National soccer team coaches always believed Canada would go to the World Cup, so do the players

John Hardman believed when virtually no one believed. Canada she was due to compete in the World Cup in 2022.

That was his message at his first camp in Murcia, Spain in March 2018.

“At our first meeting, he told me his goal of qualifying for the World Cup. He said it on the spot.

“He had a vision long before anyone else. No one was thinking about 2026. We were all focused on what was next in front of us. was a chance to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

Some 46 games and 56 months later, Hardman and Canada are back in Doha for the first time in 36 years in men’s football showcase.

READ MORE: Dreams come with disappointment as Canada announces 26-man World Cup roster

Osorio is one of nine players from the first camp to make the World Cup roster. Others include Milan Boljan, Derek Cornelius, Samuel Adekbe, Atiba Hutchinson, Marc Anthony Kay, Liam Miller, Samuel Piette and Kyle Larin.

Hardman was 10 years old when Canada made its World Cup debut in Mexico and was living in Consett, a suburb of Newcastle, England.

“There are moments like when I arrived here in Doha that I still pinch myself,” Hardman said.

“It’s going to be a tough ride,” he added. Stay on top of that razor blade and let the people of Consett, County Durham know that anything is possible.

“Anything is possible.”

read more: Who will end Canada’s World Cup goal drought in Qatar?

Hardman, the son of a steelworker who had to find work in the Scottish oil industry when the steel mills closed, did not grow up easily.

An ‘OK’ central midfielder, he continued to play semi-professional football in the Northern League and college. But knowing his professional career was not in the cards, he began coaching him.

At 16, he took courses, and at 23, he opened his own football school.

At the University of Leeds, he met a teacher/businessman named Simon Clifford, fell in love with the Brazilian style of football and opened a Brazilian football school. appealed to Herdman, a shrewd player whose nickname was The Black Flash.

Sunderland players began sending their children to Hardman’s football school, which led to job offers at the Sunderland Academy. Hardman said that there he spent three years and now a young Jordan, a Liverpool and England star, he worked with Henderson.

Hardman taught four days a week at Northumbria University’s College of Sports Sciences and attended the academy in the evenings. His passion was football, but he recognized that those who did not play at the highest level had no future.

Herdman considered using his experience in Sunderland as research for a Ph.D. Later, his university advisor, Dr. Paul Potluck, moved to the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Potluck told Hardman about a football job in New Zealand as regional director, pitching him the chance to essentially take over a blank football canvas.

Hardman has thrown himself into the task of coaching all age groups while creating a blueprint for football in the region.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t work more than 80 hours a week,” he once said. “It’s my personality, maybe my mental disorder. When I get carried away with something I’m passionate about, I get a little carried away.”

READ MORE: Hardman feels Kennedy’s pain as injured Canadian defender misses World Cup

He led the New Zealand U-20 team to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2006 and 2008, and the senior women’s team to the World Cup in 2007 and 2011.

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His final appearance at the 2011 World Cup proved to be a turning point. Football his Ferns scored his two goals in stoppage time after losing to Japan and England as he held Mexico to a 2–2 draw.

Hardman says the game “saved my career.”

“The team was on the verge of death. To get them back on their feet for the last game and to get out 2-0, I had to fight for their pride, for my career. You knew you had to fight, you were big.” – Time. “

After that World Cup, Canada offered him a job coaching the national women’s team at their home World Cup appeal, prompting another move around the world.

“The players laugh about it now, but until he joined us, we thought of him as an annoying little guy with earphones on the sidelines.” , Canadian captain Christine Sinclair wrote in her recently released memoir. playing the long game.

Hardman repaired Canada’s broken-down women’s team after finishing bottom in the 2011 World Cup, winning back-to-back Olympic bronze medals before taking over the men’s helm.

Sinclair refers to Hardman as: he is changing his life. ”

“He helps you rediscover your passion,” she said in an interview. “And he creates a culture of unity within the team and leaves the egos at the door. You’re doing this for the team and for each other.

“Ten minutes in the room with him and you’re ready to go through walls for him. You can totally see it in the way, and the way the men played.I can’t wait to see it on the world stage.”

“I think he’s an absolute genius when it comes to coaching, managing people and inspiring people,” said former Canadian goalkeeper Craig Forrest.

“And he’s worked for it. He’s worked on everything,” he added. “He hasn’t been given anything in his life either.”

Hardman’s appeal extends beyond his players, says Nick Bontis, President of Soccer Canada.

“Some of the most high-profile club coaches in the world love John,” said Bontis, noting that Hardman remains in touch with Canadian Football through 2026.

After each national team game or camp, Hardman provides detailed reports to the players’ club coaches and technical staff. Reports include everything from how players are doing on the field to possible recovery issues and things that can be done.

“I had a coach who contacted me directly and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on the world,'” Bontis said proudly.

Canadian women’s coach Bev Priestman also grew up in Consett, five to ten minutes away from Hardman. Herdman Brazil She was 13 years old when she first coached at her soccer school. She immediately helped him.

“You could say he was the same guy then as he is now, intense and passionate. Innovative.[He]does things differently, and that’s obviously a big part of his success.” she said.

Priestman followed him to New Zealand, then Canada, leaving on his own to seek a coaching job in the English Football Association, returning to take over Hardman’s Canadian women’s team.

Herdman’s attention to detail is legendary.

“He’s the hardest working guy I’ve ever known. It takes extra time to get all those details right,” Priestman says.

Canadian defender Alistair Johnston said, “I don’t think he could actually sleep.

Paul Doran, goalkeeper for Canada’s 1986 World Cup team and former member of Hardman’s coaching staff, believes that Hardman excels when it comes to closing the gap between his team and the opposing team. increase.

Herdman connects with players, gives them roadmaps, and weaves together.

“If you can do that, it’s enough,” Dolan said. “But it gives you a chance to beat even the best opponents.”

According to Priestman, Hardman’s X-factor is a complete toolbox.

“John has a lot of skills. He can plan, he is strategic, he can zoom out and go into detail. I think it’s more than that.”

According to her, Hardman has had a huge impact on the staff as well as the players.

“He kind of dreams big and pushes you to new limits that you didn’t know about,” she explained. I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I wouldn’t have won a gold medal (at the Olympics) if you hadn’t pushed me through such a tough moment. It pays off. You look back and say, “The reason I’m able to do these things now is because I’ve lived through that kind of pressure and scrutiny.” ”

Herdman’s wife and two children are in Qatar, but will travel via England on what Herdman calls “their own football pilgrimage”. This includes attending matches for Newcastle United.

“Having my wife invest in the relationship and making sure I’m able to do what I’m doing at the level I have to is incredible. They’ve been through it all, and I couldn’t do it without them.”

“And they have to be there,” he said with a laugh. “They have no choice.”