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In another scenario, Mauro Biello may well be the head coach of Canada’s men’s national team.
Well respected within North American soccer, Biello patrolled the sideline for four matches following John Herdman’s departure in the summer of 2023. The Montreal native had been integral to the team’s success leading up to the 2022 World Cup, and there was genuine support from within Canadian soccer circles for him to be given the job.
Of course, Canada Soccer was in full re-brand mode at that time under new CEO Kevin Blue and needed to make a splash. Jesse Marsch would arrive in the spring of 2024 and the results have backed that decision from Day 1. One of Marsch’s first moves as head coach went under the radar, but in retrospect was as important as any he has made. That was retaining Biello as assistant coach.
Biello would have jumped at the chance to lead his country of course, but this is not the type of individual to hold a grudge, and Marsch surely realized that no other coach in the system knew this group of players better than Biello, which expedited the pivot to a new brand of soccer.
“Jesse came over and I think what he did, which was different, was he quickly identified what the strengths are of the team,” Biello said. “And for him, those strengths that he identified fit perfectly into the style of football that he wanted to play. For him, right from the get-go, that was the message. You know these are the demands and then it was about meeting those standards every day based on his style of football but at the same time he meshed it together at the right moment. These are some of the things that he quickly brought in. And he just aligned his style of playing with the profiles, with the group that we had.”
Timing is everything in sport, of course. Even Herdman would admit that assuming the reigns just as the Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David era was beginning was as lucky as it was strategic, and the same can be said for Marsch’s arrival at the helm.
“You look at [the players like] Davies, these guys were … fairly young — 22-years-old going into a World Cup,” Biello reminds us. “They’ve been around for such a long time, but these are young players and now it’s two, it’s three years later. And these are also the years where the maturity, the experience that they start to accumulate … all players now that are getting to that next level. Everything is coming together, I think, with what the mentality and philosophy and style of play that Jesse’s brought, but at the same time, the growth of the team, based on their own experiences.”
This will be a massive year for the men’s national team. Aside from the two trophies on offer at the Nations League and Gold Cup, it is primarily a preparation year for next year’s World Cup. Marsch recently said that he has a good idea of eight-to-nine names in his first XI, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be competition for places, so the year ahead is key. Biello agrees that this is still very much a meritocracy, and the year ahead will show that.
“We want to continue to expand that depth chart and give opportunities to some players to continue to make their way into the national team, and at the same time give the experience needed for some of our players to continue to improve on what we built on last year.
“You have trophies in front of you and you want to maintain a certain cohesion and chemistry within the group. But at the same time, you’re always looking to try to add some pieces to improve the team, because at the end of the day, this is what international football is all about. Even though in a year — it’s18 months away — there’s a lot of football games in there, club games and players performing, players coming in and out of form, so you have to be ready to make certain decisions. But at the same time, you have your team to continue to move forward and develop that chemistry and cohesion that you need,” Biello added.
There isn’t much in Canadian soccer that Biello hasn’t seen, but even he is still shocked to see how the reputation of the national team and its stars has changed over the last few years. Just last week, new Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser told the assembled media at his unveiling how inspired he was to see the standard of play and the energetic strategy installed by Marsh and his staff with Canada.
“That’s amazing, and it’s exciting. It’s exciting for what’s to come,” an enthusiastic Biello said. “I think you could quickly see how we were able to establish a DNA very quickly. And now it’s contagious. Yeah, people are seeing the success. Coaches are seeing the success. And they’re saying, ‘Hey, how could we duplicate that? How could we now use that or implicate some of what they do in our own teams?’
“And as much as it’s a big community, it’s very close. And everybody has eyes on these players and the team and how well they’ve done. And then you look at how [Jonathan] David is performing in Europe — just in the Champions League, he scored against all the biggest teams and you start to see his success and how it’s taking a lot of time in the media. And Alphonso Davies and his situation, his success that he’s gotten. It’s great to see that we have Canadians that are playing in Europe, but they are all important players on their teams and they’re catching the attention now of the international community, but at the same time, big clubs across Europe.”
The rise of the men’s team has been significant, if not meteoric. From an all-time low ranking of 112th just a few years ago, to the current all-time high of 31st in the world, a corner has been turned. While the players should get the majority of the credit, the work behind the scenes and on the sidelines by long-time servants such as Biello should not be dismissed either.
It is all an example of the sport’s continued growth in Canada.
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