After sitting through the 1-1 draw at BMO Field and the subsequent press conferences with coach Dale Mitchell and his Jamaican counterpart Rene Simoes, I realized what Canada needs to do in its five remaining qualifiers:
Lighten up.
Expectations are important; but not to the point where they become claustrophobic.
Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup is serious business, I understand that, but it is crucial that the entire Canadian men's national team remembers to exhale every once in a while.
Take for example the aforementioned press conferences. First up was Simoes, who was accompanied by Jamaican captain Ricardo Gardner. The 1-1 result on Wednesday night means that both teams took exactly the same thing away from the game, which is one point and two weeks to prepare for the next match. While the assembled media tried to get Simoes to say he was disappointed, the quirky Brazilian would have none of it.
Instead, he alluded to the duality of luck and the lesson one might learn from being run over by a bus is that even bad luck is still luck. I desperately wanted to ask Simoes about the inspirational letter he wrote to the Kingston Chronicle on the eve of facing Canada, but the three question protocol is to be honoured at all times. Can you imagine? An inspirational letter to fans!?
Now exit Simoes and Gardner and enter Canadian coach Mitchell, by himself. Mitchell is light years from the Type B personality seen in Simoes, but on Wednesday his expression was that of a man ready to face the firing squad.
To his credit, the coach tried to put on a brave face in saying the right things, but his monotonous delivery and distant gaze gave him away. It was difficult to watch, and I am sure many in attendance wondered what might have been if Simoes had landed the Canadian job a year ago.
I have written before that no matter what the sport, players will always be a reflection of their coach. On this night I had enough evidence to convict.
Pat Onstad, who cost Canada the extra two-points, was painfully apologetic. Standout midfielders Dwayne de Rosario and Julian De Guzman were a shell of their usual selves, choosing to talk about disappointment without ever accepting that the Canadian team on the field Wednesday night played with a creative flair that was ultimately quashed by a get-our-point-and-get-out-of-here approach from the opposition.
The return of World Cup qualifying to Toronto was a massive success at the turnstiles and an overall great night for the much-maligned game of soccer in this country - plus there are still two games to be played. Amnesia is the national team's only option right now; Mitchell must remember to instill this on his team.
