In this interview with FIFA.com
in the build-up to the host side’s quarter-final against England in
Vancouver on Saturday, Canada striker, Christine Sinclair, who has
scored more than 150 goals in over 220 international appearances,
expresses her desire to win the World Cup
Playing in the FIFA Women’s
World Cup on home soil must be one of the high points of your career to
date. Is it just as you pictured?
Not really. Everything’s bigger than we
thought it would be. The whole build-up before the opening match was
more stressful than we’d imagined. There was more pressure than any of
us could possibly have thought. It’s increased bit by bit the more the
tournament’s gone on, and it’s got more and more intense. Our coaching
staff did a fantastic job in the lead-up to the tournament, getting us
ready for that first match, though there’s a whole part of this
experience that nothing can prepare you for.
You’re a role model in the
game, the kind of player that parents dream of their children becoming.
Is that too much of a responsibility for someone whose job is just to
play football?
It is a heavy responsibility but it’s
also a privilege. When I started playing, I didn’t watch women’s sport
that much. All my sporting heroes were men. It’s good to see that times
have changed, that young girls who want to play sport can look up to
female players and dream of having a career in football, and can dream
of being the next Melissa Tancredi, Erin McLeod or Christine Sinclair.
It’s a big responsibility and I’m trying to shoulder it like a good
Canadian, wearing the jersey with pride and honour and trying to set an
example off the pitch every day.
You
were 18 when Even Pellerud, the Canada coach at the time, described you
as the best player in the world, a view that’s still held by your
team-mates, your current coach and opposing players 13 years on. Has
that tag put any added pressure on you?
I don’t really know what to make of
things like that. I was very young when Even said that and I didn’t
understand why. I was still a kid, and all I was thinking about was
whether I deserved my place in the national team. But if people thought
that at the time and they’re still saying it 13 years later, then it’s a
nice thing to hear. I don’t know if I deserve those kinds of
compliments. I just keep telling myself that I’m so so lucky. I’ve never
been injured, I’ve had some great coaches and some amazing team-mates.
And I’ve always had that fire inside me, that passion and desire to do
everything I can to help my team win.
You’ve scored countless goals in your career. Were you always destined to be a striker?
I can honestly say that scoring goals is
not the reason why I play the game. I started out for the simple reason
that I loved playing football with my friends and that feeling hasn’t
changed. Obviously, there’s more pressure now and the standard is
higher, but the reason why I play is still the same. It’s true that I’ve
always been a striker, though. I don’t know why, but my mother, who was
my first coach, put me up front and it looks like she got that right
(laughs).
Former Italy striker Filippo
Inzaghi once said that the goals he scored were like his children, that
he remembered and loved each and every one of them. Do you feel the
same way about yours?
Absolutely not. I remember some of the
big moments in my career, but I’ve forgotten most of the goals I’ve
scored. That’s just part of the game. I don’t think midfielders remember
all the passes they play, goalkeepers all the saves they make, and
defenders all their tackles. I just see my goals as part of the game.
I’m always the same on and off the
pitch, but when I’m out there playing, I have this sense of
self-confidence, especially in this team.
Canada striker Christine Sinclair
Let’s test your memory: what’s the first goal you remember scoring?
(Pauses) The first thing that comes to
mind is that we used to play an indoor tournament at the BC Place
Stadium in Vancouver every winter. It’s interesting that I’m thinking
about that. I can recall scoring a goal in one of those tournaments. I
must have been about eight and I must have scored a few goals before
that one, but that’s the first I remember.
And what’s the best goal you’ve scored to date?
That was in Brazil in 2010, in a warm-up
tournament for the World Cup in 2011. It was in the final, against
Brazil. We were losing, we’d had a player sent off and I was feeling
tired. The ball was on the right side, one of our forwards lost
possession and it came to me. I was a long way out, about 25 metres, and
to one side of the goal, but I just thought: ‘I have to hit it’. So I
tried my luck with my left foot, gave it all I had, and it flew into the
far top corner. You can see it on YouTube (laughs).
And what’s the most important goal of your career so far?
There are two. The first came at
college, in the national league play-off final. We still had golden
goals then, and the game had gone to extra-time. The goal came from a
cross and though there wasn’t anything particularly special about it, it
gave us the league title in what turned out to be our coach Clive
Charles’ last match. He died of cancer a few months later. The second
came against China in the opening match of this World Cup. There was a
huge amount of pressure and it was a crucial game because it was vital
to our chances of qualifying from the group. It was probably the most
stressful goal of my career.
Canada coach John Herdman
said you were born to score at times like that. Are you as assured on
the pitch as you are calm and laid-back off it?
I’m always the same on and off the
pitch, but when I’m out there playing, I have this sense of
self-confidence, especially in this team. If there’s a penalty in the
90th minute of a World Cup match, then I’ll take it. That’s the way it
is. There’s no debate about it. I’m not looking to be in the limelight,
but there’s a part of me that says I won’t be at peace with myself if I
don’t take that responsibility. I can’t let a young player step up and
take that kind of responsibility. Missing a penalty in a World Cup can
break a person or a career, so when you’ve got the experience that I
have, it’s only normal that I should take that responsibility. And so I
take the penalty. That’s just the way it is, the way it has to be.
There was also a game in
which you broke your nose yet carried on playing and scored a goal. Is
that typical of your character on the pitch?
Oh yeah, I did that too (laughs). It was
the opening match of the last World Cup against Germany, when I scored
from a free-kick. There were 70,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium in
Berlin and we managed to silence them for a few minutes. Even though I
was injured, if there was the slightest chance of me getting back on the
pitch, I was going to take it. It’s the World Cup and it only comes
round once every four years. As far as I was concerned, coming off was
not an option. I was like: ‘OK, my nose is still there. I can carry on’.
The coaching staff thought it was dangerous, but I promised them I
wouldn’t take another knock.
You scored a hat-trick in
the 4-3 defeat to USA in the semi-finals of the Women’s Olympic Football
Tournament London 2012. Would scoring another goal in that game have
changed your career?
Yes and no. The way the match turned out
(Canada led 3-1, with USA equalising with ten minutes remaining and
going on to score the winner in stoppage time in extra time), another
goal would have come in handy. On the other hand, though, if we are
where we are today, then it’s perhaps down to that game. That was the
day the nation fell in love with us and really started to get behind us.
