed “The Hex” by one point. Would a more experienced head coach have made a difference in the three kicks at the can – two matches against Honduras and away versus Panama - that the Canadians had to move on? I think it is possible that it could have.
That said, I don’t think that the CSA should wait too long for a couple of reasons. The 8-1 loss to Honduras is still fresh in everyone’s minds and I think the hiring of a new head coach would do a lot to mark a fresh start for program, as the Canadian Women’s National Team did when John Herdman took over following the disappointing World Cup results in Germany.
Also, it won’t long before the next Gold Cup is here and that is going to be an important tournament for Canada in terms of rebuilding confidence for both the players and Canadian national team supporters. Furthermore, if Canada do well in that tournament next summer, they could qualify for a proposed special edition of the Copa America in the United States that would be a wonderful opportunity for the Canadian players to get experience competing against some of the best national teams in the world.
KH: I’d say it’s important with respect to setting roots down for
the younger players to follow, as I both think and want many of these
current U20 players to be involved. I just can’t go along with the
thinking of some that are saying “just forget about 2018 and focus on
2022”, we should still be trying to achieve the ultimate goal of
qualifying for the World Cup but that can be done in a gradual
transition.
IC: Relative is the key word. I don't think it's crucial at this moment in time, but I think having someone close to the 2013 Gold Cup would be a wise move to ensure that coach has a major tournament to begin evaluating the player pool available to him. Canada has never been able to get many friendlies or competitive matches under their belts and I don't think we should wait until 2015 to have our next big competition to begin preparing for the 2018 World Cup. I think by then it will be too tight for the person in charge to set forth a vision and be able to execute it as there will be no room for error or correction if they get the direction wrong.
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