Dein erstes Forum » Floro paused and took his time before responding

TORONTO -- And just like that, it was over.It seems like just yesterday the kids were stepping off airplanes in Montreal for their Quebec training camp, arriving for the World Cup of Hockey truly not knowing what to expect.They came in groups. There was a group that flew in by way of Detroit -- Dylan Larkin, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray and Brandon Saad -- filling up a first-class cabin on a Delta flight that was just a goalie and center short of a strong starting lineup.There was a group flying in from Toronto, including Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews, with Matthews hitting the ground in Montreal with a Blue Jays hat that cameras captured and sent back to Toronto.It was relayed to Matthews that Maple Leafs fans loved seeing the Arizona kid in Jays gear. He smiled and nodded toward Rielly. It was his idea.They arrived and immediately realized they had something special.Defenseman Aaron Ekblad took a look around at the raw talent in the dressing room after the first practice and just shook his head.Each player is so good, he said that afternoon. Its actually crazy how good we are.It was crazy. It was crazy how they arrived in that first pretournament game and blew the doors off Team Europe. It was crazy how they lit up a defensively sound Finland team in their first game of group play. Crazy how they beat Sweden in overtime, on a goal from Nathan MacKinnon on Henrik Lundqvist that everybody in the building will remember as long as hockey highlights are flickering in their heads.Its crazy that one ugly six-minute stretch against Russia is sending them all home to their NHL teams.Its crazy that it had to end the way it did, hoping a Finland team with nothing to play for somehow could beat the Russians. The kids, after all, did go 2-1 in the tournaments toughest group.I thought we were the second-best team in the tournament, Team North America general manager Peter Chiarelli said. Having said that, we played by the rules and thats it.Coach Todd McLellan, who with his staff did a great job guiding these kids, sat in the front row of a suite at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday afternoon with his coaching staff to root for Finland. He leaned in during the first-period action, watching intently.The most emotion he showed came when Russia scored the second goal on the Finns, giving the table in front of him a restrained tap with his fist. That second goal was the moment he knew it was over.During the second intermission, he leaned against a hallway wall behind the suite as the Team Europe coaching staff walked by.Good luck in the third, Europe assistant coach Paul Maurice offered.McLellan thanked him, but optimism wasnt high.This was it, and he knew it. When the Russians scored their third goal early in the final period, he stood up and left. He was in his hotel room before the end of the game.I think of World Cups through the years and the memories that are created, McLellan said, reflecting on what hell take away from this tournament. We participated in one of those moments.More than one.There was MacKinnons goal on Lundqvist. There was Matthews scoring his first of many goals in Toronto. There was Connor McDavid racing the length of the ice in the blink of the eye. There was a Johnny Gaudreau breakaway. And another Johnny Gaudreau breakaway. And another Johnny Gaudreau breakaway.People were calling the win over Sweden one of the greatest hockey games they ever witnessed.This team started as a gimmick and finished with a small place in hockey history, and maybe this is the way it was supposed to end.The last memory of Team North America was their greatest triumph -- a performance against Sweden for the ages.McDavid is on the cusp of stardom. This is the tournament that launches it after last seasons injury-detoured false start.Hes going to, at one point, take over the league, predicted?Chicago Blackhawks?and Team Europe winger Marian Hossa. Its just fun to watch.Matthews wont be too far behind, this tournament revealed. So many of the players on North America are just now embarking on special NHL careers. There are Stanley Cups to be won with them as the centerpiece, probably Olympic gold medals too.But for those moments, theyll be competing against each other, not banded together as an under-24 superpower.On Thursday afternoon, the players, coaches and management worked their way back to the top floor of the Royal York hotel, where many were already watching the Finland game together, lounging on chairs.When it was over, they met one last time as a group. McLellan and Chiarelli each addressed the team.Chiarelli told the guys just how much he enjoyed it all. It was a pleasure to scout such high-caliber players while forming the team. It was fun to watch them practice, each drill competed at such a high level. And the games -- what more needs to be said?Its a big-time commitment for everybody, Chiarelli said. It all really made it worthwhile.And with that, they made travel arrangements, including some with flights out of Toronto that night. It was done. Just like that. 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Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. TORONTO -- Benito Floro has more than a few treasured memories of managing Real Madrid. But one stands out for the 61-year-old Spaniard, who was in charge of the Spanish giant from 1992 to 1994 and served as director of football at the Bernabeu in 2006. "The best was when we beat Barcelona, playing well," Floro said through an interpreter. Having once managed what is currently the worlds most valuable soccer club team, Floros brief now is to help Canada beat the likes of Honduras, Panama and others in CONCACAF and move closer to an elusive World Cup berth. In addition to serving as Canadian manager, Floro also takes over a national Olympic (under-23) team which has failed to qualify for the Games since 1984. For some, taking over a country ranked 88th in the world, 10th in CONCACAF and with just three pro teams -- largely stocked with foreigners -- and turning it into a winner would be mission impossible. But Floro seems to relish the challenge that is Canadian soccer. "Muchisimo," he said Friday. "A lot," said his interpreter. He succeeds Stephen Hart, who stepped down in October following the national teams humiliating exit from World Cup qualifying via an 8-1 loss in Honduras. In getting Floro, the Canadian Soccer Association has landed a career coach who has managed club sides in Spain, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico and Morocco. Floro turned heads some 20 years ago when he led Albacete Balompie from the third division to Spains elite league in three seasons. Real Madrid subsequently hired him, with Floro taking the team to a second-place league finish and Copa del Ray triumph. Real went on to win the Spanish Supercup but Floro was fired the following season. He then coached Sporting Gijon, Villareal and Mallorca in Spain, Vissel Kobe in Japan, Monterrey in Mexico, Barcelona SD in Ecuador, and Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. Away from the pitch, he has served as a TV analyst and was a member of FIFAs technical group at the 2012 Club World Cup. "We felt that at this time in our country, that the person (getting the job) needed to be not just a coach. But also a person that brought vast experience from all over the world to a country that has been quite frankly lacking in that type of personality," said CSA president Victor Montagliani. The CSA boss might have been forgetting Holger Osieck, who took over the Canadian team in 1999, having been part of the German coaching staff that won the World Cup in 1990. Osieck had managed in Germany, Japan and Turkey before taking over Canada. On Friday, Floro spoke enthusiastically in Spanish, English and French at an introductory news conference. He used an interpreter during a question-and-answer session but was able to communicate in English -- which he called his third language. Floros contract includes several options and could run through the next two World Cup qualifying rounds -- for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Canada, which has only ever made it to the 1986 World Cup, will be a spectator against in 2014. "You havve to walk before you can run," Montagliani said.dddddddddddd "The first objective is obviously to get us to the Hex (the final round of qualifying in CONCACAF). You cant get into the World Cup if you dont get into the Hex ... once you get into the Hex, as weve seen this year, anything can happen." Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the U.S., are currently competing in the Hex or Hexagonal final round of qualifying. The top three will qualify for the 2014 World Cup, with the fourth-place team taking on New Zealand in a playoff to join them from CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. Floro ticks off more than a few boxes, leaving Canadian soccer officials beaming at Fridays news conference. He has extensive managerial experience around the globe, including time in CONCACAF powerhouse Mexico. Having Real Madrid on your resume is impressive, even if 19 managers have followed him there since. Admit it. When was the last time you heard Real Madrid and the Canadian Soccer Association in the same sentence? Being from Spain, which currently rules the soccer roost, doesnt hurt either. Its like the Spanish ice hockey federation signing a Canuck. In hiring the charismatic Floro, Canada also likely gets access to some excellent connections. One doesnt manage as long as Floro without assembling an impressive Rolodex. "It changes the ability and the accessibility of Canada to a different world," said Montagliani. "A lot of doors are now open." In fact, Floro -- who considers himself a coach of coaches -- came to the CSAs attention through Montaglianis friendship with his Spanish counterpart. While this is Floros first national team job, he came close to being named manager of Spain after Inaki Saez resigned following Spains failure to advance past the first round of Euro 2004. Asked about it, Floro paused and took his time before responding. "It was a difficult situation for the (Spanish federation) president," he said. "He chose me but the media was pressuring him to (choose) another." Floro backed down to take the pressure off Angel Maria Villar, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who was a friend. Luis Aragones got the Spain job instead. Montagliani downplayed Floros lack of national team coaching experience. "Lets be honest. Look at the clubs hes coached," he said. "When you stand on the sidelines of (the 85,000-seat stadium) Bernabeu and youre coaching El Clasico (against FC Barcelona), Im not sure coaching the national team is that intimidating." Floro, who plans to make his home in Toronto, will be assisted by his son Antonio Floro. The Canadian men are currently at the Gold Cup, the championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean, under interim coach Colin Miller. Floro will officially start Aug. 1 but will be at the Gold Cup as an observer. Montagliani said the CSA received more than 100 applications, with 15 getting serious consideration. ' ' '