Canada 2 - Australia 2

Article: 28887 of rec.sport.soccer
From: dassaff@nbnet.nb.ca (Dave Assaff)
Subject: Re: Olyroos vs Canada
Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 20:06:44 GMT

edmundo (edmunde@northnet.com.au) wrote:

-Does anyone have information about the Canadian Team?  The media here 
-have as usual totally ignored soccer.  Even the Sydney newspapers- the 
-site of the 2000 Olympics have ignored the Qualifiers- an omen for the 
-future and an example the way the IOC has been dupted by the AOC.

-Will the Olympic Movement again allow the Seven Network (TV) to give a 
-minimalist coverage to soccer at the Atlanta Games? Censorship by the 
-Australian media owners of rival codes has reached undemocratic 
-proportions.  Media concentration is so bad,  that the news consists of 
-the opinion of only three powerful individuals.

Well. I can't comment on the media situation in Australia, but I have
been watching the games of the Canadian under-23 side on TSN, Canada's
sports network.  Canada will be severely handicapped by the absence
due to injury of 3 of our top players, Tom Kousmanis, Tomasz Radzinski,
and Garret Kusch.  The first two also play on Canada's World Cup side,
and will be sorely missed.  Radzinski holds his own as a striker for
Germinal Ekeren in Belgium, and is, in my opinion, on the verge of
rivalling Alex Bunbury as our top striker.  (It would be very interesting
to see Bob Lenarduzzi try a 4-3-3 with Bunbury, Peschisolido, and
Radzinski up front.)  Anyhow, back to the Olympic team...  Kousmanis
is a solid defender with some creativity.  As for Garret Kusch, I have
only seen him play in the first two games of the CONCACAF qualifying
tournament, before he was injured.  Perhaps the best way to describe
him to those in Australia would be to compare him to a young Robbie
Slater.  Very fast and aggresive, and good in the air.  Works hard all
the time.   As I said at the beginning, these 3 won't be available for
the playoff due to injury.  This is unfortunate as I believe that if
they were available it would be a very competitive series.   Without
them, I don' t think Canada has much of a chance, to be perfectly honest.
They are pretty good on defence, and have a good work ethic, but with
the exception of Niall Thompson simply lack a good offensive finish.
My prediction would be a scoreless draw in Edmonton, followed by a 2-0
win for Australia in Sydney.  Of course, I know nothing of the Aussie
under-23 side...

Dave

Article: 29692 of rec.sport.soccer
From: sneuman@pop.srv.ualberta.ca (Susan Neuman)
Subject: Canada-Australia Olympic qualifying...
Date: 27 May 1996 18:35:53 GMT
Organization: University of Alberta

Score 2-2 (played in Edmonton, Canada, on May 26, Sunday)

Personal impressions:
Canadians played a dismal game.  Aussies were much better physically and 
skillwise.  It is quite incredible that the game ended in a draw.  Canada 
scored early on a giveaway by the Aussie defense, and late, on a takeaway 
which looked a whole lot like a faul from the stands.  David Xausa scored 
both Canadian goals, and he should get all the credit for keeping the 
Canadian Olympic dream barely alive for another week.  As fas as I can 
recall, Canada had no other chance.  No shots on goal, no nothing.  Just 
a few long balls and crosses, and the Aussie goalie had no problem with 
them.  In contrast, the Australians scored two beautiful goals (a 
laserlike shot from about 20 meters out, going into the far top corner, 
and an excellent volley from the penalty spot on a cross).  They also 
missed at least three good chances.

I was quite impressed with the  Australian Olympic team.  Many of their
players had excellent ball control.  They are able to play one-touch
football.  I liked number 11 best.  He could run with the ball at will.
An excellent playmaker.  Also impressive were Viduka (the big number 9),
and numbers 2 and 10.  In contrast, Canadians looked bad.  Passes would
bounce off of their bodies as if the ball was hitting a brick wall.
Noone seemed to have the skills necessary to run with the ball, or even
to get in a good cross.  It was very disappointing to see the poor
crosses by Rhodes and Hikida, when the only chance the team has is to
score off of a header from a deep cross.  When the Canadians tried to
run with the ball, more often than not, they stumbled and fell, or ran
into someone.  I cannot say much about their shooting skills since there
were no shots (apart from the skillfully placed goals by Xausa).

This is very depressing, since these guys are supposedly the future of
Canadian soccer..  I know that some of the best guys were missing from
the team due to injuries.  However, there were too many inept players on
the pitch for this to be a valid excuse.  I find it hard to believe that
this is in fact the best team Canada can put on the field.  I would be
very surprised if more than one or two of these Canadians ever get to
play in a first division team in a respectable league.  As far as the
return match in Australia goes, I suspect that Australia will win quite
easily.  I think the Aussies deserve a shot at France, Spain, and Saudi
Arabia in the Olympics.  I am sorry to say that this particular Canadian
team does not belong in world-class competition.  I certainly hope that
there are other young Canadian players (perhaps in the under-20 team)
that will be worth watching.  Oh, and I should add that the Canadian
coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for bringing this bunch of
players so close to the Olympics.  To end on a positive note, I think
the Canadian World Cup team is a good one, and I am looking forward to
the World-Cup qualification games in September.  Go Canada!

Erhan Erkut.



   AUSTRALIA V CANADA - OLYMPIC QUALIFIER
   
   FROM STUDS UP and NICK GUOTH...ta fellas.....
   
   A two leg series was held to decide which team would take up the last
   position in the Atlanta Olympic Games. The winner would have to play
   in Pool B with Spain, France and the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.
   
   The first leg of the series was played in Edmonton on Sunday May 26th
   with the return leg in Sydney on Sunday June 2. Australia were
   expected to be the overwhelming favourite for the series, but the
   Canadians had surprised many with their performance during the
   CONCACAF series which was eventually won by Mexico.
   
   The two teams had completely different leadups to the series with
   Canada coming fresh off a qualifying series in Edmonton and Australia
   having been re-assembled only two weeks earlier and having played only
   one game in the US against a quality opponent.
   
   Canada has a rather interesting history when it comes to the Olympic
   Games. In 1904 they won the gold medal in St. Louis after defeating
   the two teams from the US, being Christian Brothers College and St.
   Rose in a three team final. Canada was represented by the Galt
   Football Club.
   
   There was a lull of 63 years before Canada returned to Olympic
   competition. In 1967 they played Cuba. In 1976 the games were held in
   Montreal thus making Canada, as host nation, an automatic qualifier.
   Represented by only an amateur team, they were beaten by the national
   teams of the Soviet Union and South Korea.
   
   In 1984 Canada qualified for the Olympics by defeating Bermuda,
   Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica. They played Iraq, Cameroon and Yugoslavia
   and qualified for the quarter-finals. Here they played a Brazilian
   team made up of Internacional Club players. The game was decided with
   penalties to break the score was 1-1 after extra-time.
   
   Australia's career has not been too overwhelming in the distant past,
   but to the more recent, they have had enormous success with top
   placings in the Youth events. In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics,
   Australia qualified after an inspired goal from Ned Zelic against the
   Netherlands. They then proceeded to make the 3rd place playoff, but
   lost to finish 4th.
   
   With the first leg in Canada, the Australians needed to score goals. A
   win would be great, but a score draw would suffice. For the Canadians,
   they needed to hold out the Australians while scoring the odd few
   goals.
   
   Prior to the series both team had injury problems. The Canadians were
   probably hardest hit when they lost Jim Larkin, their top goalkeeper
   to a knee injury only two days before the game. Other injuries
   included forwards Tomasz Radzinski, Tom Kouzmanis and Garret Kusch.
   The Australians were only missing Glasgow Rangers defender Craig
   Moore.
   
   In game one, the Australians dominated throughout, but could only
   manage a 2-2 draw. Canadian midfielder Davide Zausa scored twice to
   keep the home team's Olympic hopes alive. The Australians employed a
   swarming style of attack and should have won by many goals.
   
   It was Canada who struck first. A ball was passed to Hayden Foxe, in
   the team for the injured Moore, who was playing in the middle of the
   defence. Under pressure, his first touch let him down and Xausa first
   dispossessed Foxe of the ball and then corralled it before roaring in
   alone on Australian goalkeeper Frank Juric, beating him with a low
   shot inside the left post.
   
   The small but enthusiastic crowd of just over 13,000 had 10 minutes of
   celebration before Gabriel Mendez ran through the middle of the park
   to the edge of the box. He delicately layed off a ball to the right
   where Goran Lozanovski sent a laser-like shot 20m past a desperate
   Paul Shepherd in goal for the Canadians.
   
   Ten minutes after the break ran down the left wing and sent in a cross
   towards a running Joe Spiteri. Spiteri under little pressure was able
   to half-volley his shot easily past Shepherd. Then with only 3 minutes
   to play Xausa stripped the ball from Lozanovski with a bustling tackle
   and sent a low drive between Juric and Kevin Muscat for the equaliser.
   
   A dramatic 2-2 result and both teams were still in with a chance for
   qualification. Australia looked better throughout the match but lacked
   the killing instinct to take the game away from the Canadians and
   bring back to Sydney a lead in the series.
   
   The result in Edmonton was actually good for Soccer Australia as it
   meant that the tie in Sydney was going to be important and that the
   home fans would be needed to encourage the team to do well. A rather
   large crowd of nearly 26,000 turned up.
   
   Both managers decided to try and keep their teams together with only
   one change in the Canadian lineup. Again, as in Edmonton, the
   Australians were expected to be the winners, and now even more so as
   the surface they were playing on suited their short-pass and
   ball-control style of play.
   
   The Australians started well and Goran Lozanovski took the first shot,
   but it was the Canadians who had the best chance early. Niall Thompson
   took the ball down the left wing and sent in a low cross into the
   penalty area. The Australians had a few worries as they tried to clear
   the loose ball.
   
   With a quarter of an hour gone, Gabriel Mendez laid off a ball for
   Hayden Foxe to send a crisp low drive towards the goal from about 35m
   out. All Shepherd could do was parry the ball. Joe Spiteri raced in
   for the crumbs but Shepherd smothered the chance and the ball went out
   for a corner.
   
   The ensuing corner was not cleared properly and when Australia had the
   ball back in their possession, Danny Tiato and Spiteri tried a one-two
   just outside the box. The ball ricocheted out to the right and passed
   Viduka to a free Foxe who's first time shot with the outside of his
   right boot, slid past the lunging Shepherd and into the goal.
   
   Then ten minutes later came the bad news. Mendez challenged for a ball
   and as he fell, he re-injured his right knee. According to Eddie
   Thompson, Mendez injured his cruciate ligament in that knee and it was
   the same knee which had just been operated on. This basically meant
   that Gabriel would not travel to Atlanta as a player if the team made
   it through.
   
   There were a few more chances throughout the first half, most of them
   coming to the Australians. The best happened late in the half when a
   cross from the left was miss-handled by Shepherd and it took great
   back-up play by Captain, Richard Hidika to clean up with the ball
   heading into the goal.
   
   A goal up at the break was good, but more was needed. Thompson summed
   it up well when he said "We were very, very nervous; We looked like a
   team that was hoping to hold onto a result and hope for a draw."
   
   It wasn't until the 58th minute that Australia was able to relax
   through a second goal. The leadup involved a through ball by Tiatto to
   Spiteri who ran free towards the goal. Nevio Pizzolitto came across
   and stepped on Spiteri's foot, thus causing the latter to fall. A
   foul, though not intended, was given and correctly by the referee just
   outside the box.
   
   From the free-kick, Tiato pushed the ball away from himself. Viduka
   fainted the shot and Lozanovski belted the ball through the pack. One
   interesting point to note about the goal was that the Australian
   captain was offside. At the time Lozanovski kicked the ball, Muscat
   was in an offside position. He then moved in front of the keeper in an
   attempt to re-direct the ball and thus directly affected the play.
   
   Things could now settle down for the Australians as the Canadians
   would have to score and score two or more goals. During the second
   half they actually had two shots, but neither were on target. With
   time running out, The Canadians moved forward and it was evident that
   the Australians were going to catch them on the break.
   
   The last ten minutes saw a number of goals and all of them with class.
   The first included some excellent lead-up work where from a throw-in
   the ball went through 13 passes before Mark Viduka received a low
   cross in the middle of the box. He turned and planted it just inside
   the right post. Viduka himself was involved twice before the final
   shot.
   
   A few minutes later a corner was headed on at the near post by Mark
   Babic to an unmarked Paul Agostino at the other side of the goal who
   had an easy head-in for the fourth goal. Finally, with only a few
   minutes to go, Ante Moric released Kevin Muscat through the middle
   with defenders nowhere near him. Muscat took the ball to the edge of
   the box, where he stopped, turned and rifled a low shot in off the
   left upright. Australia probably had a chance for a 6th goal when a
   reasonably good looking penalty chance occurred as Agostino was taken
   out in the box, but this was dismissed and play went on.
   
   After the game, Australian coach Eddie Thompson was generally pleased
   with the result, but had a few comments to make. "Once the second goal
   went in we relaxed a bit", and this was very true of the way the
   Australians played. But there were some problems as Eddie said...
   "Defensively we were okay, but midfield attack... so, so", and this is
   an area that will need to be cleaned up prior to Atlanta.
   
   The Canadian coach, Bob Lenarduzzi, stated that... "the second goal
   was critical... and after that we either had to do some scoring or be
   content with a two-nil result. In the end they scored another 3 goals
   which was a disappointment." On Australia's chances to progress during
   the Olympics, Lenarduzzi stated... "I think based on what Australia
   has done, they'll certainly give Mexico a good run for their money."
   
   On Friday June 7th the full squad was released including the 3 extra
   'over-age' players. The squad is: Kevin Muscat, Michael Petkovic, F.
   Juric, J. Spiteri, D. Tiatto, Robert Enes, Mark Babic, Ante Moric,
   Ross Aloisi, Luke Casserly, Ned Zelic, Aurelio Vidmar, Steve Horvat,
   Mark Viduka, Paul Agostino, Hayden Foxe, Goran Lozanovski and Peter
   Tsekenis. The three over age players are Ned Zelic of Eintract
   Frankfurt, Steve Horvat of Hadjuk Split and Aurelio Vidmar of
   Feyenoord.