Christine Sinclair leaves big shoes to fill as Canadian soccer captain
Before a limb could be stretched or a ball kicked, there was a little bit of ceremonials to get through. “Un cadeau pour la chévre” was how the hosts referred to proceedings. A gift for the goat.
The entire Canadian women’s team and extensive backroom staff had lined up on the Stade Saputo field Friday morning, and coach Bev Priestman gave the floor to CF Montreal president Gabriel Gervais. He called Christine Sinclair forward and made a special presentation. While the club doesn’t have a No. 12, with the number retired and reserved for its fans, Gervais handed Sinclair a jersey with her name and trademark digits on the back and made a promise: “This will be the last Montreal jersey we will print with the No. 12 on it.”
There was warm applause and a few giddy whoops and then Sinclair and the rest of the squad got down to business, preparing for Saturday’s clash with Brazil here. After training, Priestman and some of her squad stepped forward to discuss for the first time the new, weighty significance of the game, which is now the first of four that will make up a farewell series for the country’s captain, leader and legend.
Neither the word cadeau nor gift specifically came up in the bilingual conversations, but more than once they were implied. That’s because the sublime gifts which Sinclair has showered on her sport and country for 23 years now touched every corner of Canadian soccer. The next six weeks is about giving just a little back.
“I think it’s hugely important, and I know she doesn’t love the spotlight at times, but I think she needs to be celebrated and honoured for what she has done in Canada and done for the game in Canada,” said midfielder Quinn, a teammate of Sinclair’s for nine years now and a close friend, too. “She has completely changed the landscape and dictated the way that’s gone. That’s never going to be matched. It’s a legacy that’s incredible and needs to be celebrated.”
It will indeed be celebrated, in Halifax next week and then back in her native British Columbia in early December. But first it will be celebrated in a Montreal matinee Saturday against the Brazilians, ranked ninth in the world, one place above Canada. Undoubtedly fuelled by the retirement news, sold-out signs went up outside Stade Saputo at lunchtime on Friday. But just nine months out from a defence of Olympic gold in Paris, Priestman now has myriad priorities.
“I think it’s going to be a balancing act of the future but also paying tribute to the greatest player this country has ever seen,” she said. “Across these four games, the fans who have come to see Sinc will get to see Sinc.”
Even though she is the one sparking this balancing act, Sinclair is also its fulcrum, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching since 2000, when first she took the national team on her back.
“I think Christine is a big part of that, especially in this camp,” insisted Priestman. “You know when someone is at peace … I think she can bring her best self. We have two new players (in this camp) and at the end of a session the other day, they see the greatest player of all time doing extra fitness. Little things like that set the tone that this team needs to go on winning Olympic Games. I think Christine is part of handing over the team a little bit.”
The most tangible handover will be a little ring of white elastic. Canada’s captain armband may as well have been tattooed around Sinclair’s arm long ago. It’s been hers for 17 years. But the process of passing it on had already begun, midfield playmaker Jessie Fleming leading the side on a couple of recent occasions and most likely to take over permanently. But according to Priestman and Quinn, part of Sinclair’s legacy is a generation of leaders who come behind, all with their own styles.
“Christine and I had a conversation about that,” the manager revealed. “The wisdom of becoming the captain and what that means. I don’t want to put pressure on any players, but obviously you’ve seen Jessie in the last window wore the armband. I see similarities between those two players in terms of humility, letting their work on the pitch do the talking. Jessie has flourished in that role … but I’m clear that in the group, there’s a great group around whoever has those big shoes to fill.”
Quinn is likely part of that group, but they see plenty of others involved, too.
“I definitely think it’s been an interesting transition for our team,” they said, pointing to a defensive trio as key leaders going forward. “We’ve talked about it for a long time, how some of the younger ones … need to step up and be the leaders. Now that we’re seeing some of the older players (retire), it really has changed the dynamic. But it’s exciting, you see Jessie, Kadeisha (Buchanan), Vanessa (Gilles), Kailen (Sheridan). All of those players are taking a new leadership role, and they’ve all moved naturally into that.
“On our team we’re a quieter crowd, we’re a very humble group, and so there are a couple of leaders in there who lead similarly to Sinc. When they use their voice, it is pretty powerful.”
Brazil has been a familiar foe of late with three meetings in the last year and now two more over the next five days. Its own timeless and iconic attacker Marta is in the squad, and the prospect of her sharing the field with Sinclair is a special one. But with a new young coach at the helm, the South Americans will pose fresh challenges, too.
Priestman is relishing that as Paris prep ramps up significantly. “It’s a bit of a sprint to the Olympic Games,” said the manager whose switch to a new 3-4-3 system worked wonders in sealing that Olympic place last month. “We seem to be better at a sprint than we are at a marathon.”
Sinclair has a little of her own race left to run. There will surely be more cadeaux and tributes to withstand, all of which fall into the “worst nightmare” category for the notoriously shy and quiet leader. Asked whether their friend may belatedly be getting a feel for the fuss, Quinn couldn’t suppress a chuckle.
“I think Christine’s been in the spotlight long enough that if she was warming up to it, she probably would have done so by now!”
True enough.
This article was reported by The Star
