KICKIN’ IT WITH HER HERO
Women’s soccer stalwart thrives on pressure of playing at home
Team Canada’s Christine Sinclair played with members of the U12 Red Deer Renegades at the Commonwealth Community Rec Centre while taking part in the unveiling Tuesday of a Canada Post stamp commemorating the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It was back in 1999, when the United States was playing host to the world’s best players, that Christine Sinclair vowed soccer would be her mission.
She was a steely-eyed 15-year-old sitting in the stands at Portland’s Civic Stadium, one of the match sites in the women’s World Cup.
Some 153 Canadian goals later, Sinclair is gearing up for her fourth World Cup appearance, well aware there will be throngs of young impressionable girls in the stands at Commonwealth Stadium when Canada opens its World Cup quest on June 6.
It is one of the reasons Sinclair, the most accomplished women’s soccer player in Canada and one of the best players in the world, is embracing the chance to play on home soil.
At least, she is no stranger to fanfare and expectations. Kadeisha Buchanan? Not so much, but reality has yet to take a swipe at the 19-yearold defender.
“We have one of the most meticulous coaches around. We’re prepared for anything and everything,” said Sinclair, who was in Edmonton with Buchanan on Tuesday for the unveiling of a stamp commemorating the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“Playing a home World Cup could be seen as pressure or a burden, but we’re going to have a packed stadium cheering for us, so we just have to use it as momentum.”
Both players are featured on the stamp, along with goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori, who was in net in 2011 when Japan won the World Cup by beating the U.S. in a penalty shootout.
“I never thought I’d be on a stamp,” said the Toronto-raised, West Virginia-schooled Buchanan. “I’m not sure when it’s going to hit me. It hasn’t hit me yet.”
Following the selection of Canada’s 23 players on Monday at Vancouver, the athletes were given 10 days off to recharge before the national team regroups in California. Their final tune-up match is slated for May 29 against England in Hamilton, Ont., then it’s on to Edmonton for the opening match against China.
Four years ago, at the last World Cup, Canada was eliminated before the opening round was even completed. It was an early, unexpected exit that set about significant changes, not the least of which was the hiring of head coach John Herdman.
“We were broken,” Sinclair said. “(John’s) the most incredible coach I’ve ever had the honour of playing for. He changed the team.
“After Germany, a lot of people were wondering why they were playing and within one camp, he had changed everyone’s mindset. He has us believing we can beat anyone this summer.”
Buchanan was in high school in 2011, trying out for Canada’s under-17 squad. A year later, she was among those inspired by the national team’s bronze-medal performance at the London Olympics.
This World Cup, however, is in Canada, a scenario not lost on the players or star women’s hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, who is serving as the ambassador for the summer showcase. Wickenheiser played in all five Winter Games that featured women’s hockey, including the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
“I don’t think you can just treat it as another tournament. I think the way you handle it is that you embrace the energy and having all those people in your corner,” Wickenheiser said on Tuesday, her left foot still in a walking boot following surgery to repair a broken bone she played with during the 2014 Olympics.
“I haven’t felt any extra pressure. It just feels like I’m preparing for the World Cup. ... It seems like just yesterday I was preparing for my first,” said Sinclair, who said she would evaluate her next step following the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“This one is definitely different. I’m going to enjoy this one a little bit more,” she said. “(But) if I stay healthy, no, I can’t see this being my last World Cup.
“But as a team, our focus is using our friends and family and all the young kids who will be filling the stands as motivation. There’s going to be a moment in this World Cup where we need the fans and we’re lucky we’ll have 50,000 people screaming for us.”
To date, 750,000 tickets have been sold for the 24-team tournament, including 30,000 for Canada’s opening match in Edmonton. Soccer Canada’s overall target for the tournament, which will be staged in six cities, is 1.5 million. jireland@edmontonjournal.com Twitter.com/@jirelandEJ