Of endings and beginnings

No one, man or woman, has scored as many international goals and only one player has played more. She was 16 when it began and 40 when it ended. Through a 23-year career, she put Canada on the football map and – this is just as important – shed her reticence to speak up for the players. Creating equality is what you will be most proud of, she had written to her younger self. So it fit that for Tuesday night Vancouver’s BC Place was named after Christine Sinclair.

Canada's Christine Sinclair beats a drum after playing in her final international match (Source: AP)

It fit that the friendly against Australia would almost stop in the 12th minute when 48,112 gave her a standing ovation in recognition of the number she wore. And that Canada would win 1-0, Sinclair having a role in Quinn’s 40th minute goal. “It’s been the perfect night,” she said.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media that Sinclair had inspired a nation. “You are truly a national treasure,” said twice Olympic gold medallist speedskater Catriona Le May Doan about the striker whose quest for an Olympic gold began in 2008 and ended four editions later, in Tokyo. In between there were two Olympic bronze medals and a Golden Boot. No wonder Canada calls her ‘Captain Everything’.

     

With her, the game grew in Canada. “To see… where it's at now, and the opportunities that are available, whether it's in the national team or playing pro. Honestly, I never thought in my career that this was going to happen. And I just feel fortunate to be a part of that growth and it's incredible to experience the change," said Sinclair.

The best player to have never won the Ballon d’Or, Megan Rapinoe was asked. Christine Sinclair, she said. Numbers don’t often tell the story but for Sinclair they sure do: 190 international goals, 331 games, four Olympics, six World Cup finals (which ended in 2023 with Canada exiting in the group stage and Sinclair missing a penalty against Nigeria – not all endings are perfect) and being adjudged Canada’s best a whopping 14 times. Only Kristine Lilly of USA (354 internationals) has played more among men and women. The most prolific international scorer in the men’s game? Cristiano Ronaldo, 128 goals.

It was a game where three farewells were being honoured: midfielder Sophie Schmidt, who played 19 years for Canada, and goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who retired in January. But it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the night was Sinclair’s.

Paris shines for Germany

In the week Sinclair played her last game for Canada, Erling Haaland raged against refereeing incompetence before City lost to Aston Villa, Juan Ferrando and Roy Krishna wagged fingers at each other and East Bengal scored five for the first time in ISL, another forward announced his arrival. With goals in the last three knockout games for Germany in the under-17 World Cup in Indonesia. Paris Brunner scored in every game from the quarter-final as Germany ended a dry run in the teens’ World Cup for men. It fetched Brunner the Golden Ball.

If Brunner was the hero in front, goalkeeper Konstantin Heide was the team’s other star. Heide saved two penalties in the semi-final tie-breaker and two more in the final. In the thrilling semi-final against Argentina, it was Brunner who scored from the final kick.

The tournament had its share of upset results with Iran beating Brazil after overcoming a 0-2 deficit and Uzbekistan defeating England. Uzbekistan had won the Asian Games gold in 1994 at the first time of trying. They have players in the top tier in Turkey, Russia, France and Italy. Recently, their senior drew 2-2 with Iran. Next month, they will play India in the Asian Cup.

Soon after the 1994 Asian Games India got Rustam Akramov, who had masterminded the triumph, as head coach but he didn’t have much to show for. Proof again that it is the structure of the sport that is more important than hoping that a top coach will be able to work his magic in the absence of one. There have been some changes for the better but a lot needs to be done.

Only a few who played the under-17 World Cups make it as senior players. That’s hardly unique to football and shows how difficult the transition to a successful senior career is. But the under-17 World Cup gave us Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho (okay, not the right name to take given his continued isolation at Manchester United but we are talking football skills), Ferran Torres, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Mohammed Kudus, Paulinho (Paulo Filho) and in Steve Cooper a successful manager. Here’s hoping that we will talk about Hamidou Makalou, Sekou Kone, Brunner, Rayan, Ruberto some years down the line.

PLAY OF THE WEEK

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IN OTHER NEWS

Queiroz leaves Qatar: Carlos Queiroz has left Qatar's national team less than a year after signing a four-year contract to coach the Asian champions and with little more than a month until the nation hosts the next edition of the Asian Cup, says AFP. The former Real Madrid and Portugal head coach took over as the long-term replacement for Felix Sanchez in February. “The Qatar Football Association has announced that Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz's tenure as head coach of the Qatar national team has ended amicably by mutual agreement between the two parties,” the QFA said in a statement on Wednesday. Queiroz oversaw wins over Afghanistan and India in November in the second round of Asia's preliminaries for the next World Cup, with the Qataris chasing one of eight berths from the continent at the expanded 48-team finals.

Carlos Queiroz with the Qatar team (Source: AP)

NADA rejects appeal: M Viknesh’s appeal on a two-year ban imposed by disciplinary committee of the NADA for failing a dope test has been rejected, says PTI. The player from Kerala was given a two-year ban by the NADA Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel with effect from November 12, 2022, after his dope sample collected during the 2022 National Games in Gujarat was found to contain banned 'Terbutaline', which is found in cough syrup. In an order passed on Saturday, the NADA panel upheld the disciplinary committee's decision but changed the date of its operation. Viknesh's two-year ban will start from April 5, 2023, the date of decision of the disciplinary committee hearing as he was not provisionally suspended after failing the dope test. Viknesh had submitted that he had taken a cough syrup based on a doctor’s prescription.

Mohun Bagan Avenue: From Sunday, the street in Durgapur that has a hospital and the Durgapur High School has been named Mohun Bagan Avenue. This is the first time the steel town in West Bengal had a street named after a football club. This was made possible by the Mohun Bagan Durgapur Fans Club and the Durgapur Municipal Corporation.

Defending champs out: Defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds were eliminated from the Asian Champions League in the group stage on Wednesday after losing 1-2 to Hanoi FC in their final game, says AFP. Urawa, who beat Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal in May to win last season's title, cannot play in the continental competition next term as well because they didn’t finish among the top three in the J-League.

Premier League’s first manager sacking: Sheffield United have reappointed Chris Wilder as manager after sacking Paul Heckingbottom following a miserable start to the Premier League season. CEO Stephen Bettis said the club, bottom of the table, needed a "boost" in the battle for survival. Heckingbottom is the first manager to be fired this season in the English top flight after 11 defeats in 14 league games, leaving them four points from safety.

Messi Athlete of the Year: Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine's “Athlete of the Year” for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d'Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami, says AFP. ‘Time’ said the Argentine superstar had already had a transformative impact on the American sporting landscape, which has been historically slow to embrace football. Watch video of Messi obliging fans here “Lionel Messi this year managed to do what once seemed impossible, when he signed with Inter Miami: turning the US into a soccer country,” the magazine commented. Messi made an instant impact on Miami's fortunes, playing a pivotal role in helping the team win the expanded Leagues Cup, a cross-border competition for teams from MLS and Mexico's top flight. He finished the campaign with 11 goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, but an injury towards the end of the season meant he was unable to help Miami force their way into the playoffs.

Lionel Messi, Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year 2023 (Source: Time)

Team GB’s Olympic dream over: England's Lionesses thrashed Scotland 6-0 on Tuesday but it was not enough to keep alive Team GB's dreams of a Paris Olympic berth after late drama saw the Netherlands pip them to top spot in their Nations League group, says Reuters. “I'm very, very disappointed. That's the biggest emotion right now,” England coach Sarina Wiegman told reporters at Hampden Park. England and Netherlands finished with 12 points but the Dutch edged England on goal difference 8-7.

Nico’s new deal: Nico Williams has signed a new deal that will keep him at Athletic Bilbao till June 2027. According to a release from La Liga, Williams, 21, is the side’s top assist provider this term having set up five goals. The winger joined Bilbao’s academy a decade ago as an under-12 player. His brother, Inaki Williams also plays for the club.

Cristiano promoting NFTs by Binance (Source: Binance)

Lawsuit on Cristiano Ronaldo: Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with class-action lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion in damages for his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related "non-fungible tokens," or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance. An AP report says the lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida alleges that Ronaldo's promotion of Binance was “deceptive and unlawful.” Binance's partnership with high-profile figures like Ronaldo, the plaintiffs claim, led them into costly and unsafe investments.

Saudi Arabia to host: Saudi Arabia will host the final stages of Asia's top club competition for two years, the Asian Football Confederation has said. The 24-team AFC Champions League Elite will next season replace the existing Champions League, with $12 million going to the winning side. The region's top 24 clubs will be divided into two leagues of 12 across East and West and compete home and away for a place in the last 16. The eight winners will advance to a Final Stage –where teams play the quarter-finals, semis and final in a single-leg format –which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first two editions in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

Euro draw disruption: Daniel Jarvis, the British prankster, has claimed responsibility for disrupting the 2024 European Championship draw where loud sex noises in the hall in Hamburg kept interrupting the programme. Jarvis said he placed a mobile phone which had a pornographic ringtone in the hall and kept calling it from a hotel nearby.

Palmeiras champs, Santos go down: One of the most exciting seasons of the Brazilian league ended with the most stable team of the season defending its title and the club that was home to the late Pelé relegated for the first time, says AP. Palmeiras drew 1-1 at Cruzeiro on Wednesday to be crowned Brazilian champions for the 12th time. The 18-year-old Endrick scored his 11th goal of the season to give Palmeiras an early lead and Nikao equalised in the 80th minute at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. Santos' relegation following a 2-1 home loss to Fortaleza was another setback for the club at the stadium where Pelé's funeral took place in January.

Matip out for season: Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip could be out for the season after rupturing his ACL. Matip sustained the injury during Liverpool's 4-3 win over Fulham on Sunday, when grasped his right knee before leaving in the second half. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed the nature of Matip's injury after his team's 2-0 win at Sheffield United on Wednesday. “It's an ACL, ruptured,” Klopp said. “Very unfortunate, but that's it.' It leaves Liverpool with Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez as possible centre-back partners for captain Virgil van Dijk.

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