Scianitti on developing Canada's soccer program, next steps for Jesse Marsch, and if the country can birth another major superstar
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How did Canada’s World Cup run change Matthew Scianitti’s appreciation for soccer?
let's bring in our soccer guy matthew shinetti matthew welcome how are you today boys there is going on spain man they just don't want to win here's what i want to throw at you to start with i mean you have like all of us an appreciation for what we do um how has your appreciation for the game of soccer over the last month increased wow jim that's a great question um
That means you didn't like being on the sidelines literally for those moments with the Canadian men's national team is like is. Yeah, I still haven't processed it. I got back a couple of days ago. I'm about to head out again for these final few games. I'll be on the road again. But that. Especially the Qatar game was a soap opera. And as someone who has covered the sport, much like Dave has covered the sport too for a while, when you see moments, and really Dave wrote about this after the Croatia-Portugal game, you understand kind of the emotions involved. the theater of soccer and how it pulls people together. And, I mean, I even close my eyes now thinking about that game against South Africa and Stephanie Stacchio's 92-minute winner and the Canadian fans falling over themselves in the stands.
And just being right on the field and feeling all of that energy and emotion, yeah, that is something that's going to take me a little bit of time to process.
For sure, Matthew. And I'm wondering, as we sort of spin the after effects for Canada, we start to sort of make sense of what this could mean for Canada. We know it probably didn't go as well as it could have. If you would have had a healthy Davies, that'll always be the great what if. What if our best player was healthy and played? We'll never know the answer. But as you've talked to people around Soccer Canada, as you've talked to people around the team, I'm wondering what's your sense of what this could mean, the breakthrough of hosting, the idea that you did advance farther than you've ever advanced before, even if it didn't go quite as far as you hoped it would. I mean, if you look 10 years ahead, can you cast your mind 10 years ahead and think of what it might mean as you look back?
I think three things, Dave. One, we now have to see at a community level, the grassroots level, a greater investment in infrastructure. So many guys on this team, I use Tayshaun Buchanan's story all the time, had to leave. He went to Colorado and basically found his path. Moise Bambito left. went to Western Iowa Community College to find his path to the NCAA and MLS. Obviously, I just mentioned Tejabi Ken. He followed his path all the way to Syracuse University. Keeping talent here and developing talent here requires infrastructure. Adam VanCouverden, as the Secretary of State for Sport, has been talking about this quite a bit. Certainly, we've seen some investment, the discussion of a national training center.
All those things are great. Then it goes to the evolution of the men's program from a competitive perspective. The one thing Jesse Marsh has certainly done is he created a philosophy and a vibe within the team that got them to history-making moments on this run. If you think about not only Alphonso Davies not having a healthy, completely healthy Moise Mbito, not having a healthy Ismael Kone, could Canada... have realistically looked at the quarterfinals? Absolutely. They could have done that. That's off the table now. So what does this team do to now push that line? Because the line now is making it to the round of 16. That is not a guarantee that's going to happen every time you qualify for the World Cup.
And now Canada actually, remember, they were a host nation this time. They didn't have to qualify. They will have to qualify or start their qualification in 24 months. But what kind of progress do they make as a program? Marsh said it himself, the semifinals of the Gold Cup, the semifinals of Copa America, if CONCACAF North American teams are allowed again to participate in that South American tournament, that's where the bar is now. You could justifiably make an argument that really Canada, given the way that they actually did the tournament, can feel bad.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
How did Canada’s World Cup run change Matthew Scianitti’s appreciation for soccer?
0:00–4:39
2
What immediate emotional moments from the tournament does Scianitti highlight?
4:39–11:47
3
How might Canada’s World Cup performance drive grassroots infrastructure investment?
11:47–18:29
4
What does Canada need competitively to push past the round of 16 next time?
18:29–18:53
Speakers
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