The translation of head coach Carolina Morace's instructions notwithstanding, there's definitely a different vibe around the Canadian women's national team these days.
Morace's English is better than she lets on by the way.
Nevertheless, staff member Joe Parolini's booming baritone can be heard around the training ground as he passes along the head coach's words of wisdom, switching from Italian to English effortlessly. Parolini would have a few wise words of his own as well, having been on the scene forever. He was part of the set up for the 1986 World Cup team which heads into the Hall of Fame this year as the team of distinction. He's part of the set up here for his linguistic talents.
But back to the coach and her squad.
Much has been made of her desire to have the team play with the ball on the ground instead of watching it in the air. While she is wasting no time in making that happen, she readily agrees that different situations call for a switch in tactics. But you can see the difference on the training pitch. The methods are much more technical, and the players love it. As Christine Sinclair goes for her 100th goal for her country Monday night against the United States, she'll have the freedom to run at people with the ball instead of automatically shooting or passing. She can't wait. Her eyes get big at the thought of it.
Morace herself seems just as excited about her task, which is monumental by the way. While countries like Australia have a women's league sponsored by the federal government, we struggle to find the money just to put together a camp or a match. The Aussies basically have a fully funded country wide training program at its disposal in the form of a league. But Morace seems to be in this for the long haul. She says she will leave no stone unturned in her quest to find players. In her words, "I'll even look where the polar bears live if I have to."
She might want to get out of Toronto for other reasons, as well. She has melted so easily into the large Italian community in the city, she half jokingly says she'll never learn English unless she spends some time in other parts of the country. She'll like Toronto even more, however, if the support comes out in force Monday night to cheer the Canucks on in her home debut.
