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Canada U-20 team 'not good enough': Coach
July 10, 2007
Canadian Press
Canadian coach Dale Mitchell has offered a blunt assessment of his team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, saying it didn't match up to the 16 countries still alive at the tournament and that most of his players were out of their depth at this level.
The host side exited Sunday after going 0-3-0 and failing to score a goal at the 24-team soccer tournament. The Canadians were outscored 6-0 in their three games.
"If people are honest, you can see there's a clear difference between the 16 teams that are playing right now and the Canadian team," Mitchell told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. "And not only the 16 teams that are playing right now, but some of them that have gone home, like South Korea who are clearly much better than Canada.
"So we shouldn't put our heads in the sand. We're disappointed that we didn't get out of the group, we had good preparation, we put everything we could into it. But at the end of the day we are not good enough for this level. And I think that that is why people want to analyse things and if something good comes because of it, then I think that's a positive."
The Canadian Soccer Association says it plans a comprehensive review of Canada's early exit. And that includes Mitchell.
"We're taking a very very close review of our performance through this tournament," incoming CEO Fred Nykamp said Tuesday. ``We're going to review everything."
Asked to assess his coaching performance at the tournament, Mitchell offered only: "That's for others to judge."
But he said he intends to carry on as planned, taking over the reins of the senior national team.
In a candid interview, Mitchell also said:
– Fans, the CSA and even the players got caught up with overly high expectations for the home side. And some forgot the difficulties Canada has had in the past at the under-20 championship (4-15-5 going into this competition with just 16 goals scored).
– The Canadian team found itself surrounded by a "negative vibe" after a lopsided 3-0 opening loss to Chile
– Canada was talent-thin and opposing teams had scouted the home side so extensively they were able to stifle the Canadian stars.
Mitchell still believes advancing out of the first round was an attainable goal, but one that required some "really good" performances." He says Canada was "clearly outclassed" against Chile but "the other teams on another day, I think we have enough to get maybe three or four points against them.
"But can we say that we're a better team than Austria or Congo, then no, we can't say that. For me we were close to those teams."
Instead, Canada's run at the tournament was all downhill as high expectations, coupled with a bad showing in the opening 3-0 loss to Chile, took its toll.
"It was probably to the point where the expectation was maybe a little bit too high," Mitchell said. "I think that after the first game, when it didn't go the way we expected, there was a huge negative surrounding the team that wherever we went – all of sudden there was a negative vibe around us and it was hard to overcome that within the group.
"We never dealt with that aspect of it particularly well and I certainly felt like the belief within the group, as much as we were all trying to do and say the right things, I think it took a bit of a hit."
Mitchell has plenty of experience at this level.
He took Canada to eighth at the 2003 tournament, when his side was one goal from reaching the semifinals. Mitchell's 2005 team went 0-2-1, was outscored 7-2 and finished 21st after failing to survive the first round.
In 2001, under Paul James, Canada went 0-3-0, was outscored 9-0 and finished last in 24th spot.
Mitchell said he knew a bumpy ride could be around the corner this time out.
"I always had it in my mind that it was possible and the reason I had it in my mind is because I've been to this tournament twice before," he explained.
"I know what the feeling is like. When it's two years between, sometimes those feelings fade. But it quickly comes back, when you're watching a game and you can see that your team is stretched in every department and you're looking at a game clock and it's only 10 minutes in.
"That is the reality of playing the best teams from the rest of the world."
While Canada had enjoyed success in friendlies, when little was on the line, Canada's players were found wanting on the real world stage.
"When we're talking about this level, I'm not sure about how many we've got really that are capable," Mitchell said. "I think this team at the end of the day ends up being like most of the other teams in our history that have been here.
"We have two or three players maybe in the group that looked comfortable, (who) may not have performed as well as we expected, but looked like they could handle the level – and possibly a few were good enough to maybe play on one of the other teams if they were surrounded by other good players.
"But I think individually we had a lot of players that were out of their depth for this level."
Stars like winger Jaime Peters and attacking midfielder Will Johnson were taken out of their game by the opposition, Mitchell said.
As host side, Canada did not have to qualify. Instead it played a string of friendlies, offering others plenty of opportunity to check out the home side.
"Because we were the host team . . . people knew us inside out. And you could clearly see that whenever Jaime was in possession, there were two, three guys around him very quickly. I think certain teams went out of their way to put Will off his game, and get round him and frustrate him, he's a fairly volatile player as well."
The other players were unable to step up or help break down the other team and create opportunities.
"The only real simple answer, I think, is the core fact and that is the team wasn't good enough, for this level," Mitchell said.
"Perhaps Game 2 and 3 on a different day might have been a little bit different. But can we say that we were as goods as the 16 teams that are still in the tournament? The answer is no."
Asked if the performance of the U-20 team could affect the future of Mitchell as national coach, Nykamp said: "We'll have to see what the entire review indicates. I really want to become familiar with what was all done over the past 24 months. It really is too early to say anything like that."
So does the association have full confidence in Mitchell?
"As I said, we're going to review the entire U-20 performance," said Nykamp, who officially assumes his new job Aug. 1. "And upon review, we'll probably make some statements on that. I haven't had a chance to consult with everyone in the decision-making capacity around the CSA as yet.
"(CSA president) Colin (Linford) and I have been speaking and we've decided that a full review is certainly in order. And what the outcomes of that will be, we'll certainly announce as soon as they're done."
Told that does not sound like a vote of confidence in the coach, Nykamp said:
"The review is through the entire team, it's not just the coach. It's how the training is planned, how the investment was planned, how the schedules were approved, from the CSA's point of views. What all other factors were involved through the last 20 months.
"I want to familiarize myself with all of that and I really haven't had the opportunity to do that and that's really what it means, it really doesn't speak to the confidence level of the coach at all."
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http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/234494
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