Canada won plaudits from football fans far and wide on Wednesday evening after John Herdman's side went head-to-head with Belgium in the opening match of their World Cup campaign.
Despite having only qualified for one previous edition of the tournament in 1986, Canada were unfortunate to come away empty-handed from Ahmed bin Ali Stadium following Alphonso Davies' first-half penalty miss.
Admirably, they stifled the immense attacking capabilities of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. The latter even admitted his surprise at being awarded man of the match, stating: "I do not know why I won man of the match, maybe because of my name."
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The brains behind such a high-quality display, to the surprise of many, hail from County Durham and were initially put to practice in Leeds.
Prior to embarking on a five-year spell with New Zealand's women's team, Herdman worked with Simon Clifford, who had set up the UK’s first Brazilian Soccer School at Leeds’ Roundhay Park and Corpus Christi primary school during the 1990s, having struck up a friendship with former Middlesbrough star Juninho. At the time Herdman was studying a degree in sports science and teaching at Leeds Trinity University.
Professional clubs began to take an interest in Clifford and Herdman's work as the Brazilian Soccer School expanded with a series of franchises. Herdman, though, made his name as a professional coach in the women's game, becoming Canada boss in 2011 before guiding the side to a gold medal finish at the 2011 Pan American Games and consecutive Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016.
He was appointed as head coach and national director of the men's outfit with the nation placed 72nd in FIFA's world rankings. The transformation he has overseen is demonstrated by their rise to 33rd place, in addition to qualification for a first World Cup in 36 years.
Herdman even became the first manager in history to guide both a nation's women's and men's teams to a World Cup. His talents may now be shining on the world stage, but only after they were developed on the streets of Leeds.
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