Canada coach knows ‘enemy’ inside out
EDMONTON— Tied for last in Group A, New Zealand is desperate for three points in its second Women’s World Cup soccer match against Canada on Thursday. Canadian coach John Herdman has been there before with the Football Ferns. He helmed the Kiwi squad for six years before making the move to a colder climate in 2011. Misty-eyed, Herdman reminisced Wednesday about the young team he cultivated from under-20 days. It was in Auckland that Herdman, by chance, took a shot at coaching the women’s game.
“It started a passion, really,” he has said. “I really started to realize that my coaching approach, philosophy and style was well-received in the female side of the game.”
But when it comes to Thursday night’s faceoff against his old side, Herdman is all business: “They’re the enemy at this point, it’s very clear. We need six points. We want six points.”
The feeling is mutual for New Zealand manager Tony Readings, Herdman’s former assistant coach, and his squad which is looking for a result after a hard-fought 1-0 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday.
“To be honest, as a team we haven’t spoken about John at all. He hasn’t come into it. We’re just looking at Canada as a team and how they play,” 23-year-old midfielder Annalie Longo said Wednesday.
“We’re going to use what we know as an advantage. Obviously I know a lot about him and learned a lot of things from him, but the way we play is a lot different now.”
The squads have met only once since Herdman’s defection from New Zealand Football, a friendly in Switzerland before the London Olympics in 2012. Canada’s 2-0 win was comfortable, but Herdman remembers the game as tense and edgy.
“I could sense the New Zealand girls, it was quite an emotional experience for them hearing my voice on the sideline.”
It won’t be the same this time around, Herdman assures. Too much time has passed. His associations with the Kiwi players, who have grown from teenagers into professional footballers, are now only memories.
Still, Herdman — with New Zealand for the last World Cup in Germany in 2011 — says he must guard against letting emotions play a role in his decision-making.
“I made a promise to this group that I wouldn’t let my ego get in the way. This’ll never be about trying to beat your old team. It’s just about getting another three points,” he said.
The way Herdman talked at the pre-match press conference, a win — and with it a trip to the knockout round for the Canadians — seems likely: “Quality for quality, we’re a better team than New Zealand.”
The manager speaks like he knows the opposition inside out: “I put in a 10-year plan with that team, that everyone would peak at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in terms of age and caps, so this team are peaking now.”
Herdman is expecting more intensity from 17th-ranked New Zealand than Canada faced against defenceminded China in the opener last weekend. New Zealand will have to press for the win to advance past the round-robin stage for the first time, but that approach could create openings for Canadian strikers and midfielders.
“You’ll see Canada adjusting their style,” Herdman said. “There’ll not be 25 passes around the back, because New Zealand won’t let you do that.”
Herdman is confident that a more direct style will lead to a Canadian win, which sparked some friendly banter with his former players in the elevators and stairwells of the hotel the teams share:
“As a group, they’re very clear, as one of the players told us, that they’re going to take three points off us. And I told them back, ‘You’ve got no chance.’ ”