After 100 years of football, where will we stand?
Many CanPL.ca readers checked out our feature story about what Canadian soccer would look like in 2070 via a Football Manager 20 simulation.
So, now we’ve kicked it up a notch – let’s go 100 years in the future!
The half-century simulation presented many fun tidbits, including predictions about John Herdman’s future, an extended run at the top by FC Edmonton, and several players existing CPLers making the jump to management.
Canadian soccer’s following five-decade run was no different, featuring even greater stories, players, and bizarre feats listed below.
There’s lots to explore, so why not see for yourself? Add this save game to your copy of FM20 by clicking here and following the instructions.
So, without further ado, here’s what we “found out” about the next 100 years using Football Manager 2020.
RELATED READING: CPL in 2070: Using FM20 to predict 50 years of Canadian soccer
FC Edmonton maintain their reign
The Eddies emerged as perennial CanPL favourites in our 2070 simulation and they remained top dogs up to 2120, winning 24 league titles in total. You may remember the Eddies won three straight going into the 2070s in our last update. Well, they would three-peat again from 2070 to 2073 after beating Cavalry FC in three straight Al Classico Finals en route to capturing eight titles in 11 years. FCE set numerous records during this historic run, perhaps none more impressive than the 75 goals they scored in 2072 across 30 matches (including the finals), which equates to 2.5 goals per game.
The Cavs won the fewest titles over the century with 10. Valour FC and Forge FC had similar runs with 11 titles apiece. Out west, Pacific FC fans appeared to have the longest period between titles after waiting 20 years between 2075 to 2095… and again from 2097 and 2117 before tasting CanPL glory. Those 2090s, man. PFC’s golden era!
CanMNT builds on World Cup success
The Canadian men’s national team improved again over this 50-year stretch, missing just one World Cup (when they lost to Peru in an intercontinental playoff in 2089) and making the knockout rounds eight out of 12 times. Their deepest run was to the quarterfinals in 2110; after starting the knockout rounds beating Paraguay and slipping past Russia in extra time, Les Rouges faced a tough Nigeria team that thrashed them 4-0.
The 2110s were a boon for the Canadian program, all under the guise of Terry Onstad (we’d assume a melding of former Canadian internationals Terry Dunfield and Pat Onstad) as manager. The under-23 team made the semifinals at the 2108 Olympics in Russia and won just their third CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2111 after beating Mexico in the final.
Also, Canada is still playing at BMO Field in 2120. Yes, a 113-year-old stadium.
Cavalry’s 8-0 holds as all-time biggest win
A record that stands for a century. How does that sound, Cavalry FC fans?
Yes, the Cavs’ 8-0 win over Valour FC last Labour Day is still the biggest win in CanPL history by 2120. The closest any team came was Pacific FC against, funny enough, Valour FC in 2038 when the Tridents posted a 6-0 win. The Labour Day Massacre also still stands as the highest-scoring match, too, with several seven-goal results coming close, but no match overtaking the Inaugural Season’s biggest victory.
CanChamp success left wanting for CanPL, Toronto FC
CanPL clubs continued to flounder in cup competitions from 2070 to 2120. CPL teams finished runners-up in the Canadian Championship on five occasions but were unable to lift Canada’s domestic cup.
RELATED READING: A supporter’s 2,000-hour journey to bring CPL to Football Manager
In one of the biggest droughts in Canadian soccer history, Toronto FC went 59 years without winning the CanChamp by 2120. Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps dominated the competition, trading winners medals en route to 52 and 35 titles, respectively.
The Impact emerged as the big dogs of Canadian football as they broke through to win five CONCACAF Champions League titles. CanPL clubs, meanwhile, continued to struggle in North America’s premier competition, never managing to advance past the first round.
Greatest CanPLer ever?
The first decades of the new millennium were dominated by current Canada players such as Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies. But here are a few of the legends that graced the Canadian soccer stage after.
Let’s start with the case of Zhu Song, who came up through the ranks with York9 FC in 2100 before quickly moving on to a Romanian club. The Toronto native later settled at Manchester United, where he made nearly 300 appearances and won the European Champions League in 2113. Song was named Canadian player of the year a staggering 13 years in a row from 2104 to 2116 and made 131 appearances for Canada in their aforementioned “golden era.”
writing another #FM20/#CanPL sim piece
Zhu Song is our future king pic.twitter.com/XGyIbJWdSw
— Marty Thompson (@martythompson_) January 21, 2020
Surely the greatest player to come from CanPL, despite his short stay.
In terms of all-time CanPLers in its first century, a Brazilian by the name of Juazinho is a clear first candidate. A 32-year-old by 2120, the striker had a league-record 96 career goals across an eight-season run with Cavalry, a run that began in 2111 when he moved on a free transfer from Dynamo Kyiv. Interestingly, Juazinho was loaned from Cavalry to Schalke in 2117, only to return to Calgary for 2118.
A former Forge FC striker named Bryan Cotera also comes to mind as he challenged Juazinho during the late 2100s. The Ecuadorian was the first to break the CanPL’s 20-goal barrier in 2110 before fetching the league’s most expensive transfer fee, going to Swiss giant FC Basel for $13-million.
In terms of the best-ever domestic player, a case could be made for current (yes, we’re talking about 2020 now) Valour FC midfielder Nicolás Galvis, who sustained a 7.21 rating with the side over 180 appearances, scoring 29 goals. A similar case could be made for Mark Sykes, a fictional right fullback who made 264 appearances for FC Edmonton in the 2040s to 2060s.
Want to check out this 2120 Canadian soccer world for yourself? Download it here and add it to your copy of Football Manager 2020.
