Herdman Says He Made A Mistake In Leading Canada In 2022 FIFA World Cup

Summary

• John Herdman admitted on a recent podcast he wasn’t the right man to lead Canada during the 2022 FIFA World Cup
• Herdman said his sister’s suicide in May 2022 made things difficult for him
• Herdman is now happy coaching Toronto FC in the MLS

When Canada qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Canadian soccer fans were thrilled because this was the first time in 36 years that Canada had qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

All of Canada was proud of what the team had achieved under head-coach John Herdman but sadly Canada ended up losing all their qualifiers during the World Cup in Qatar.

Herdman Says He Wasn’t The Man For The Job

Herdman who is from England recently sat down and opened up on the Player’s Own Voice podcast with Anastasia Bucsis. Herdman said he was devastated by the loss of his sister in May 2022 as she committed suicide and caused him to feel hurt that he never had in the past.

Herdman said his sister reached out for help back in 2021 when he was part of the Gold Cup and he wasn’t able to give her the help that he could have. He said he was known for fixing things in his family but he couldn’t do anything to fix his sister and that caused him to have an emotional rollercoaster going from the high of helping Canada to qualify for the World Cup to losing his sister.

Herdman also said the on-going tensions between Canada Soccer and the players did not help. While he was happy in helping Canada qualify for the World Cup, he knew in his gut he wasn’t the right person to lead them in Qatar but ignored that gut instinct. 

Herdman said

I knew Canada, from an organizational perspective, we weren’t ready. We weren’t ready. And the players? You know, when you see what happened in June and the ‘me’, had already shifted. The ‘we’ had gone to ‘me’.

Herdman Happy With Toronto FC.

Herdman surprised a lot of people when he resigned and took up a role with Toronto FC in August 2023. He said

This is a dream to work for a proper organization that’s got great resources and can elevate your performance, your staff’s performance, but more importantly, to be on the grass every day teaching, which is what I love to do.