When John Herdman took the reigns of Canada's men's national soccer team, it didn't take long for him to recognize why the squad hadn't come near qualifying for a World Cup in decades.
Find out about Herdman's transition from managing the Canadian women to managing the Canadian men, and how he changed the CMNT's culture in From Consett to Qatar, Episode 4 with Stephen Brunt, attached atop the page.
Herdman is revered as a crucial part of the squad reaching its first World Cup berth since 1986 — but he's had a long, winding journey getting there.
Taking us inside that journey, Brunt sat down with Herdman for an exclusive, four-part interview series that runs Monday-Thursday on Tim and Friends, Sportsnet Central, Sportsnet.ca, with special extended versions on SN NOW. In the series Canada's manager explores the challenges his family endured with mental illness when he was growing up, facing doubters as a non-professional player with dreams of becoming a manager, his rise to success and more.
Episode 1:
Episode 2:
Episode 3:
Born in small-town Consett, England, Herdman started coaching soccer in 2001 and took the reigns of the Canadian women’s national team in 2011, leading them to two bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, along with coaching them at the 2015 World Cup.
This will be Herdman's first time coaching in a men’s World Cup throughout his illustrious career after starting with the Men’s national team in 2018.
Canada kicks off its World Cup run in Qatar on Nov. 23 against Belgium.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.