This time of year, everyone’s got a wish list for Santa and Canada manager Benito Floro is no exception.
On a personal level, Floro might be hoping the big guy will deliver him a fresh new pair of sunglasses. But on a professional level, the Spaniard will have a wide variety of hopes for his team heading into 2016.
Around this time last year, we took a look at Floro’s wish list for 2015. Now, with Christmas Day approaching yet again, let’s see how kind Santa was to Floro this year, as well as what the Canadian gaffer will be requesting for the year to come.
Last year’s wish: Consistent goal-scoring
The team did score goals in 2015 (18 of them in 14 games), but was it consistent? Three scoreless games at the Gold Cup helped reinforce the perception that Les Rouges are unable to score when it counts; however, they did manage to get the crucial tally against Honduras in a November World Cup qualifier.
With at least four more World Cup qualifiers to come in 2016, Floro will be wishing for more timely scoring – even if the ball does tumble into the net off an oblivious player’s backside.
This year’s wish: Big goals at big moments in big games
Last year’s wish: Get some fence-sitters into Canadian colors
Boy oh boy, did Santa ever come through on this one! Junior Hoilett, Tesho Akindele, Fraser Aird, all cap-tied. Lucas Cavallini, back in the Canadian program after three years away. And then there’s Wandrille Lefevre, who made his Canadian national team debut shortly after getting his citizenship finalized.
And it might not stop there. Burney midfielder Scott Arfieldhas mused about coming on board, while Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Gershon Koffie could be closer than ever to being able to join the Canadian program.
Depth is a luxury that every national team manager wants, so Floro will no doubt be hoping Santa can deliver once again in 2016.
This year’s wish: Keep the reinforcements coming!
Last year’s wish: Success at the Under-20 World Cup
Santa must have overlooked this one. Despite high hopes, Canada won just one of its five games in the qualifying tournament and fell short of reaching the U-20 World Cup. The Under-23 squad also missed out in its attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
Even so, the babies can’t be thrown out with the bathwater. Six members of that U-20 side (Cyle Larin, Michael Petrasso, Sam Adekugbe, Luca Gasparotto, Marco Bustos, Kianz Froese) earned call-ups to the senior team in 2015, while several others seem like surefire additions in the years to come.
Larin is already a regular with the senior squad; Floro will want and need more youngsters to make that jump in the next 12 months.
This year’s wish: More players making the jump from the youth ranks to the senior side
Last year’s wish: A full recovery for Will Johnson
Not only did Johnson come back from a devastating leg injury, he won an MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers, made an offseason move to his hometown Toronto FC and played a huge role in Canada’s win over Honduras in November.
In 2016, another sort of recovery might be in the cards. Jonathan Osorio, despite a solid year at TFC, hasn’t been with the Canadian team since the Gold Cup, leaving some to wonder whether he’s in Floro’s doghouse.
Russell Teibert was MIA from the national team for nearly a year due to reported off-field issues with Floro, but eventually made his return. For the good of the team, Floro should hope for a similar reconciliation with Osorio.
This year’s wish: A mending of fences with Jonathan Osorio
Last year’s wishes: Fewer Canadians with Unattached FC, and minutes, minutes, minutes
These two are largely beyond the control of a national-team manager, or even Santa Claus. They simply must cross their fingers that players are doing enough to earn themselves contracts – and playing time – with clubs.
But Canada had a relatively good year in this regard in 2015, with several key players solidifying their club situations. Floro will be hoping that trend continues indefinitely.
This year’s wish: Consistent playing time at the club level for all of Canada’s regulars
Last year’s wish: Progress through WCQ and earn a spot in the Copa America Centenario
St. Nick went halfway on this one. Canada, as expected, breezed into the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying, but the aforementioned goalless Gold Cup meant they won’t be competing at next year’s Copa America Centenario.
That does mean, however, that the team has a singular goal and focus in 2016: to reach the Hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying for the first time since 1997. This one will surely be at the top of Floro’s wish list –and if Santa and the soccer gods can deliver, it’ll mean an even more ambitious wish at the top of his list for 2017.
This year’s wish: A spot in the Hex
