Soccer Canada picks new coach

TORONTO Octavio Zambrano watched the 2006 World Cup as a fan, opting to mix in some travelling once his native Ecuador was knocked out by a David Beckham free kick.

He eventually decided on Denmark over Finland and Sweden and ended up in a Copenhagen cafe watching the Ukraine-Italy quarterfinal.

It was there he met his wife, a Russian who was at the cafe with friends.

For a man whose soccer journey has taken him around the globe, it was one of his best moves.

The 59-year-old native of Guayaquil, Ecuador, has coached club sides in Colombia, Ecuador, Hungary and Moldova as well as the Los Angeles Galaxy and MetroStars in the early days of Major League Soccer.

He has rolled the dice on more than a few jobs. He was headed to Ukraine when the Moldovan job opening diverted him, for example.

Now he is in charge of Canada.

“I really feel that I’ve been preparing for this job my whole career,” Zambrano told The Canadian Press in an interview prior to his unveiling Friday.

In landing the well-travelled Zambrano as head coach of the men’s national team program, the Canadian Soccer Association has hired a charismatic coach with a bulging Rolodex, a penchant for attacking soccer and an appreciation for young talent.

His predecessor, Spaniard Benito Floro, was also a veteran manager with no shortage of charm. Floro knew his stuff and was appreciated by Canadian players hungry for direction, but paid for the latest in a line of failed World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Ranked No. 117th in the world and 14th in CONCACAF, the Canadian men are in danger of becoming inconsequential. Success on the field is Job 1 but the men’s team badly needs an advocate.