March 31st Edition

This week, we should have been talking about Casey Stoney’s upcoming home debut, a huge move for Marie-Yasmine Alidou, or the Canadian Premier League kicking off its seventh season.

But noooo… we’ve got to talk about another scandal. This time, it involved an injury to CanMNT captain Alphonso Davies and a club vs. country debate that got unusually testy.

Also ahead, CF Montréal can their coach, Canadian strikers return from national team duty in top form and plenty more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

In this week's edition:

• 😬 Bayern Munich v. Canada Soccer

• 🇨🇦 CanWNT drop squad for BC Series

• 🌹 Alidou signs with Portland Thorns

• 🔵 CF Montréal fire Laurent Courtois

• 🌍 Canucks Abroad

• 🏡 Canucks at Home

• ✨ This week in NSL news

• 📰 In other news

• ✅ Northern Picks

CanMNT

😬 Bayern Munich v. Canada Soccer

Canadian Soccer fans woke up on a Wednesday morning this week to some pretty awful news: Alphonso Davies was done for the season with an ACL tear suffered in Canada’s 2-1 victory over the United States in the Concacaf Nations League third-place game.

While the injury didn’t seem like anything serious at the time, with Davies returning to coach the team in a tracksuit after being removed in the 12th minute after contact with USMNT forward Patrick Agyemang, scans in Munich clearly revealed differently.

From there, things somehow got even worse. First, it was a fiery statement from Davies’ agent Nedal Househ, who said that the player was not 100% healthy going into the game, and he felt like Davies was pressured to play by CanMNT coach Jesse Marsch. He added that Canada Soccer need to do a better job of managing players.

Then, after it seemed like Marsch and Huoseh had talked things over, and come to a good understanding, Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen added pure gasoline to the fire. In an interview with German paper BILD, he said that Bayern were demanding a full investigation from Canada Soccer and reserved the right to take legal action against the federation.

This is a rather wild response from a club to a national federation over a contact injury which seemed to have little to do with any other pre-existing issues from which Davies suffered. International injuries happen all the time, although clearly Bayern are displeased with the way this one was handled.

Bottom line here, the player comes first, and we hope everyone can work together in supporting Alphonso Davies both physically, mentally and emotionally during what will be a very difficult recovery process.

Get better soon Phonzie.

CanWNT

🇨🇦 CanWNT drop squad for BC Series

Casey Stoney will get the chance to coach CanWNT for the first time in Canada this week during the first of a pair of friendlies against Argentina, which takes place on Friday night at BC Place in Vancouver.

This is Canada’s first game in BC since Christine Sinclair’s send-off matches in December of 2023 against Australia. For those in the Vancouver area, tickets can be picked up here, or the match can be viewed live on OneSoccer (7:30 PT / 10:30 ET). The second match of the series will be played on Tuesday, April 8 at Starlight Stadium in Langford, BC.

Last week, Stoney announced her squad for the pair of friendlies, which didn’t include many surprises. Having missed Stoney’s first camp due to injury, Vancouver Rise midfielder Quinn returns to the group, looking to make their first appearance under the new coach.

After also missing the Pinatar Cup through injury, Leicester City’s Deanne Rose returns as well. On this occasion, Kadeisha Buchanan, Sydney Collins, Simi Awujo, Jordyn Huitema and Cloé Lacasse miss out through injury.

In one further update to the original squad selected, Evelyne Viens has been forced to withdraw through injury, replaced by Nyah Rose. There might well be more injury replacements as well, however, with several CanWNT players missing out on club action this weekend.

Argentina currently rank 33rd in the world, and have lost all six of their previous matches against Canada, scoring just one.

CanWNT

🌹 Alidou signs with Portland Thorns

A player who is quickly becoming an important piece for CanWNT’s new head coach Casey Stoney levelled up this week, as Marie-Yasmine Alidou joined the NWSL’s Portland Thorns.

The 29-year-old baller from Montréal spent the past two seasons with Benfica in Portugal, winning the Taça de Portugal and two Taça da Liga’s — as well as the Portuguese league in 2023-24.

This will be a big chance for her to show that she can translate her game to likely the best Women’s league in the world. Alidou will join national teammate Jessie Fleming on the Thorns, who are winless through their first three games of the NWSL season.

After scoring a hat-trick in her most recent CanWNT appearance, Alidou is again with the squad for this week’s matchup with Argentina.

MLS

🔵 CF Montréal announce firing of head coach Laurent Courtois

It feels like every year, If one thing is certain with CF MTL, it’s the guarantee of a coach being fired. After MTL’s winless start to the season, Laurent Courtois was fired from his position as head coach of the club. He is now the club’s 11th coach in 14 years. Assistant coach and former Montreal Impact player Marco Donadel becomes the new interim head coach.

Is it a little harsh and too soon? With MTL’s first seven games as away fixtures, with 12 new players, Laurent Courtois had a steep hill to climb. Moreover, some of those new signings have started the season injured. Before this weekend’s game against Chicago, Courtois had only picked up one point in five games.

Was it the right decision? Club captain Samuel Piette seems to suggest so. Laurent Courtois’ squad selection had supporters concerned and confused. Piette admitted that the players had not been playing to the expected standards. However, the club captain stated there was a disconnect between the manager and the team, “the demands are less clear, and there are certain misunderstandings.” For CEO Gabriel Gervais, Courtois’ time came to an end.

Joey Saputo's infamous OMNI interview. The man seldom does interviews. Saputo’s quotes from his Italian-language interview on OMNI went viral. For many, his words of Montrealers “not appreciating the work” were triggering. Fans have supported the club, especially in the last four years, with an almost sold-out stadium at each match. The supporters have been asking one thing: bring back the Impact. 

The response from the supporters. Bring back the Impact. They are not talking about the club name. 2016 Montreal Impact was the club’s peak season in MLS. The right coach, the perfect signings and a big star name in Drogba. That is what the supporters want. All this came about with investments aimed at winning the MLS Cup. Not on a focus solely on producing and selling talent.

One thing is for sure. Wilfried Nancy’s absence is now amplified once again. The club has missed out on a young manager that would’ve created a dynasty.

An opportunity to do something funny? Hire John Herdman. 

Canucks Abroad

🌍 Canucks Abroad

🇫🇷 Ismaël Koné is back! This past weekend, Stade Rennais travelled away to play against Angers. Koné came off the bench in the 64th minute and scored a banger in the 70th minute. The CanMNT midfielder then assisted the game's final goal in stoppage time. Confidence re-established.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ashley Lawrence through to the UWCL semi-final. In the second leg, Chelsea were at Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 deficit aggregate against Machester City. At full-time, Chelsea came back and defeated Manchester City 3-2 on aggregate. Ashley Lawrence and Chelsea will play against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the UWCL.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wait, more Ashley Lawrence news. Despite not featuring in Chelsea’s UWCL comeback, the CanWNT featured in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against West Ham. Lawrence assisted Maika Hamano’s goal in the 14th minute.

🇧🇪 Promise David has scored his 17th goal of the season. Promise David has scored his 17th goal of the season in Union St. Gilloise’s 5-1 win over Royal Antwerp. His goal was impressive, given the foul being committed during his run. Just watch. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Junior Hoilett picked up a goal and an assist. The 34-year-old still got it. Hibernian hosted St. Johnstone and defeated the away team 3-0. Hoilett opened the game with a screamer of a goal and an assist 10 minutes later. His hard work did not go unnoticed. Junior Hoilett earned himself Player of the Match for his performance.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Harry Paton registered an assist. The CanMNT midfielder assisted Motherwell’s first goal of the game against Aberdeen. Unfortunately, that was Motherwell’s only goal of the game as they were defeated 4-1.

🇺🇸 Tani Oluwaseyi scored a brace. Minnesota United hosted Real Salt Lake in a rainy-themed MLS game day. Tani scored two goals in his return to club competition. The first goal came in the 30th, and his second came in the 55th. The game ended 2-0 for Minnesota United.

🇪🇸 Tajon Buchanan with an assist. TJ and Villarreal travelled to Madrid to play against Getafe. The Brampton winger made his first assist for the club with a cutback to Ayoze Perez in the 15th minute. Villarreal picked up the dub with a 2-1 win away at Getafe.

Follow Canucks Abroad on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram.

Canucks at Home

🏡 Canucks at Home

🐎 Charlie Trafford hangs up his boots. Calgarian Charlie Trafford has decided to retire at 32 after 12 years of professional football. The midfielder ended his career on a high note with a CPL title. The Calgarian will go down as a Cavalry legend.

🏟️ Atletico Ottawa made moves once again. Ottleti have done some serious shopping in the off-season. This past week, Ottawa have picked up three promising young talents, Sergei Kozlovskiy from CF MTL’s academy, along with Kevin Ortega and Iker Moreno, on a loan deal from Atletico San Luis.

🔱 Pacific FC signed Fin Tugwell. The Tridents drafted the 22-year-old defender with the 12th overall draft pick last December. Tugwell signed a CPL U-Sports contract ahead of the 2025 season.

⚓️ Halifax have signed Joven Mann and Sinclair Astridge. Both players have signed a CPL U-Sports contract with the Wanderers. Joven Mann was a second-round draft pick from the University of British Columbia. The Haligonians have also signed Sinclair Astridge to a U-Sports contract for 2025. The 19-year-old goalkeeper for Dalhousie University has been with the Wanderers for the last two seasons, playing with the U21 squad.

🦅 Vancouver FC have signed Felipe Jaramillo Drolet, Thomas Powell, Mehdi Essoussi and Henri Godbout. VFC are aiming to be the CPL’s factory of young talent. Vancouver have signed the 16-year-old keeper Felipe Jaramillo Drolet to a two-year contract. Thomas Powell, Mehdi Essoussi and Henri Godbout have signed a U-Sports contract for the 2025 season.

Follow Canucks At Home on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram.

NSL

✨ This week in NSL news

🎽 NSL signs partnership with Simons. Ahead of their inaugural season, the NSL has already signed some seriously impressive partners, and this week they added Simons to the mix as an exclusive fashion partner. There will be several benefits to this partnership for the league, including officially outfitting league broadcasters and a content series displaying the connection between fashion and sport.

✅ Northern Super League clubs receive Licensing. AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, and Vancouver Rise FC have all received National 1 Licenses from Canada Soccer ahead of the league’s inaugural season. This marks a historic milestone as the first professional licenses issued to women's clubs in Canada,

🌎 Several NSL players earn international call-ups. Canada’s Quinn and Emma Regan won’t be the only NSL ballers in action during this international window. Meikayla Moore (Calgary Wild / New Zealand) Choo Hyojoo (Ottawa Rapid / South Korea), Kayla Adamek (Ottawa Rapid / Poland), Jessika Coward (Vancouver Rise / Philippines), Jose Lockhurst ( Vancouver RIse / Wales) and Nedya Sawan (Vancouver Rise / Egypt) will all join their respective countries in action.

🦉 Calgary Wild add four ballers to their squad. Just ahead of the season, the Calgary Wild added some big talent to their ranks. The Alberta club added the University of Iowa midfielder Madison White, former UBC star striker Danielle Steer, striker Sarah Griffith on loan from the NWSL’s Chicago Stars and Irish international goalkeeper Jackie Burns.

Other news

📰 In other news

🌧️ Can they do it on a rainy day at BMO Field? The Vancouver Whitecaps travelled to Toronto for a Canadian classic. The Caps fielded a strong eleven with Ali Ahmed, Brian White and Jayden Nelson as the starting forwards. Toronto FC rose to the challenge and played decently against the best team in Canada. They attacked and defended well as a unit, leaving little gaps in their low block. The Caps played decent, but Ryan Gauld’s absence was felt in this match-up. The game ended 0-0.

🔵 Marco Donadel’s CF Montréal looked decent. Maybe firing and hiring new coaches is the move? (It’s definitely not the move.) However, MTL’s performance away at Chicago was admirable. Despite conceding the first goal, CFM played well. They were strong defensively, created many opportunities, and looked convincing in attack. Dante Sealy scored the equalizer and scored his first goal for the club, with Luca Petrasso providing the assist. Despite being a 1-1 result, MTL looked decent with all the drama off the pitch. Well done Marco Donadel.

✅ Northern Picks

This week’s picks come from Ozan Metin (@ozanmtn). He’s a Turkish-born Canadian artist who’s worked with a variety of sports clubs and magazines combining his passion for football and art.

🎧 What to listen to

Recently I’ve been listening to "Sunday Morning" by K-os which is an all-time classic Canadian alternative hip-hop song. I love the brooding lyrics with a peaceful groove. Regardless of if you’re starting your day or going home after a match, I think it’s the perfect soundtrack for any moment.

🛍️ What to buy

The Acne Studios x Kappa released collab jerseys. I think everyone who is interested in football inspired streetwear should have a look. The light pink logo t-shirt is a perfect blend of Swedes minimalism with classic football streetwear.

📚 Who to follow

@autrement_agency is a production house dedicated to storytelling from every possible angle, creating content that truly resonates. I'm excited to see the full documentary from their collaboration with CF Montréal.