Recently by Ben Rycroft

• Euro Cup Defensive game won't take England far at Euro England was perfectly content to sit eight men across the top of the box against France and counter attack when they saw the opportunity. However, those tactics won't work when they come up against the more technically proficient clubs like Germany, Spain and the like. Posted: Monday, June 11, 2012 | 06:19 PM
• Soccer Canada takes step in right direction with win over Cuba Canada didn't concede to a lesser opponent. They held their ground, took the lead and even when goalie Lars Herschfield took a brainless red card for handling the ball outside the box, they didn't collapse and went on to beat the Cuban national team in the opening game of the second round of World Cup qualifying. Posted: Saturday, June 9, 2012 | 09:48 AM
• Euro Cup Distractions hit England, Italy ahead of Euro 2012 It takes just one miss, one flub, one moment of wandering concentration and a country's tournament can be over at the European Cup. In a competition so close, one that has proven time and time again that anything can happen - anyone can be bounced - that managers, players and UEFA still entertain the dangers of distraction can be baffling. Posted: Thursday, June 7, 2012 | 12:03 PM
• Canada Canada begins difficult World Cup qualifying round As the Canadians head into this next round of World Cup qualification, they will need to take a full six points from a home-and-home with Cuba if they hope to advance out of a group that includes Honduras and Panama. Posted: Wednesday, June 6, 2012 | 09:28 AM
• Euro Cup 10 players who can be difference makers at Euro 2012 These aren't the top 10 players at Euro 2012 but rather 10 players who can make a difference for their country in the opening round at this tournament. Posted: Thursday, May 31, 2012 | 01:10 AM
• Soccer Canada crams for Olympic 'reality check' Part of preparing for the enormity of the challenge facing Canada's national women's soccer team at the London Olympic has meant taking the players out of the gym and putting them in the classroom. Posted: Thursday, May 17, 2012 | 09:37 AM
• Canada The roadblocks to becoming a Canadian soccer coach The road to becoming a professional soccer coach in Canada isn't easy. In fact, it's damn hard.Multiple rounds trips across the Atlantic Ocean, tens of thousands of dollars in registration fees and nearly a decade of commitment will get you a UEFA pro license - but, what then? Jobs are few and far between and even in your own country where the clubs are always looking for something more. Posted: Monday, May 7, 2012 | 09:51 AM
• Soccer Canada in tough for World Cup qualification Last year, when Canada learned of its route to World Cup qualification, pundits called it a dream draw for the Canucks, pointing out the minnows they would have along the way.   Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2012 | 03:28 PM
• Soccer Toronto FC's Montreal pilgrimage This past weekend over a thousand Toronto FC fans hopped on planes, trains and automobiles to find their way to Montreal for the team's first meeting in MLS. If the league can learn to embrace them, these kinds of rivalries will help it grow. Posted: Monday, April 9, 2012 | 07:23 PM
• Soccer Misiewicz impresses on national stage Michal Misiewicz looks to be a keeper for years to come after he raised many an eyebrow with standout performances for the Canadian men's national team in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying. Posted: Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | 01:11 PM
• Soccer Toronto FC's Adrian Cann battling back from ACL injury Toronto FC's Adrian Cann could have easily walked away from the pitch after missing nearly a year with a torn ACL, but instead, he's about a week away from returning to action, writes CBCSports.ca soccer contributor Ben Rycroft. Posted: Friday, March 23, 2012 | 08:15 PM
• Soccer Montreal Impact season preview: Facing uphill battle There is a joke in Canadian soccer circles that says that the Montreal Impact's season doesn't officially start until they have fired at least one coach. For first-time head coach Jesse Marsch, that's a trend he's hoping to reverse. CBCSports.ca takes a look at what Montreal needs to do early and often to have a good first year in MLS. Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2012 | 02:26 AM
• Vancouver Whitecaps season preview: Time for growth The expansion MLS birth pangs can be brutal. On one hand, you're bringing something beautiful into the world. It inspires cheering, it reduces grown men to tears and there is a certain amount of euphoria around that first season. On the other hand, it's likely going to be a sticky mess that won't walk, talk or doing anything on its own for years. Posted: Thursday, March 8, 2012 | 02:10 AM
• Toronto FC season preview: 6th time's a charm? Let's not sugar coat it. The 2011 season for Toronto FC was the worst since its inaugural year in MLS in 2007. Since head coach Aron Winter took over at the start of last season, they struggled on the road, they struggled at home, and it took the heavens opening up biblical-like-rains to assist them in capturing the Voyageurs Cup. Their berth and subsequent run in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) is the only thing that kept that season from being a complete wash.  Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 | 11:36 AM
• Newly-signed De Rosario putting past behind him Dwayne De Rosario is as polarizing a character as there is in Canadian soccer. Now armed with a new lucrative contract from D.C. United, the man who has been the cause of so much discussion over the last year is moving on from what he calls the most difficult year of his professional career. Posted: Friday, February 24, 2012 | 12:07 PM
• Road to pros may ease for university stars The route to a professional career for Canadian university soccer players has never been easy. In fact, it's been downright impossible. At 23-years-old, they're either deemed too old to be a project or too young to hold down a veteran spot. But, Major League Soccer and Canadian Interuniversity Sport are looking at ways to change that. Posted: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 | 03:04 PM
• Canada to face U.S. in World Cup qualifier tuneup It's not quite the War of 1812, but two hundred years after Canadians defended their lines against American soldiers, they'll get a chance to do it once again - this time on the soccer pitch. CBCSports.ca has learned from CONCACAF and U.S. soccer sources that the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), as a part of their centenary celebrations, has arranged to play the U.S. men's national team on Canadian soil ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in June. Posted: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 | 01:36 PM
• Sinclair greatest Canadian player ever? Christine Sinclair is the greatest women's player to ever come out of Canada. Bar none. No ifs, no maybes, no doubt. And so great are her individual accomplishments - 127 goals in 171 appearances and a Top 5 player in the world for the last decade - some are even beginning to suggest she can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the successes of her male counterparts. Posted: Thursday, January 26, 2012 | 10:54 AM
• Leroux can expect rude welcoming in Vancouver If United States striker Sydney Leroux was expecting a warm welcome home, she could be in for a bit of a rude awakening. The 21-year-old Surrey, B.C. native - who came through the Canadian youth soccer system, before turning her back on the Canadian U-20 team and capping for the American program - has once again awoken regional passions, as she prepares to help the Americans qualify for the London Olympics. Posted: Friday, January 20, 2012 | 03:10 PM
• Herdman rebuilding Canada's identity John Herdman, head coach of the Canadian women's national soccer team, casts a stark contrast to his predecessor. Herdman spoke with CBCSports.ca one-on-one from Vancouver and an intriguing profile of the coach - who spends as much time thinking about the psychology of his players, as he does about the tactics on the field - emerged. Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2012 | 02:58 PM