John Herdman inherited a 94th-ranked men’s team in the world when he took over from Octavio Zambrano, fired in January 2018.
And the scale of the challenge he was facing became clear during his first camp with the men, in March 2018 in Murcia, Spain, when there were two fights in training.
“I was blown away,” Herdman recalls. “And people were like ‘Oh, this is men’s football’. And I objected to that. I told the guys it was not men’s football. You can fight your opponent but you can’t. you don’t fight internally. I’ll never see that again. “
Herdman says he’s inherited a dysfunctional clique team.
“I said if you’re not ready to change that, this team is not going anywhere,” he said. “And over time you’ve seen a change. Leaders, for me, brought the culture together. Now we can have tough times, where people are competing and pushing each other without it happening. ends with complete separation in the environment.
“And I think over time the leadership group understood the importance of a common goal. They understood the importance of their own humility in the environment and they understood the importance of connecting each man and to make every man feel part of it, whatever their race, religion or age. “
Talk to any member of the team these days and they talk about a brotherhood. And they show it on the ground. Face off against a Canadian and there’s a good chance 10 more will come your way.
“You can have as many great players as you want, but if you don’t have that chemistry, that feeling of family, it’s hard to perform on the pitch, Ǫ When you go out onto the pitch, you know that the guy next to us has his back and we have his, ”said center-back Derek Cornelius.
The next test of that obligation comes on Friday when Canada, 48th overall (2-0-4, 10 points), marks the midpoint of CONCACAF’s final World Cup qualifying round with a game against No. 45 Costa Rica (1-2-3, six points) at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. As of Thursday afternoon, Canada Soccer said 46,000 tickets had been sold.
Canada currently sits third in the eight-team standings while Costa Rica is fifth. After Costa Rica, the Canadians will host Mexico (which leads the standings at 4-0-2, 14 points) on Tuesday, also at Commonwealth Stadium.
Canada have yet to face Costa Rica in the Octagonal, but tied Mexico 1-1 at Azteca Stadium last month.
Despite the absence of some big names, Canada comfortably beat Costa Rica 2-0 in their last meeting, in the Gold Cup quarter-final in July in Arlington, Texas.
The Canadians are 5-8-9 against Costa Rica since 1985, including 1-3-2 in World Cup qualifying games.
In March, the top three countries in the rankings will qualify for Qatar 2022, representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The fourth-place team will take part in an intercontinental playoff to see who will join them.
Friday could be a milestone night for 38-year-old captain Atiba Hutchinson, who is one appearance to match Julian de Guzman’s 89 Canadian caps. Christine Sinclair holds the Canadian women’s record of 306 caps.
It will also be an unforgettable evening for Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, who will play his first game as a professional in his hometown.
“He’s got to play the game and not this big opportunity,” Herdman said. “He’s going to have 50,000 behind him if he starts showing his quality.”
Forward Cyle Larin, who was sidelined on Wednesday with an upset stomach, was back in training on Thursday.
Herdman, a renowned motivator known for his attention to detail, is no stranger to repairing programs.
The Canadian women’s team was shattered when Herdman took over following a final place at the 2011 World Cup. Herdman put the squad back together, reminding them why they played football and who they played football for. did.
The women rebounded from a semi-final loss to the mighty United States at the 2012 Olympics and beat France in stoppage time to win bronze. They won bronze again with Herdman at the Rio 2016 Olympics. They are now Olympic champions.
Ironically, Herdman finished second behind Caroline Morace when Canada Soccer sought a successor to Even Pellerud as a women’s coach in 2008.
But announcing that he had not gotten the job, Secretary General Peter Montopoli told him to keep in touch.
“And he did, during that three-year period,” Herdman said. “And then I got the next call in 2011 from Peter which was’ We want you for work. And we haven’t really looked back since.
On Wednesday, Montopoli announced that he is leaving Canada Soccer at the end of the month to oversee the Canadian end of the 2026 World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States and Mexico.
Herdman said Montopoli gave him “the latitude” to run his program, as well as “the belief that you have this.”
“When he works with good people he knows how to make the most of his talent. And he always gave us that space to make our decisions and ultimately when we needed him he was there.
“It’s going to be tough to see him go, but at the same time he has an incredible opportunity to bring probably the biggest event in our sporting history to this country.”
Herdman credits Jonathan Osorio, Milan Borjan, Maxime Crepeau, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Samuel Piette, Doneil Henry, Richie Laryea and Junior Hoilett with the leadership that has helped change the outlook on Canadian men. He did not include Hutchinson, saying he hadn’t been in enough camps to be “one of those key influencers.”
“And my work has helped them understand that higher levels of leadership are needed.”
The work continues, with Herdman working with the team leaders to identify obstacles in the way “then take ownership within the team to bring some of the attention to the things that might trip us up or that may. be used to improve performance “.
Herdman has already made his mark.
The Canadians ended a 34-year winless streak against the Americans with a 2-0 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League in October 2019. And this is the first time Canada has reached the final qualifying round. for the World Cup in the region from the head. -up France 98.
Osorio’s goal in the 1-1 draw in Mexico City last month was Canada’s first against Mexico in Azteca in 41 years.
The Canadian men are 11-4-2 this year with eight clean sheets and a record 52 goals scored. Canada also set a record with eight straight wins.
“So I think we tested the environment under pressure,” Herdman said. “We’ve made it more resistant to outside forces that can impact inside. And we’ve made the team spirit, as the players call it, brotherhood – we’ve made it strong enough to that every man believes he can do their best. “
Herdman says players need to understand that they are fighting for a bigger cause. And that they have to do it together.
“When you have confidence and people have a clear idea of what to do in the field, then the chemistry is formed,” he said. “This is where people are ready to hide other people’s weaknesses and highlight each other’s strengths. They are ready to do things to make you look good.
“Then you see those kinds of cohesive partnerships start to form, the Johnny (David) and Alphonso (Davies) partnership, the Steven Vitoria-Alistair Johnston-Kamal Miller partnership. And then you throw Doneil Henry right in there and nothing. really It gels again.
“This piece of chemistry, it can only be formed when confidence is strong and when people are clear about the roles and responsibilities of the collective. It is a formula that I have used with the women’s team and it is is a formula I use here. “
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