Of the many assignments tasked to Canadian men’s head coach Jesse Marsch, creating a strong leadership group was perhaps not front and centre when he took the helm. Early results and a superb Copa America propelled the various narratives to skew extremely positively.
Marsch’s decision to hand the captain’s armband to Alphonso Davies before Copa was questioned in some quarters, but was generally accepted as typical of modern football: Give the big name the job, he’ll be the face of the team, it makes sense. Given the team’s performance at Copa, the choice was vindicated.
But ahead of next month’s friendly window, when Canada meets Wales in Swansea and Romania in Bucharest, Marsch has suddenly pushed the leadership situation to the forefront.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Marsch’s feelings were clear.
“We have a lot of really good, talented, established players in the national team now, but we need more big leaders that understand what the best games are about, how to manage big moments and how to make sure, next summer, we know as a group out on the pitch how to handle things,” he said.
Unprovoked, Marsch doubled down: “We have great guys, absolutely flawless character men in this team, but we need established leaders, like experienced, established, savvy, vocal leadership, and it has to come from within. So this is, for me, the biggest next step in our team: how strong is our mentality and how strong is the communication, and how strong is the understanding of how to handle every moment, and especially what that means for the World Cup.”
Clearly, the Gold Cup raised some concerns. After the brilliant opening 6-0 win against Honduras, Canada would then look like a team that assumed the win in a dour draw with Curacao. Then came that appalling El Salvador match, where the opponents did everything they could to destroy any possibility of good football, clearly succeeding in getting under Canada’s skin.
Similar tactics were provided by Guatemala, which benefited from Jacob Shaffelburg’s lack of composure in his sending off before Canada eventually lost on penalties after Cyle Larin and Luc de Fougerolles failed to convert.
Pointedly, post-match, Marsch said “we beat ourselves.” Perusing my notes from the match, I queried whether teams were beginning to figure out how best to play Canada as testing the composure of the team seemed to become a familiar tactic.
Given Marsch’s comments on Tuesday, it appears he concurs.
It should be remembered that the Marsch era coincided with the retirement of Canada’s greatest leader of recent times: Atiba Hutchinson. What Marsch wouldn’t give to have the opportunity of sliding old No. 13 into this midfield when games were tight and testy.
It is also a reason Junior Hoilett was called up. The veteran has not played for his country since scoring in a win against Suriname last November. At 35, it was assumed his Canadian career may be over, but he’s still an important squad player at Hibernian in Scotland. And, set to enjoy his first European Cup experience this season in the Conference League, Hoilett clearly has game left, and will bring that added element that Marsch seems to now demand from his group.
“(Junior) is someone who we still value,” Marsch said, “who is still playing at a very high level and someone who I think we really need to think carefully about what he means now and what he could mean next summer, to what he means both on the pitch and the kind of leader and kind of person he is within the team.”
All of this is not to say it is a team devoid of leadership. Davies leads, Alistair Johnston also leads, as does Moise Bombito. However, all three are unavailable because of injury for the upcoming window, which is hardly ideal for a squad looking to grow that side of its mentality.
Larin is someone Marsch leans on, but with Larin’s wife is expecting Sept. 5, his availability next week is in question as well. Stephen Eustaquio is another that Marsch will look to, and the Porto man is still a de facto captain, whether he wears the armband or not.
More is needed, however.
Still a young squad, Canada’s youth is exciting, for sure, but it needs to be led through the pitfalls and fires that will come with international soccer. There is no better example than Ismael Kone. In football terms, 23 is not exactly young anymore, but Kone is inexperienced and is coming off a very difficult stint at Marseille. Having fallen victim to coach Roberto De Zerbi’s wrath last season, Kone was sent packing to Sassuolo in Italy this summer. Making his Serie A debut last weekend, Kone received two yellow cards and was sent off versus champion Napoli — ardly the example he was hoping to set at his new club in a season that might well be make-or-break for the former CF Montreal man.
Living two hours away from Kone in Italy, Marsch is able to visit regularly. It sounds as if Kone is a bit of a pet project.
“Ismael and I have got to know each other really well and I really like the opportunities he and I have had (one on one),” Marsch said. “We sit down and talk about things and talk about his life and his development, and I’ve made it very clear to him that we believe in his talent, but we have to refine him as a football player and the discipline and concentration and what he does on the pitch along with his ability to move with the ball, and be creative and find attacking moments.
“So, I’m definitely not trying to limit his talents and his creativity, but I’m trying to add to it more with tactical discipline and understanding of what the best games look like, and how he can fit in specifically more defensively. So, I think this move is really good for him and I thought he played well, even though he got the double yellow. I think he’ll be in good form and push to continue to show all of the things we need from him with the national team.”
Wales and Romania will pose significant challenges in this window, even if they are just friendlies. At the very least, a composed and mentally strong Canada will be expected from the head coach, and perhaps in the absence of some strong leaders, others will step up, and add to the overall collective, as it continues to take shape with the World Cup looming on the horizon.
