Retirement ‘bittersweet’ for veteran Canadian ’keeper Leblanc
For a fleeting moment after Canada’s quarter-final loss to England on Saturday, goalkeeper Karina Leblanc reconsidered her retirement from the women’s national team.
It was an understandable moment of hesitation: the 35-year old had high hopes to finish her career the “perfect” way as a World Cup winner.
“I’m like, ‘Yup, this is the time,’ and then I’m like, ‘Man, this is not how I wanted it to end.’ But the decision’s been made and it’s time now for me to . . . think of the next chapter,” Leblanc, who announced should would retire following the tournament in late May, told the Star from Vancouver earlier this week.
That decision won’t be easy for the country’s longest-serving player. In the 17 years since Leblanc made her senior debut, her life has revolved around the squad.
“I’m so used to having a plan and being on a schedule with the national team. Now I’m like, should I already have a job right now?” she laughed.
It was a rare light moment for the ’keeper, who has made 110 appearance for her country over nearly two decades and was still hurting from her team’s Women’s World Cup ousting.
The first couple of days following the loss, in which Canada gave up two result-defining goals to England in a three-minute period, were akin to waking up from a bad dream for Leblanc.
“For us thinking back, it was just a few moments,” she said. “Those few moments changed everything.”
It wasn’t meant to be for the Canadians or Leblanc, whose quarter-final disappointment was compounded by the reality of knowing she would never again represent her country on the pitch.
But looking up into the stands at hoards of fans that remained at BC Place in Vancouver long after the final whistle to salute their girls, Leblanc was comforted.
“People were yelling, ‘Thank you for what you’ve done for this country,’ and ‘We’re so proud of you.’ Oth- ers were saying, ‘Please don’t retire.’ I heard, ‘Leblanc don’t go, Canada wants you back,’ ” she said.
“It was so bittersweet. I wanted to be waving at the end of the final, not the quarter-final.”
A woman who once played in front of crowds as small as four or five, on Saturday she was part of a 23-player roster that entertained more than 54,000 fans.
“I’m so optimistic for the future of Canadian soccer. For me, just seeing the numbers . . . I’ve never experi- enced anything like that in my career. It was like every game they showed up, they believed in us.”
A dream that one seemed farfetched to Leblanc — representing her country in front of a sold-out crowd at a home World Cup — is now a reality.
If young boys and girls need someone to aspire to, Leblanc’s a good role model. She had already adopted that responsibility within the squad, mentoring players like Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, and has recently branched out to help even more young people through her work as an ambassador for UNICEF Canada, which she has previously said allowed her to “tap into her greater purpose.”
But before she does that, or makes any other strides into the next phase of her life, Leblanc has a few more important moments on the pitch to wrap up. Following some rest, Leblanc will travel to Chicago to reunite with her National Women’s Soccer Team the Chicago Red Stars.