FROM DURHAM PUB LEAGUES TO WORLD CUP
Herdman set for hero status after 36-year Canada wait is ended
THEY were last at the World Cup finals in Mexico in 1986.
But Canada are back, led by Englishman John Herdman, who will complete a remarkable journey from the pub leagues of County Durham to Qatar in November.
The nation’s 36-year wait to return to football’s top table was finally ended on Sunday when they beat CONCACAF rivals Jamaica 4-0.
And it means Herdman, 46, is set for hero status in his adopted country.
Not bad for a lad from Consett whose playing career highlights include helping the Hat and Feather gain promotion to the top flight of the local Sunday league.
Lifelong friend Stephen Jackson played alongside him at St Pat’s Primary School, Consett juniors and the local pub team.
Now living and working in the prison service in Brisbane, Jackson said: “John played in midfield for the Hat and Feather while I was a striker.
“John was quite a small guy but he was a good player with an even bigger heart. He helped the pub team get promotion.
“We had a good side in a league that was full of ex-pros and it was a good standard. We picked up one of the cups against the Coach and Horses, who were favourites, so John was chuffed to get a medal.
“He was always reading the game. You could see he was interested in coaching as he was such a good organiser. We played at school together, then came back and took on the teachers at five-a-side. “From the age of 13 we were at Consett juniors together and that’s when I had a growth spurt and went on to join Manchester United. I soon realised I was in among Beckham and company and was never going to make it. John did have a short spell with Prudhoe Town but by then he was looking to coach and started teaching futsal in Consett.”
Herdman went on to coach at the Sunderland Academy before making the life-changing decision to emigrate to New Zealand and take control of the women’s national team.
He made such a decent fist of it he was head-hunted by Canada and moved to the other side of the world.
Herdman then led Canada’s women to bronze at the 2012 London Games for the first time in their history before taking charge of the men’s team in 2018. After failing to clinch a finals spot with a 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica on Thursday, Canada completed the job in front of a frenzied, red-clad, flag-waving, sell-out crowd of nearly 30,000 at BMO Field in Toronto.
“I’m so pleased we didn’t win in Costa Rica,” said Herdman. “This is how it was meant to be.
“I know why the football gods wouldn’t let us score, it was for tonight. We qualified for the World Cup, this is a legit football country.”