Men have stood broken on her piers. It can be a desolate place, too, especially in winter, which is of course when the lobster boats do the bulk of their fishing. But the weather had improved by the time Canadian men\u2019s national team head coach Jesse Marsch ferried his squad from around the world to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a training camp ahead of last summer\u2019s Gold Cup. It was the first time the men\u2019s national team had visited the province.<\/p>\n
But it was not Marsch\u2019s first time in town, having previously kicked off a cross-country coaching clinic \u2013 a whirlwind tour meant to share with local soccer communities what he\u2019d done with the national team at Copa Am\u00e9rica in 2024 \u2013 at a local hotel and convention centre. He\u2019d promised, and pitched a vision, to make the national team truly national in a way no coach had before him. And he was delivering, having also made similar coaching stops in Qu\u00e9bec City, Saskatoon and Calgary.<\/p>\n
That summer camp in Halifax also served as an opportunity for Marsch to gather further information on his growing player pool through the Wanderers, one of eight clubs in Canada\u2019s top flight. Tiago Coimbra, a 21-year-old striker, was in the midst of a breakout season, one that earned him the league\u2019s best Canadian U-21 player award and, at that time, a seat alongside Marsch for a local fundraiser.<\/p>\n
Nearly seven months after sitting together on stage in Halifax, Coimbra is one of several promising players Marsch invited to his January camp in California. The gaffer had kept tabs on him. And his call-up speaks to both what the Brazilian-Canadian has accomplished since arriving in the CPL in 2023 and the ethos Marsch believes in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to go out there, give my best, get on Jesse\u2019s good side, hopefully, and show him what I can do.\u201d Coimbra said. \u201cI want to give nothing but my best, not just for the national team but also for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n