Tuesday’s crushing 8-1 defeat to Honduras has not only put an exclamatory end to Canada’s hope of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, it’s also an end of an era for many Canadian players.
Any time a team endures the most embarrassing and humiliating defeat in its history, it usually marks a point in which it will have to tear things apart and start over completely from scratch.
Regardless of the impressive aspects Canada displayed in getting to the point where it was still in contention for a spot in the “Hex” with one game to go, the national team now needs to be almost completely rebuilt as the Canadian Soccer Association sets its sights on qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Certainly, some of the players who played important roles in this just completed cycle – Will Johnson, Simeon Jackson, Tosaint Ricketts and Andre Hainault – will likely continue to be important players for the Canadian squad for years to come.
However, for many of the veterans who have been core members of the national team for years, the loss to Honduras has effectively ended their international careers.
Team captain and central defender Kevin McKenna had already announced that he would be retiring from international football at the end of the current World Cup campaign. As a player who has represented his country with distinction for over twelve years, it is genuinely sad that his final match had to come in what has to be the low point of his national team career.
Dwayne De Rosario was unable to play in Tuesday’s qualifier due to injury and it now remains to be seen how much of role Canada’s all-time leading scorer will play going forward. While it is certainly likely that the 34 year old will make more appearances for his country, it is also pretty much certain that De Rosario will never play in a World Cup.
At 31 years old, it is also likely that midfielder Julian de Guzman will not be in the mix when Canada kicks off its next World Cup qualifying campaign. Prior to Tuesday’s loss, playing for Canada had offered something of a respite for a player who recently suffered through several very tough years at club level. De Guzman had even been upbeat about his talented brother Jonathan joining him on the Canadian squad had the team qualified for The Hex. All of that seems moot now, as it is likely that the elder De Guzman’s international career is also approaching a close.
Like De Guzman, it would not be a major surprise if veteran midfielders Patrice Bernier (33) and Terry Dunfield (30) did not don a Canadian kit again. Both are passionate and admirable players, but it seems elementary that the focus for Canada going forward will be on having promising young midfielders such as Samuel Piette, Bryce Alderson and Keven Aleman playing as many minutes as possible.
At the fullback position, it is near certainty that the national team careers of Ante Jazic (36) and Mike Klukowski (32) are over. The former was one of Canada’s top performers during the qualifying run, but he will likely retire as a player at some point in the not too distant future. As for Klukowski, he has underperformed in recent matches and simply does not look like the same player that he used to be.
Out wide, the currently injured Josh Simpson has always come across as one of the most dedicated and passionate players in the national team player pool. At the same time, it is not even known if the 29-year old native of Victoria will ever be the same player again after breaking his leg in three places during the summer. While it is a certainty that everyone who follows the Canadian team will be praying that he makes a full recovery and comes back stronger than ever, Simpson is another player who might have seen his last chance at playing in World Cup go up in smoke with the loss in Honduras.
In many ways, the most interesting to story to follow will be that of Atiba Hutchinson. Will he stay with the national team and play a vital role as an elder statesman going forward? Or will he decide that it is time for him to hang up his international boots as well? The 29-year-old is currently Canada’s best player and it is not inconceivable that he could still be vital for Canada during the next World Cup cycle.
At the same time, Hutchinson has endured his share of injury issues over the last couple of years and he may just decide that he is no longer up to it physically and that he needs to concentrate on his club career with an eye to setting himself up financially with his next couple of professional contracts. Hutchinson’s mindset could be determined by the moves that he sees the CSA make next at the organizational and leadership levels.
With that in mind, the most important change for the national team will come at the head coaching position, as it seems certain that Stephen Hart will soon be out of a job. After the crushing defeat to Honduras, the personable Hart quickly expressed his belief that while he did his best, he also doubts that Canadian fans would ever be able to forgive him for the manner in which Canada’s World Cup dreams died under his watch.
In many ways, Tuesday’s loss only highlights how cruel the international game can be. Heading into the match everyone was talking about how well this edition of the national team had done compared to the previous iterations that had struggled badly during this next to last round of qualifying.
If Canada had been able to churn out a draw in Honduras, it would have been a monumental vindication of Hart’s approach, tactics and leadership. Prior to Tuesday, he had overcome the loss of key players due to injury, suspension and tenuous situations at the club level, and had his side poised to move on to the final round of World Cup qualifying for the first time in sixteen years. Instead, his resignation now seems to be a mere formality.
Only questions abound for Canada now. Everyone associated with the program is likely feeling shell shocked and is probably nowhere near close to being in a position to even ponder what comes next?
The only things that are certain at this point are that Canada is now basically rebuilding from scratch and that the next generation of Canadian players is going to have to be a whole lot better if Canada is ever to realize its ambition of taking its place at the most popular sporting event on the planet.
Steve Bottjer is a Toronto-based writer, podcaster and editor for RedNation Online, on online magazine covering all aspects of Canadian soccer. Follow RedNation Online on Twitter.