John Herdman helped lift Canadian women's soccer from 2011 disaster to 2015 hope

With the 2015 Women's World Cup set to get underway Saturday, Canadian spirits are high. Yes, the Canadian team is far from the favourite to win it all, but most prognosticators have eighth-ranked Canada as at least a strong favourite to win their group (featuring the 12th-ranked Netherlands, 16th-ranked China, and 17th-ranked New Zealand) and a possible contender to make some noise in the elimination stages. Even making it out of the group would be a decided improvement over Canada's last Women's World Cup appearance in 2011, which saw them score one goal in three games and bow out without a victory. The Canadian team could potentially do much more than that, though; keep in mind that they're coming off an impressive bronze at the 2012 Olympics. What's led to Canada's turnaround since the last Women's World Cup? A big part of it is about head coach John Herdman.

As remarked during those 2012 Olympics, Herdman was always a relatively unlikely saviour for Canada. Yes, he had substantial experience and a record of success in the women's game, both with his native England and then with New Zealand, but Canada was just coming off a poor end to the tenure of Norwegian Even Pellerud and then an even-worse era under Italian Carolina Morace. The 2011 debacle wasn't all Morace's fault, but her determination to force square pegs into the round holes of her preferred system while ignoring her team's natural skills and her frequent battles with the Canadian Soccer Association would have turned many off hiring another foreign coach immediately.

The CSA elected to go with Herdman anyway, though, and it's a decision that's paid off in spades. As Canadian superstar Christine Sinclair said this week, "He’s the one who has started all of this. I think back to 2011 and we were a broken team and within nine months he had completely changed that. We’ve just continued to develop under him.”

Instilling belief and confidence is certainly part of how Herdman's helped improve the Canadian women's team, but it would be a disservice to him to paint him as just some motivational speaker. Much of the Canadian success has come from Herdman's changes to the team's strategy and tactics, which have focused on maximizing the talent he has available rather than trying to fit players into a pre-determined system. He's successfully combined the on-ball skill Morace tried to focus on with the physicality and effective counterattacks that were a hallmark of Canada under Pellerud. He's brought in an attacking-focused style that recalls Kevin Keegan, the former Newcastle United manager he loved to watch growing up. He's also worked in younger players consistently and developed them along the way. He's even taken inspiration from other sports, citing Canada's hockey culture as crucial to developing the three "DNA strands" of this team: speed on rushes and counterattacks, power and physical play to recover the ball, and control in attacking areas.

Herdman has certainly done a lot for the team mentally. Some of that's been by speaking out himself, but some of what he's done there has been by creating an environment where team leaders are encouraged to step up themselves. See this story about the speech Sinclair gave after the heartbreaking 2012 semifinal, which meant Herdman didn't have to say anything. Still, his contributions to Canada's tactics and roster shouldn't be overlooked either. Herdman's helped this team on a lot of levels, and they wouldn't be at the point they are now without his influence.

What's also impressive with Herdman is how committed he's been to this job and this team.  The world has taken note of his success with Canada, and England was rumoured to be making a strong play to bring him home in 2013. Even then, Herdman said it would take an incredible offer to make him leave. He's certainly had other options, especially after that unexpected 2012 bronze, but he's kept building on what he's started with the Canadian team. It's the latest step in a long line of coaching jobs for the 39-year-old Herdman, who started taking coaching classes when he was 16. It's one that's worked out very well for both him and Canada so far, though. If the Canadian team does well in this Women's World Cup, Herdman's influence will likely be a prime reason why.