September 12, 2007 Men's National Team--Canada vs Costa Rica [Canadian fans protest] (from Toronto Star)

CANADA VS. COSTA RICA
TheStar.com | Sports | Paint BMO red and black
Paint BMO red and black

Sep 13, 2007 04:30 AM Cathal Kelly

A small funeral procession trickled into BMO Field a few minutes before kickoff.

Ahead of MLS games, these mourners – the Toronto FC die-hards – enter the ground in full throat. Last night, they walked in surrounded by unfamiliar quiet, a sombre group preparing to watch Canada take on Costa Rica in an international friendly.

Rather than just observe, these fans were here to be observed by the cabal that runs soccer in this country. They wore their complaints on their chests, black T-shirts calling for change in the Canadian Soccer Association.

`Canadian soccer deservers better ... Support our national teams ... Sack the CSA' the shirts read.

While the media has made itself heard about the sad state of the CSA in the days since ex-president Colin Linford quit in disgust, this was the first chance for fans to show their unhappiness.

Perhaps 500 spectators wore the shirts. Several hundred more who supported the `Black Wednesday' protest wore that colour in sympathy.

"Was there?" Canadian coach Dale Mitchell answered unconvincingly when told about the protest after the game. "You're so focused on the match that you don't pay attention to what's going on in the stands."

Or what's written in the papers or talked about on radio? C'mon, Dale.

"I think it's great that the fans have a say," a more forthright Tomasz Radzinski said of the fan action. "I think it's the right direction and the guys feel it, but it's still a long way ... If I'm in the stands next time I'm going to wear a black shirt as well."

Black was the theme, but red told a greater truth. There was the red of the Costa Rican fans, who nearly matched the Canadians in number, if not enthusiasm. And there was the red of plastic seats.

Accustomed to 20,000-strong full houses when TFC is in town, this stadium might have been a quarter full last night. The announced crowd of 9,325 was a bean counter's pipe dream. It was a deflating sight. This ground was full when foreigners played here during the Under-20 World Cup. Shouldn't we have paid the same compliment to our countrymen?

"It's a little bit disappointing," Radzinski said of the crowd. "Maybe it's the way the CSA runs things."

So the mood was sombre, the small crowd uncertain. And then Canada poured onto the field.

Playing against their prime competition for a place at the 2010 World Cup, Canada attacked from the outset. Their interplay was crisp, their vigour palpable.

Fifty-three minutes in, the fans got what they'd waited seven weeks for – a goal. Dwayne De Rosario cannoned a ball past the Costa Rican keeper and peacocked up the field to the loudest cheering BMO Field has witnessed in a while, crowd or no crowd.

That tied the score at 1-1 and signalled the beginning of the endless substitutions that bog down all friendlies. Neither team could find their rhythm from that point on and the score ended locked at that same 1-1.

But for nearly an hour, there were such tantalizing glimpses in this Canadian team. In contrast to the disarray in the corridors of power, Canadian soccer is something worth supporting on the pitch.

Now, suddenly, this team is equipped with flair. From Julian de Guzman's roulettes to Paul Stalteri's long passing to De Rosario's all-round skill, there is a small trove of talent here.

Will the CSA find a way to muck about with this intriguing formula? Probably. But if any Canadian team of the past two decades has the intrinsic qualities necessary to find a World Cup place, this is it.

back to International game menu

.

.