From Russia With Love: FC Dynamo Moscow

Press Conference at BMO Field

http://nukesoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bmofield-eastgrandstandview.jpg

Key:
Peter Schaad (PS) Team 1040
Victor Montagliani (VM) President CSA
Canadian Press (CP)


VM: "Welcome to the introductory press conference of Michael Korrigan."

PS: "Michael, many in Vancouver are very upset that you left the club, why and what do you say to fans?"

MK: "Hey Pete nice to see you. Well first I am going to take a page out of the Sun and thank everyone and give my reason so stay tuned, also it was an opportunity of a lifetime."

CP: "What are your goals as the head coach?"

MK: " I have several so here it goes:
First I want to help grow the sport in the country by these two things.
A. National team matches in every Province and the three territories.
B. Work with each Province Association to grow the sport

My next goal is to make it past the quarter final stage in the 2015 Gold Cup and make it the the hexagonal for the 2018 World Cup.

Finally work and learn from Hockey Canada and try to achieve the same success with their system."

VM: "Well that is all folks"

A letter to the fans
By Mike Korrigan on 11/11/2014 at 10:30 AM PST

Well hello all reading this. I have decided to write this for you all in beautiful Vancouver. I am very sorry if my resignation has caused some friction. There was a reason for this and I felt I need to clear some things up.

First I know you are all upset since I took the job in August and did not announce it until the elimination of the playoffs. That was a stupid decision and I wish I could have made the announcement sooner. That was very unprofessional of me and it hurts. I hope you all will forgive me on that stupid decision.

I took the job because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The CSA felt I was the right person due to my vision for the country. I hope you all understand that and will be on board. If you think I am a "traitor" you need to understand this is how the sport goes, at least I am not managing the other Cascadia clubs or Montreal.

One thing I am planning to do is bring the national team to the same light that the hockey team holds. With this I need you my friends of Whitecaps Nation, please come to our matches when we play at BC Place and be loud.

I hope this letter finds you all well and your harts change. I will see you all soon and hopefully one day be back with the best club in Canada. Thank you for the last few years, Vancouver will always be my home.


Good luck next year,

Michael Korrigan

Manager; Canadian Men's National Soccer Team.

2015 Friendlies set

The Canucks will be playing a diverse group of countries in the early part of 2015 on their road to the Gold Cup. Tickets will go on sale February 2, 2015. All matches will be in Canada.

3/21/15 Puerto Rico (CONCACAF) @TBA



3/25/15 Northern Ireland (UEFA) @ BMO Field



6/5/2015 United States (CONCACAF) @ BC Place



6/9/2015 Saudi Arabia (AFC) @TBA

It has been a little over a two months ago since I left Vancouver for the national team. I feel this move was good but I do miss coaching a club. The four friendlies I have picked out will be an amazing challenge for the country. We can win them all if we work hard. Recently I have contacted all associations in the country about my plan and everyone seems to be on board except for those damn Quebecois. The Quebec Soccer Association is trying to declare its self independent from the CSA, so they do not want to be part of my plan. I think that is stupid.

Back in December I contacted Hockey Canada and was able to get a meeting set up.. It was us members of the CSA and a few of their guys. The meeting took place in beautiful Calgary where the main head quarters are located. They gave us tips about scouting, training and many other things to help improve the sport. After that I decided that one of our main focuses should be the development of the domestic player. The plan is to hold a Team Canada Player Orientation for all players in North America.

We will go over these:
A. Goals of the country
B. Player development
C. training and conditioning
D. inter squad matches
and a whole lot more.

I feel that these radical changes will help the CSA big time. Lucky the country is experiencing a boom in immigration so this is the time to start.

Gold Cup 2015

The Group Stage of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup has been announced. The matches will run from June 7 to 16.

CONCACAF Gold Cup Information

Due to the draw of the Gold Cup the two friendlies Saudi Arabia and the United States have been cancelled. For people who have purchased tickets, you will get a full refund.

Now here is the Gold Cup information:

June 7-27 2015

Group C:
Canada
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico

Fixtures:

6/8/15 Mexico @ Cotton Bowl-Dallas,TX
6/12/15 Guatemala @ Paul revere Field-Boston,MA
6/15/15 Honduras @ Soccer City Stadium-St.Louis, MO

Canada handed tough draw
2/27/15

The Canadian Men's national Soccer Team has been handed very hard draw for the 2015 edition of the Gold Cup. Canada join Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras in Group C. The Canucks will be playing in various cities such as St. Louis and Dallas. The Dallas match will be the clubs toughest task since it will be a home match for Mexico. National team manager Michael Korrigan said "I like the draw and it will give us a chance to show who we are." Many are predicting Canada to finish in last place.

Squad announced for friendlies against Puerto Rico and Northern Ireland


Goalkeepers:
Milan Borjan-Sivasspor
Stefan Frei-Toronto FC
Simon Thomas-Unattached

Defenders:
Yannick Bourgault-Montreal Impact
Mike Campbell-FC Dallas
Marcel de Jong- St.Pauli
David Edgar-Burnley
Edson Edward-Unattached
Andre Hainault-Portland Timbers
Dejan Jakovic- D.C. United
Jaime Peters-Southend

Midfielders:
Kyle Bekker: Rochester Rhinos
Edin Dautovic- Orlando City S.C.
Jonathan de Guzman-Villarreal
Dave Garcia-Unattached
Nick Knox-Unattached
Nikolas Ledgerwood- Hammarby Fotboll
Jason Medwin- Unattached
Josh Simpson-BSC Young Boys

Forwards:
Cameron Hudson-Montreal Impact
Iain Hume-Preston North End
Simeon Jackson- Reading

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Manager: Michael Korrigan
Assistant Manager: Colin Miller
Coach: Marc Bircham

Korrigan approaches first Canada game

3/20/15

Current national team head coach Mike Korrigan will take charge of his first match with the national team this Saturday against Puerto Rico in Toronto. This will be Korrigans 72nd soccer game and, as he takes on a new challenge, he will be looking to increase his reputation. Korrigan has previously managed the Vancouver Whitecaps and UBC Thunderbirds.

Nice to see Canada getting some love, I always think- 'they can't be that bad'.

New Canada boss off to good start
3/28/2015

It has been a good week for new manager Mike Korrigan. With two friendly matches out of the way the Canucks and their fans should be proud of the effort.

On the first match against Puerto Rico, the team looked fabulous. Even though it was a low scoring game Canada was totally in control. In the 20th minute Iain Hume scored a beauty. The player of the match was Josh Simpson. It was a special day for 23 year old attacker Cameron Hudson when he came off the bench and obtained his first cap.

A few days later Canada would face UEFA Nation Northern Ireland. Now this game many media outlets had Northern Ireland win by a big margin. Could the Canucks pull the upset????? Sadly they did not but the players should be proud of their efforts. Northern Ireland was very strong that day and GK Stefan Frei had a so so match conceding the three goals. But positives came from Hume once again with a goal. Also Cameron Hudson scored his first goal for Canada.

Overall the two matches were good. I would give the club a B+ for a grade. Both teams were not pushovers and Canada was able to keep up. We look forward to see what the team does next. Mike Korrigan was the right hire. Canada's next match will be against Mexico in Dallas,TX for the opening match of the 2015 Gold Cup.

Preliminary Squad announced for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup


Goalkeepers:
Milan Borjan-Sivasspor
Stefan Frei-Toronto FC
Simon Thomas-Unattached

Defenders:
Yannick Bourgault-Montreal Impact
Mike Campbell-FC Dallas
Marcel de Jong- St.Pauli
David Edgar-Burnley
Edson Edward-Unattached
Andre Hainault-Portland Timbers
Dejan Jakovic- D.C. United
Jaime Peters-Southend
Ashtone Morgan- Toronto FC

Midfielders:
Kyle Bekker: Rochester Rhinos
Patrice Bernier- Uattached
Will Johnson-Portland
Dave Garcia-Unattached
Nick Knox-Unattached
Nikolas Ledgerwood- Hammarby Fotboll
Jason Medwin- Unattached
Josh Simpson-BSC Young Boys

Forwards:
Cameron Hudson-Montreal Impact
Iain Hume-Preston North End
Simeon Jackson- Reading
Rob Friend- Unattached
Oliver Occean- Frankfurt

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Manager: Michael Korrigan
Assistant Manager: Colin Miller
Coach: Marc Bircham

(Squad must be cut down to 22 in a week)

Korrigan announces Gold Cup Squad
5/23/2015

The rosters are set for the gold up. It looks like Manager Michael Korrigan is looking to add a few veterans into the squad. The three most notable additions are Rob Friend and Patrice Bernier. The three are the oldest on the squad and are in their last days as professional players.

"I felt bringing in Rob and Patrice would be a good boost of leadership for the club, plus their careers are ending within the year, so I felt it was appropriate to bring them in."-Mike Korrigan

Canada starts playing on June 8th in Dallas.

Roster
Goalkeepers:
Milan Borjan-Sivasspor
Stefan Frei-Toronto FC

Defenders:
Mike Campbell-FC Dallas
Marcel de Jong- St.Pauli
David Edgar-Burnley
Andre Hainault-Portland Timbers
Dejan Jakovic- D.C. United
Jaime Peters-Southend
Ashtone Morgan- Toronto FC

Midfielders:
Kyle Bekker: Rochester Rhinos
Patrice Bernier- Uattached
Will Johnson-Portland
Dave Garcia-Unattached
Nick Knox-Unattached
Nikolas Ledgerwood- Hammarby Fotboll
Jason Medwin- Unattached
Josh Simpson-BSC Young Boys
Julian De Guzman- Regensburg

Forwards:
Cameron Hudson-Montreal Impact
Iain Hume-Preston North End
Simeon Jackson- Reading
Rob Friend- Unattached

Occéan angry about being cut.

Soon to be retired striker Olivier Occéan has announced his anger at Canada Manager Mike Korrigan for cutting him from the squad in favor for Rob Friends. Occéan took to twitter and said:

@olivieroccean: How can you cut me almost 50 caps and you bring in some kid??? #whatajoke #korrigansucks

Word from the Canadian camp is that he just did not have enough fuel in the tank to compete for the tournament. Occéan has been a problem for the national team in the past with problems like a 6 match band in 2013 for a fight on the pitch.

Great story so far, man. Good entertainment.