When the two most dominant teams in the Canadian Premier League kick-off at Spruce Meadows in Calgary on Saturday, it will cap off the biggest week in Canadian soccer.
It will all begin on Thursday with the CPL’s end-of-season awards gala and continue a day later with commissioner Mark Noonan’s league address ahead of the final, followed by a fan night at a local bar.
The CPL has enjoyed its sixth season, another campaign that has delivered on most fronts with the predictable final being the only reason to raise an eyebrow. Forge FC of Hamilton are the Big Daddy’s of the CPL, and Calgary’s Cavalry FC have routinely been the bridesmaid since the league’s inception in 2019, whether that was in the Cup final or in the league standings.
It was supposed to be different this year with Atletico Ottawa winning the off-season, according to many, through a series of bold and exciting signings. However, Ottawa struggled with consistency and, despite making it to this past weekend’s semifinal, could not find a way past the Forge, which did not play its best soccer but ground out a win in Hamilton to ensure a sixth straight final appearance and an opportunity to add to its four championships.
So here we are with the top two teams in the CPL once again pitted against each other. Since 2019, these two teams have met 32 times, including just last week when the Cavalry beat the Forge in the qualifying semifinal (the top two teams in league standings at the end of the season kick-off the five-team playoffs, with the winner guaranteed the right to host the final).
That may seem boring on the surface to some, but not when you dig a little deeper. First of all, most of the 32 head-to-head matches between these two have been won by a one-goal margin.
The Forge and Cavalry have been the best-run franchises since the league began. In managers Bobby Smyrniotis of the Forge and Tommy Wheeldon Jr., of the Cavalry, we have two men who are already legends in the Canadian game. Both were very much in the mix for the national team job when Canada was searching for John Herdman’s replacement prior to Jesse Marsch’s appointment. Smyrniotis was also a finalist for the Toronto FC job, which Herdman eventually claimed.
Another title for Smyrniotis this weekend, and surely a bigger job will come calling. While both managers have earned their stripes and are destined for bigger things, the chance to see the two trade strategies in another final is too good to miss. Few managers in world football know each other better.
Incredibly, while Wheeldon Jr., has won the Coach of the Year award on two occasions, his opposite number has never won despite being a finalist every single year!
My suspicion is that by Saturday’s kick-off, that drought will have deservedly come to an end for Smyrniotis. He lost his two-time goalkeeper of the year, Tristan Henry, in the off-season, and then had to deal with the departure of young star Kwasi Poku mid-season to Europe. Throw in a litany of injuries, and Forge continued to be the example for all, while mining yet more top talent in a variety of positions. They also beat Toronto FC at home in the Canadian Championship before falling on away goals in the semifinals. So, give Smyrniotis the Coach of the Year award at last, please.
If Forge win this weekend, we can also witness the first League and Cup double of the CPL era, which is also quite surprising. Despite the Forge dominating, they have only ever been the top-placed team on one other occasion — back in 2021 when they lost to Pacific FC in the final.
On the other side, the Cavalry have never won the CPL championship. It is one of those other oddities that always has me perusing the history books each year when I question the fact.
As for the players on show this Saturday, Daan Klomp, Kyle Bekker, Ali Musse, Tobias Warschewski, Tristan Borges and Beni Badibanga are all up for the revered Players’ Player of the Year award. These are genuine stars for a Canadian league still finding its feet.
So, if you haven’t yet discovered the Canadian Premier League, then this Saturday is a good time to do so. You won’t be disappointed.
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