Canada's soccer journey back to the World Cup remains an unrealistic dream

Canada Soccer has hired a new director of development in the hopes of kick-starting a men's program that has failed to compete at the highest level for the past 30 years.

The hiring of former Canadian international player Jason de Vos as director of development, however, means fans of Canada's men's soccer team must practice patience before dreaming of competing at the World Cup once again.

"What we've done really well in this country is almost perfected the delivery of recreational soccer," de Vos said.

"What we haven't been able to do is take that participation base and get the best players to come through that system and work with them at the right stages of development so they can go on and fulfil their potential."

The Canadian men fell short during their most recent bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, being eliminated in the fourth of five qualifying rounds.

In that round, Canada lost three of its final four games, and head coach Benito Floro was turfed after the exit.

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Not a 'quick fix'

In his new role, de Vos says developing the game for boys taking their first steps on a soccer pitch is his goal. However, he stressed the need for time to run its course before results begin to show.

"I know this isn't a quick fix. We have to start at the bottom of the pyramid, which is the grassroots game," he says.

"Start with those kids and give them a decade to get through a proper player development system with good coaches and good environments. If we can do that, we'll start producing more players ... we'll get more success at the international level."

Patience is a tough ask for Canadian soccer fans who have been denied a chance to cheer on their national men's team during a World Cup for the past three decades. The lack of concrete commitments or any indication of immediate changes will come as a disappointment to some soccer fans.

Issues with youth development is a problem Mark Rogers sees on a daily basis. The former Canadian international soccer player (and former teammate of de Vos) is now the technical director for the South Delta United Youth Soccer Club.

"What's happening at the grassroots level of our game without top down leadership is [causing] miscommunication when teaching these kids," he said. "The grassroots of the game is really crucial and we're not getting it right."

Rogers says he's hopeful things will begin to improve under de Vos's leadership, but says, as of right now, young players are being forced to handle more than they're able to.

"It's almost akin to bringing in a second grader and saying 'Listen, this is calculus kid, I want you to understand it and either pass or fail.' Of course most second graders aren't equipped or smart enough to grasp calculus, and fail."

Retaining players

Grooming top-level talent is only one part of Canada's road to soccer success.

Even if the quality of Canadian talent improves in the coming years, the association will need to find ways to prevent the most talented men from opting to play under another nation's flag.

Calgary-born Owen Hargreaves chose to represent England on the international level, while Canadian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic elected to play for Bosnia, the country of his birth — despite a stint representing the Canadian youth team.

Scarborough, Ontario's Jonathan De Guzmán was a highly touted prospect who opted to represent the Netherlands after gaining citizenship in Holland in 2008.

All three players have represented their respective national teams in World Cup play.

Canadian women leading the way

While Canadian soccer fans may be quick to look at countries like Germany and Spain to see what success looks like, they need only to view our women's national team in order see it first hand.

Christine Sinclair and company have been extremely successful on the world's stage, most recently returning from the Rio Olympics as back-to-back bronze medallists.

Victor Montagliani, Soccer Canada president and recently elected vice-president of FIFA, says it's difficult to compare the men's lack of results with the success of the women's national team.

"It's a different game, with all due respect. We have our girls playing in a professional [league] but it's just different dynamics," he told CBC.

"It's not apples to apples. I'm not saying one is more than the other, but you have to take your hat off to our girls."