December 4th Edition

Thus begins a monumental and historic week in Canadian Soccer. 

On Tuesday, for the 331st time (and last time ever), we get to watch the greatest to ever do it, Christine Sinclair, pull on a Canada shirt and represent the country internationally.

The baller with the most goals for their country of all time, an Olympic Gold Medallist, and 14 time Canadian Player of the Year, there will never be another Sincy.

More on Sinclair’s final match and the biggest stories from this week in Canadian footy, ahead in The Northern Pitch.

Ahead of her final international match, which will be shown across the country on TSN and OneSoccer, there has been a day (December 12 - Christine Sinclair Day) and a stadium (BC Place has been renamed Christine Sinclair Place for Tuesday’s match) named after her.

It is probably equal parts significantly more attention than Christine Sinclair would like, and also significantly less love than she deserves.

First off, if you are remotely close to Vancouver and have a chance to get out to this game, don’t miss it. Sinclair deserves a sellout on Tuesday, with a solid crowd of 41,000+ already expected. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don’t sleep.

It is the final chance to see one of the greatest athletes—and certainly the greatest baller—in our country’s history lace ‘em up for Canada. And not just her, but Sophie Schmidt and Erin McLeod too who were a key part of fostering the golden generation.

Sinclair is build different though. The first baller to make Canada truly believe we could be world class at the sport, putting us all on notice when she put the entire country on her back and picked up that hat trick against the Americans in the 2012 Olympic semis.

The legacy is just wild. Three Olympic medals, including Gold in Tokyo. A Concacaf champ in 2010, Pan Am Gold in 2011, Canada’s athlete of the year in 2012. A stunning 330 games for her country, with that world-record 190 goals. And maybe, just maybe, a few more on Tuesday.

It’s not going to be easy, because Australia are not only world class opposition but are going to be keen to spoil the party after getting bodied in the first game of the series (more on that later). But it has to happen, it just does.

Hopefully they can win this one for Christine, the way she has won so many for Canada over the years.

One of the biggest questions over the next few years will be what life will look like after Sinclair for the Canadian women’s national team. Well, in the first game of her farewell series her soon to be former teammates gave an emphatic answer on Friday.

Canada got at least a small measure of revenge, even if that’s not the way they are framing it when asked, for their World Cup 4-0 humbling from Australia this summer with a thrashing of their own: a 5-0 W at Starlight Stadium.

It was as dominant a performance as we have seen from CanWNT in a long time, using the narrow pitch in Langford to put incredible amounts of pressure on Australia, who never quite seemed to figure out how to play through it.

Playing in the centre of attack, Nichelle Prince put in a first-half masterclass, scoring the opener just ten minutes in and then added a second right before half-time, both on brilliantly composed finishes. Cloé Lacasse then added pretty much a carbon copy of Prince’s opener on the other side of the half.

Let’s talk about Simi Awujo for a second. An absolute star in the making. Not even playing her natural position at just 20 years old in this new Canada setup but still absolutely dominating as a number six. She scored her first Canada goal on Friday, a reward for an outstanding performance on both sides of the ball.

Sydney Collins has been another game changer for the program and is basically a locked in starter at this point at left wingback. With Ashley Lawrence balling out on the right, and a back three of Jade Rose-Vanessa Gilles and Kadeisha Buchanan, this team seems to have found a new identity.

With 19 shots attempts, and only two allowed against, it arguably could have been an even more lopsided result. Incredible scenes at Starlight, made even more special as Christine Sinclair herself checked into the match for her penultimate international match in the 64th minute to an incredible ovation.

By then, Canada had already added a fifth courtesy of Adriana Leon and were absolutely cruising to victory. But any final moments with Sinclair on a soccer pitch are to be savoured.

As the queen departs, it appears her realm is in good shape. 

🇨🇦 An incredible moment from Friday’s win over Australia, the debut of 22-year-old Latifah Abdu, who came on alongside Christine Sinclair. Pretty cool way to get your first international action. Abdu was actually a late add to the camp due to an injury to Evelyne Viens while playing for Roma, but has been balling out with Dijon in France and could be one for the future. Regardless, a moment she will never forget.

🇲🇽 York United has new owners. Game Plan Sports Group has acquired the club from the interim owner Canada Soccer Business. GPSG is a major ownership group led by brothers Eduardo, Ricardo and Miguel Pasquel. Eduardo will serve as CEO of York United, Ricardo will be president and GM of the club, and Miguel will be Chief Commercial Officer and Head of New Strategy Alliances. The Pasquel family has long-term experience in Mexico's sports industry. Their father, Miguel Pasquel Sr., once served as General Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of the Mexican Football Federation. The Pasquel family also owned Liga MX side Club Necaxa. Safe to say, York United is in good hands.

👋 CF Montreal clean house with seven first-team players out the door. On a nice Friday morning, Montrealers woke up to a big “Merci” post on their Instagram feed. CF Montreal has said goodbye to seven players: James Pantemis, Zachary Brault-Guillard, Ahmed Hamdi, Sean Rea, Jean-Aniel Assi, Jojea Kwizera and Romell Quioto, who have received their goodbyes. While Sunusi Ibrahim was given a contract extension. The main reason for their departures is financial. The books need to be balanced. Quioto was the biggest name to depart, which is not entirely surprising. With his contract ending in 2023, CFM saw this as the best time to offload the 32-year-old. The question that most people have is, who will replace that void? The club will invest in Sunusi Ibrahim, who has not been consistent. Despite only being 21 years old, he does not instil confidence among fans. The biggest surprise is the departures of local talent, notably Sean Rea and Jean-Aniel Assi. The CPL young player of the year was never allowed to prove himself under Losada. The latter impressed during his loan at Atlético Ottawa but never panned out in MTL. Will Montreal bring in new talents? We suspect they will bring a moneyball signing that will likely be a dud. One thing is for sure: Montreal struggled to score, and they have not addressed that issue.

🍁 Four Canadians in the MLS Final. The MLS Cup Final is set, and LAFC will face Columbus Crew on December 9th. Mohammed Farsi, Jacen Russell-Rowe, head coach Wilfried Nancy and Columbus Crew defeated FC Cincinnati 3-2. Meanwhile, Maxime Crépeau and LAFC dismissed Houston with a 2-0 win. Please note Wilfried Nancy is indeed French. However, he has lived in Montreal since 2005. As far we’re concerned, the man is a true Montrealer. Will LAFC retain their title and make Maxime Crépeau back-to-back champs? Or will Wilfried Nancy prove to CF Montreal that his vision was winning? We will find out soon enough. One thing is for sure: it will be a good game.

😕 Ayo Akinola is out of a contract. San Jose Earthquakes declined the option to acquire Akinola on a permanent move. The future is unclear for the TFC graduate. Would he return to Toronto and play under John Herdman? Does the new TFC coach have plans for Akinola? Or would he find football action in a second-division European league?

🤝 Canada Soccer Business acquired League1 BC. L1 BC becomes the second Division III Pro-Am men’s and women’s league acquired by the CSB after League1 Ontario. CSB will oversee the daily management of the league. Moreover, the goal of the acquisition is to develop stars in Canada by using League1 BC as a stepping stone from the youth ranks into professional football.

😬 Vanni Sartini will be suspended for six games. MLS has suspended the coach for six regular season games after he joked about a referee dying. The comments came after LAFC eliminated the Whitecaps in the MLS playoffs. Sartini joked about referee Tim Ford: “If they found him in False Creek, then I’m going to be a suspect.” Later, specifying: “I’m not saying I would do it, I’m saying I’m the first suspect. It’s different.” This joke didn't go over well with the heads of MLS, suspending the manager for six games.

👏 Alberta gets Women’s National Development Centre. This is great news for women’s football in the prairies. Alberta NDC will join existing programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Alberta Soccer Association will govern the program. The NDC will serve U15 to U18 players with the aim of simplifying the path for young Albertans to the national team. The program will also aim to recruit, develop and train female coaches. They will also provide “meaningful” games for players. Moreover, the NDC will provide support in the areas of female mentorship and leadership.

✍️ HFX Wanderers extend contract for coach Patrice Gheisar. The Haligonian club extended Gheisar’s contract until 2025. The current manager has been effective with the club, ending the season tied for second place and setting club record for most wins in a season (11), most points (42), most goals scored (39) and least conceded (32). Gheisar also has the ability in developping Canadian talents as he gave eight players their professional debut. This is the manager that Halifax should invest in. A Gheisar-era management for the Wanderers has the potential in creating a dynasty.

⚽️ Koné scores banger for Watford. Norwich City traveled away to Watford and started the game strong by taking the lead 2-0. Then, Ismaël Koné went viral with a clean touch and a banger outside the box. Bringing the game to 2-1. This marks Koné first goal for Watford. He later hit another screamer outside the box to only hit woodwork. Despite losing 2-0, Watford cameback and won 3-2. The young Montrealer seems to have found his groove in England. Please watch or rewatch his goal. Just incredible.

⬇️ CanMNT drop in rankings. After the L at BMO Field against an impressive Jamaica, CanMNT consequently dropped rankings. Canada have dropped by three spots and are now ranked 48th.

💪 Rylee Foster showing up big for Wellington Phoenix. Two years after the car accident, Rylee Foster is turning big time for her New Zealand side. Last season, Wellington Pheonix finished last but now sits in third place after six games. Foster has been influential in that rise. Here’s an example of her balling out with an incredible save.

✨ Jayden Nelson ends the season with Rosenborg with some flair. A little 1-2 passing will always be the bread and butter of football. How you decide to do it is up to you. The former TFC player decided a humble and tidy backheel to set up the goal would be sufficient. Please take a look.

🇨🇦 Jeneva Hernandez-Gray and Latifa Abdu earn senior CanWNT call-ups. Canada is forever producing young female talent. Bev Priestman has called up two young talents to be a part of Canada’s games against Australia—a big-time experience for the youths. Jeneva Hernandez-Grayis is committed to Auburn University and is a part of the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy. The 17-year-old is compared to Julia Grosso’s ball control and Jessie Fleming’s playmaking ability—major compliments for the youngster. Montrealer Latifa Abdu is no stranger to Bev Priestman, as the coach gave her debut with the U17 squad in 2015. Abdu now plays for Dijon FCO, with whom she has scored twice this season.

It’s the Champions League! Cue the music, shed a tear and start a riot with the fellas (don’t actually).

🍀 With all this hype, let’s start with something not so hype: Celtic. It’s not going well for the bhoys in green. The Glaswegian club travelled to Rome to face Lazio. Unfortunately, they lost 2-0 to the Italian club. Alistair Johnston shares that his first experience of the Champions League has been a steep learning curve (in front of the curva). Moreover, after operating on his ankle over the summer, the right-back shared that he is not fully fit. Their last group game will be at Celtic Park. Since they sit in last place in their group, a win would be a moral victory.

😕 Eustaquio and Porto take an L at Camp Nou. Stephen started the match against Barcelona, and Porto opened the account by scoring first in the 29th minute. However, Barcelona bounced by with two goals scored by two Portuguese players named João. Specifically João Felix and João Cancelo. The game ended 2-1 for Barcelona. Despite the loss, Porto sat in second place in their group with a five-goal differential.

😮 Bayern Munich surprisingly tied at home against FC Copenhagen. The Danish capital walked out of the Bavarian fortress of Allianz Arena with a point. That is something worth applauding. As for Bayern Munich, this is a game that should have been dub. Despite the 0-0 tie, Phonzy and Bayern Munich are in first place in their group.

Alejandro spends his days as a Visual Designer at The Design Agency and moonlights as a bartender at Koukla. You might have seen him bartending at DARBY House during the 2022 World Cup rocking his Man United kit.

📚 What to read

A couple of years ago I found this one book called Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami on the side of the road. I really liked the look of the book cover so I took it home , only now have I found some time to read it. It’s written from the first-person perspective of Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo.. It’s set in the late 60s in during a period when Japanese students were protesting against the government. Murakmi has a bunch of great reads if you need some new material. Aside from that I’m usually reading magazines or fashion/footy blogs and news. 

📺 What to watch

I’m always watching some documentary of any sorts, from the new David Beckham doc, FIFA Scandal series, any Mob biography to Pamela Anderson’s new flick. And of course I’m tuning into the Premier lLague and Serie A games and highlights on the weekends. Nothing like that adrenaline rush you get when United scores or when I gotta yell at my TV to give the ref or manager a piece of my mind!  

🎧 What to listen to

It’s been a stressful couple months as a United fan. That being said I like to wind down after a loss or tie with some chill Latin sounds, Hermanos Gutierrez is my go to. Two brothers who are Swiss and Ecuadorian who took a trip to Mexico for their fourth album, picked up some guitars and jammed out, creating some chill western sounds When Manchester United wins , I gotta have some classic house, Ital Disco, and maybe classic rock -anything uptempo to celebrate. 

✅ Who to follow

@paisaboys This LA based street wear brand is a must follow. When it comes to sticking to your roots, this team does it best. They do a great job at representing the Mexican culture and blending it into current and past fashion. They got real good quality tees with insane designs, hats, etc hoodies etc. Something to check out is their recently released custom Mexico 98’ jersey, a must have. With made to order limited releases, they maintain their hype and have something fresh and attracting every drop.