Maxime Crépeau, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Liam Fraser and Cristián Gutiérrez (Image courtesy of Ilya Orlov)
The Canadian men’s national soccer team qualified for their first World Cup appearance since 1986 with a 4-0 win over Jamaica this Sunday - and members of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s soccer team had an extra reason to celebrate. The day before the match that broke the spell, the Blues trained with the national team at BMO field, “an experience the boys will never forget,” according to Ilya Orlov, head coach of the Blues soccer team.
We recently caught up with Orlov to chat about the training session, the place of soccer in Canada today and his predictions on how Canada will fare at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
How did the training session with Team Canada come about? What role did the Blues have and what was that experience like for them?
We were invited by a contact of mine at the national team to help with their training - to provide opposition in their tactical preparation. The Canada coaching staff are top level and understand the importance of training with opposition defenders and not plastic mannequins because it’s more realistic and involves players using their decision-making skills. They knew us from before, when our players* helped them prepare in the fall window of qualifiers, so they knew they’d be getting an organized group of hard working players to train with.
When they weren’t training on the field, our players sat on the sidelines watching the national team train. Being with them at BMO Field and watching them up close was very exciting and motivating for the Blues. Later, they got to take a lot of photos with the players, who are all very professional and nice.
How do you explain Canada qualifying for the World Cup after so many years? What is this team doing differently?
For a team to do well, many pieces have to come together. First of all, getting John Herdman, who was previously Canada’s women’s national team coach, to start coaching the men’s national team was an excellent decision on the part of Soccer Canada’s management. Herdman is a meticulous and educated coach and he has brought on an excellent staff to support him, from assistant coaches Eric Tenllado, Simon Eaddy, Jason de Vos, Mauro Biello and César Meylan to many more people behind the scenes, who deserve lots of credit. They have done a fantastic job navigating through the challenges of qualifying in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). However, the most credit must go to the players. This is a very good team with world-class players, from goal-keeper to striker and everyone in between. So, all together it has been a perfect team effort.
At the summer Olympics in Tokyo, the women’s national soccer team won gold, now the men have qualified for the World Cup. Is Canada finally becoming a soccer nation?
People may not know this, but soccer in Canada has the highest rates of participation at the youth level of any sport, so I’d say Canada has always been a soccer nation. We have people from Europe, South America, Central America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East living here and they all love the game, so there’s never been a shortage of fans. The difference today is that things are better structured and more deliberate with national youth programs, the launch of the Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer scouting and recruiting top young players, so talent doesn’t fall through the cracks as it did previously.
Do you think Canada qualifying for the World Cup will popularize the game further?
I think soccer is going to explode in this country. First the women’s team wins gold at the summer Olympics, then the men’s team qualifies for the World Cup … In 2026, Canada gets to host the Men’s World Cup, so we’re guaranteed to participate twice. It really is an amazing time to be involved in Canadian soccer. It gives young kids a reason to dream.
What’s your prediction about how Canadians will fare at the World Cup in Qatar?
It’s difficult to make a prediction, there are just so many factors that go into a game and qualifying from the group. Canada is part of CONCACAF, with participating teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Out of that group, I’d say Mexico, the US, Costa Rica and Panama are the biggest challengers. Canada has qualified out of the group, but at the World Cup, they will be playing against the best teams from around the world - the best of the best.
It will be challenging, but they are a fearless group of players and supported by an excellent head coach with an outstanding supporting coaching staff. They will be very well prepared and all the details will be analyzed in-depth. I think they’re going to play very well with a very good chance of advancing from their group whoever they draw and who knows what they can accomplish beyond that. It will be an exciting time for the country to watch this team compete.
*On top of being head coach of the Varsity Blues soccer team, Orlov is head coach of Alliance United in League1 Ontario, a semi-professional team made up of many Varsity players.