sports// no. 6

  

Photo by Steven Lee on Flickr

Mo Hussain
Sports Reporter

Wrane it is the Brazilian national
soccer team losing 7-1 to Germany
in the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-finals
or the Seattle Seahawks losing to the New
England Patriots in Super Bowl 49, many
sports fans have devasting memories they
would prefer stay put behind them. For
many Vancouverites, that devastating
memory by far, is when the Vancouver
Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in game
seven of the 20u Stanley Cup finals.

The Canucks had just come off the
best regular season record in the league,
had arguably both the best skater and
goaltender in hockey, had defeated the
reigning Stanley Cup champion and bitter
rival Chicago Blackhawks in the first round,
brought an entire city together, and were
the favourites to win it all. However, when
the team ultimately lost, the impact of the
result was devastating. Not only did it upset
the team, but it broke the entire city to the
point that a riot unfolded in downtown
Vancouver. Vehicles were destroyed, banks

 

Canada’s chance at a World Cup

>» Our nation’s soccer team came close to FIFA in 1986

Brandon Yip
Senior Columnist

 

ockey is Canada’s game; historically,

the beautiful game of soccer, is not.
Canada’s one and only appearance in a FIFA
World Cup tournament came in 1986 in
Mexico when the late Tony Waiters was the
coach for the Canadian men’s national team.

On September 14, 1985, Canada
booked their ticket to the FIFA World
Cup when they defeated Honduras bya
score of 2-1. The memorable match was
played at King George V Park in St. John’s,
Newfoundland—with 13,000 in attendance.
The victory is considered Canada’s greatest
soccer achievement in the country’s history.

On June 1, 1986, Canada, played its
first game against France, the European
champions—and considered by many to
be the best team in Europe. The French
were strong and were led by their core
group known as Le Carré Magique (magic
square) of Luis Fernandez, Jean Tigana,
Alain Giresse, and Michel Platini—one of
the greatest midfielders of all time. Canada
was an underdog and it was a “David versus
Goliath” scenario with many in the press
predicting France to annihilate Canada.

In spite of the odds, Canada played
a solid game and they were competitive
against the French. The game was even
until France scored in the 79th minute ona
goal by Jean-Pierre Papin—heading a loose
ball high into the net. France would win
the match by a score of 1-0.

Unfortunately, Canada lost to Hungary
and the Soviet Union in the next two
games—both by scores of 2-0. Although
Canada failed to win a game in their
group, or even score a goal, they did well
and competed hard. Canada head coach,
Waiters, was honest in his own assessment
of the Canadian squad; in the 2006 TSN

documentary, The Journey, he spoke about
how he wanted to make sure Canada was
competitive, and prove to the soccer world
that they deserved to be there: “We weren't
gonna win the World Cup. But what I didn’t
want to happen in Mexico was for the
Canadians to be embarrassed.”

Since-retired striker Dale Mitchell was
a member of the 1986 Canadian World Cup
team. He recalls Waiters trying to motivate
the Canadian players before their first game
against the mighty French. “I remember the
meetings before he was butchering their
[player’s] names and criticizing their game,’
Mitchell said in an email interview with the
Other Press. “[Defender, Ian Bridge], and
I were looking at each other and kind of
laughing. It was all meant
to not make us feel inferior.
As you know, we did not get
blown out and competed
fairly well.”

Mitchell played in one
game at the World Cup
in Mexico: Canada’s third
and final group match
against the Soviet Union;
he was recovering from a
serious injury a year prior
to the World Cup. “Well, it
was the third match of the
group stage and not the
first and we had lost the
other two games, so some of
the excitement was gone,”
Mitchell said. “Mostly, I
recall a free kick that went
just over the bar and due to
the netting behind the goal
it landed on top of the net.
Anyways, on the [television]
back in Canada, it looked
like the shot actually went
in and people thought

that I had scored! So, I guess I gave some
Canadian fans some excitement... even if it
was just temporary.”

Despite Canada having a record of
o wins and 3 losses during group play,
Mitchell has good memories having played
in a World Cup match. “At the time, you're
self-absorbed like most players, wanting
to play more and do better,’ Mitchell said.
“When you remove yourself a few decades
later you realize that the team we had
during the [mid-1980s] had some great
moments and just getting to a [World Cup]
is a fantastic achievement.”

Unfortunately, since Canada’s
appearance at the 1986 World Cup in
Mexico, the country has failed to qualify

theotherpress.ca

A look back at the 2011 Stanley Cup finals

» The loss was bigger than hockey

were broken into, businesses were looted,
and parts of downtown Vancouver had
gone into shambles. “I don’t think anyone
really saw that capability of destruction in
our city,’ said Heather Bourke, who was
trapped in Queen Elizabeth Theatre during
the riot.

The Canucks went on to win only
one playoff game the following two years
and the team slowly disbanded as time
went on. “I don’t know if I’m really over it
still. Not the result itself, because listen,
somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to
lose, whatever. But just the way I reacted to
certain things, and the way I let it bother
me ina situation where I was in the Stanley
Cup final and I was not enjoying it as much
as I should have,” said former Canucks
goaltender Roberto Luongo in an interview
with The Star.

The loss was bigger than hockey but
there is a lot more to it than most people
think. Next week in this series we are going
to take a deeper look into the events that
took place not only on the ice, but more
importantly, what happened off of it.

for another FIFA World Cup tournament.
However, there is optimism for Canada
in the future—especially with the new
Canadian Premier League, which began
in 2019, providing a solid foundation and
structure to keep Canadian players active
and competitive.

Also working in Canada’s favour is
the emergence of a star player, Alphonso
Davies, who has been making an impact
with the Bundesliga club Bayern Munich,
as well as the Canadian national team.
With Canada being a co-host country for
the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the potential
is there for Canada to once again become
competitive on the world soccer stage.

  

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo