GERMANY 2011: more good news for the Canadian women's soccer team.

The Canadian Soccer Association announced Friday that it has reached a compensation agreement with members of the team for 2011 and 2012.

Friday's announcement resolves the pay dispute between the CSA, the sport's governing body in Canada, and the Canadian team ahead of this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup. Canada begins play at the World Cup against Germany in Berlin on June 26.

"We're happy that the issue has been resolved before the World Cup," Canadian defender Emily Zurrer told CBCSports.ca.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

"The Canadian Soccer Association is pleased that we have reached a resolution and we look forward to supporting the women's national team at the FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic qualification tournament in Vancouver and the London 2012 Olympic Games," CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli said in a media release.

The 25 members of the women's team had retained legal counsel and threatened to file a suit for binding arbitration with the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.

The women contended that the Canadian men's team had a fixed-term arrangement with the CSA under which they were paid on a per-game basis. The women said they wanted a similar deal, instead of receiving what they called ad-hoc payments from the CSA.

The announcement of the payment deal comes a day after the CSA revealed it reached an agreement with Carolina Morace, retaining the coach's services through the 2012 London Olympics.

Morace, a 47-year-old native of Venice, Italy, threatened to quit her post following the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup over her growing frustrations with the CSA.

"We would like to thank James Bunting and his associate, Maureen Armstrong from the law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg in Toronto, for working with our team pro bono and their continued hard work and support. They are an amazing group of individuals and we can't even begin to thank them enough," Canadian midfielder Kaylyn Kyle

Prestigioso medio europeo dice que Sánchez es el nuevo Cristiano Ronaldo

"SA7, el nuevo CR7" titula el perfil del chileno publicado en el sitio de la cadena de televisión Eurosport.

 

Continúan las alabanzas para Alexis Sánchez en Europa. Ahora la cadena televisiva Eurosport, en su sitio web en francés, dedica un perfil al chileno titulado "AS7, el nuevo CR7". 
"Alexis Sánchez, puntero derecho de Udinese, es una de las grandes revelaciones del año en Italia. Es más pequeño que Cristiano Ronaldo y menos poderoso, pero también tiene dinamita en sus pies... es un de los mejores dribleadores del mundo", sostiene el artículo. 
"CR7 tiene que saber que el pequeño, como él, no le falta carácter. En la cancha, con la pelota, es una verdadera batería eléctrica", agrega.
El artículo destaca el "autismo del chileno ante los micrófonos", su niñez en Tocopilla y sus primeros pasos como jugador bajo el mando técnico de Nelson Acosta, quien asegura que ver jugar al "Niño Maravilla" es un placer. 
"Tiene la capacidad de eliminar a su rival con una rapidez excepcional... Es un espectáculo, un verdadero placer para los ojos... Es simplemente excepcional y pronto firmará en un grande de Europa en una suma record para nuestro país", asegura Acosta. 
Pese a las comparación con el portugués, Eurosport cita las palabras que alguna vez sostuvo el propio Sánchez respecto al tema. "Cristiano es uno de los mejores jugadores del planeta, pero yo soy Alexis Sánchez y no Cristiano Ronaldo. Quiero dejar una huella: la mía. Y ser en el tiempo, el mejor jugador del mundo".
Por otra parte, en Italia, el representante del chileno, Fernando Felicevich, aseguró que el jugador se irá de Udinese en junio. 
"Yo puedo confirmar algo: en junio Alexis Sánchez cambia de equipo", dijo. Además, reconoció el interés de varios técnicos en el chileno.
"Han hablado bien Alex Ferguson, Leonardo o Roberto Mancini, aunque no quiere decir que sus clubes estén interesados en él", sostuvo.

Canada faces Mexico today for CONCACAF title

Canada will face Mexico in the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier championship final on Monday 8 November in Cancún, Mexico. The two sides have already qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, but will now play for the CONCACAF championship trophy and a set of gold medals on Monday night.

The championship final kicks off at 20.00 (local time) at the Estadio Andres Quintana Roo. The match will be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca, bold television, Radio-Canada.ca/sports and CONCACAF TV (21.00 ET / 18.00 PT). The Canada-Mexico final will be preceded by the match for third place between USA and Costa Rica (17.00 local).

'The numbers suggest we have been one of the best teams in tournament,' said national coach Carolina Morace. 'We must now try to win the tournament.'
Canada is the only undefeated team left standing in the tournament. Canada is 4-0-0 after three wins in the group stage and a 4:0 win over Costa Rica in the semi-final stage. Mexico also won its semi-final match (an impressive 2:1 win over USA), but its record is 3-0-1 including an 0:3 loss to Canada in the group stage.

The 2010 championship will mark the second time Canada and Mexico meet in a CONCACAF women’s final. Twelve years ago, the two sides met in the 1998 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Etobicoke, ON, with Canada taking gold after a 1:0 score line in the final. USA did not participate that year as it had already qualified as host of the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 1999; Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, both booked tickets for USA 1999.

In 2011, Mexico will be taking part in its second FIFA Women’s World Cup while Canada will be taking part in its fifth-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup (all since Sweden 1995). USA and Costa Rica still have a chance to qualify for Germany 2011, but only the CONCACAF third-place finisher will get that chance when it faces Italy in a two-leg playoff in late November.
Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, has 20 healthy players for Monday’s final. While it will be facing a pro-Mexican crowd at the Estadio Andres Quintana Roo, it will have the support of all Canadian fans back home as well as the contingent of Canadian fans who traveled to Cancún for the tournament.

To date, the Canadian Soccer Association has won eight CONCACAF titles, including the one by Canada’s women’s team at the 1998 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier. Canada’s national teams have also won gold in 1985 (Men’s Championship), 1986 (Men’s U-20 Championship), 1996 (Men’s U-20 Championship), 2000 (Men’s Gold Cup), 2004 (Women’s U-20 Championship), 2008 (Women’s U-20 Championship) and 2010 (Women’s U-17 Championship in March).