Phil O’Donnell tribute; looking towards 2008
January 7, 2008 5:00 PM
As my first blog entry of the New Year, I hope that I find all of our Whitecaps fans in fine spirits after the Festive season and ready for plenty of excitement in 2008. There are a number of things to look forward to, but I unfortunately feel obligated to start this piece on a sad note and give my thoughts regarding the recent and tragic death of Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell.
For those of you that may have missed it (and being that the Festive season can be busy for many people), Phil O’Donnell passed away suddenly from heart failure after collapsing on the pitch during Motherwell’s Scottish Premier League home game with Dundee United on December 29. The former Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder was just 35 years of age and is survived by his wife and four young children. His funeral last Friday saw many in Scottish soccer attend, as O’Donnell commanded plenty of respect amongst his fellow professionals. I can still remember my father telling me of the news while I was on my Holiday season break on Vancouver Island, and remembering a similar death of another well-known player.
In 2003, I was working for skysports.com, and even on duty in our North Yorkshire office the night of June 26 when the news came through that midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe had collapsed and died when playing for his country Cameroon at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Lyon, France. A number of things remain fresh in my mind of that evening. There was the phone call from my colleague to give me the news and hearing the shock in his voice, and there was Foe’s agent sounding very upset on the phone when I very briefly spoke to him shortly after the news broke. There was also the emotional scenes of players like Thierry Henry and Gregory Coupet in tears before another Confederations Cup game that evening.
Like O’Donnell, Foe’s death touched many in the soccer world, especially his former clubs in Lens and Lyon from France, and English Premier League sides West Ham United and Manchester City. He was given a state funeral in Cameroon, and both Man City and Lens honoured his memory in their own way. A plaque hangs in the City of Manchester Stadium to remember the African star, while an avenue near Lens’ Félix Bollaert Stadium has been named after the player that lost his life at the young age of 28.
Even more tragic for the world of soccer is that O’Donnell’s recent death came just months after Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta had died from a series of cardiac arrests in late August. He too collapsed in a game three days beforehand and eventually passed away in hospital at just 22 years of age….may all three rest in peace….
From sad reflections to the anticipation of things to come. Soccer fans in Vancouver and rest of Canada had an enjoyable 2007. The U-20 World Cup was a major highlight, and the phenomenon that was Toronto FC grabbed national sporting headlines (not that we here at the Whitecaps were jealous of this…). It may be hard to believe that it can get better in 2008, but we all have plenty to look forward to. With a new head coach in Teitur Thordarson and a new sense of optimism around the club, the Whitecaps men are gearing up for a 2008 season that will not only see the club playing USL First Division soccer. Fans should also expect their team to compete for the title of being the best club side in Canadian soccer as well, as it is widely expected that we will play Montreal Impact and Toronto FC in a three-club competition this summer (an announcement on this competition is to come in the near future). I must admit that I cannot wait to see Thordarson’s squad pitting their wits against Mo Johnston’s TFC, and with the Impact to play in their brand-new Saputo Stadium this year, it will be fun to see which club may come out on top. Fans should also expect that this proposed competition may lead the Whitecaps men into another proposed tournament – the CONCACAF Champions League. Though CONCACAF have yet to confirm the details, expect this competition to begin in August and to have a Canadian entry in the group stages – that being the winner of our three-club Canadian tournament. As in past years, we also plan to have an international friendly game in the summer, while our women’s team will have a new-look W-League Western Conference to play in, as three new clubs from the Los Angeles area enter the league in 2008. We will also have our talented Residency boys playing in the USL’s Premier Development League for the first time, as they continue their growth into professional players.
Of course, soccer in 2008 will include many other events. The African Cup of Nations takes place in Ghana from January 20 to February 10, while the finals of EURO 2008 are set for Austria and Switzerland this June. Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will also get into full swing, with Canada facing St Vincent & the Grenadines over two legs in June. Should Dale Mitchell’s squad advance from that tie, a potential group stage with Honduras, Jamaica, and Mexico could be on the horizon for our national team….yikes!
As we all prepare to feast on another year of soccer action, I would like to wish all Whitecaps fans a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you at Swangard Stadium this season.
Posted By: Simon Fudge on January 7, 2008 5:00 PM
