LeBlanc hopes her final Cup is a winner
Veteran goalkeeper also gives insight into Team Canada’s ‘Love’ song
Karina LeBlanc had a cough, and the sniffles, and a raspy voice. It was a cold, and it was a bad time for a cold. She had appointments in the morning, soccer practice in the afternoon and the final international tournament of her career only a few days away.
LeBlanc has announced she would retire from the Canadian women’s team after the World Cup, which begins this weekend. At 35, she has spent almost all of her adult life wearing the jersey of her adopted home, having moved to British Columbia from Dominica with her family when she was eight. The veteran goalkeeper is a charter member of the generation of women who transformed the program, from a team playing for friends and family into one playing in front of sold-out stadiums, with national name recognition and a laudable trophy case.
This will be her fifth World Cup appearance. LeBlanc took time to answer questions:
The Power of Love?
Oh boy. How did The Power of Love come about? You know, it’s just one of those things, after every game, you always play a slower song. We love Celine Dion. And that’s a song that everybody seemed to know. It caught on. And I think it’s a combination of loving Celine Dion and a song that everybody knew. And we love each other.
You are known for your varied hairstyles: How long does it take to prepare?
I’ve mastered it a bit, now. So I can probably do my hair in about 15 minutes, which is pretty cool. Or, sometimes, people think I plan it, and it’s just not combed. (laughs).
Goalies are generally known for their quirks and superstitions. What are yours?
Hmm. I like to listen to a little bit of gospel and reggae before a game to just chill me out, because I have a lot of energy. Then, right around game time, just start getting with the team and dancing and being loud. But I like to visualize when I’m back in the hotel, and write a little note of who I’m going to be that day. I also have to have something pink on, as well, for breast cancer awareness.
You were bullied in your early days in Canada?
Yes. I didn’t fit in. I was taller than other kids. Obviously, there were only a few — not in my class — but in my school, there were maybe two or three black kids. So I was different. I didn’t speak. I had a firecracker put in my hand in the first couple of days I was at school. The kids laughed. I mean, I’d never seen a firecracker before, so it went off in my hand and all the kids laughed at me. I was an outsider. I actually hated it. I remember going home and telling my mom how much I hated them for bringing us here. Because my dad worked five hours away, so we only saw him on the weekends. That was the only job he could get. And my mother, because her accent was so thick, she couldn’t even get a good substitute-teaching job. So it was a struggle. We had our home in the city in Dominica, which was on one acre of land, and then our country home, which was on 10 acres of land. And then we were living in a two-bedroom apartment. We went from comfortable to uncomfortable very quickly.
The Canadian women brawled with the Americans before Sochi. Is the rivalry with the U.S. as intense on the field?
I’m going to have to say yes. Canada and the U.S.A.; it’s like the U.S. is the big brother that continues to beat you, you know? Women’s hockey has had success in beating them, so there’s a bit of a difference there. When we watch those hockey games, the Canada/U.S. games, it’s almost like we connect so well with the teams. It’s like, ‘come on!’ And when they won, it’s almost like, ‘Yeah! We can do it now.’ It becomes personal. There’s a story there. Obviously, the Olympics made it an even bigger story. I think a Canada/U.S.A. final would be fantastic for this World Cup.