Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair said at an event in Toronto on Wednesday night that she wished she'd taken more time to appreciate her experience travelling the world to play soccer.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters
Reflecting on a career that saw her score a world-record 190 goals in 331 international appearances, former Canada captain Christine Sinclair has few regrets.
But the 42-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., acknowledges her strive for perfection on the soccer pitch took its toll.
“I think it helped me reach levels in the sport that maybe I shouldn’t have. But I was never satisfied, constantly trying to achieve more,” said Sinclair, who retired after the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season. “I wish someone would have told me to just chill out a little bit.”
The sport took the star forward all over the world – “to some of the most amazing places.”
“I don’t know where that was,” she said. “I don’t have a picture, I don’t have a souvenir.
Where to watch the World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver
“I wish someone would have told me ‘Collect shot glasses from every country you went to or something,’” she added, drawing laughs.
Her advice, with the benefit of hindsight?
“It’s OK to take a breath and kind of soak it all in and enjoy the moment. And then you get back to work. I think I could have enjoyed it a little bit more instead of it being such a high-pressure, high-stakes experience all the time.”
Sinclair and fellow Canadian icon Dwayne De Rosario shared their experiences Wednesday night during the annual Eva Holtby Lecture on Contemporary Culture, a fireside chat before an audience of some 500 at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum.
Sinclair played international soccer for 21 years, scoring 187 international goals before finally winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Here, she congratulates Julia Grosso, who scored the winning penalty kick against Sweden.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
With Right To Play president/CEO Jessie Thomson serving as a deft moderator, the two soccer stars made for engaging subjects opening up on career highs and lows.
Sinclair, no fan of the limelight, was self-deprecating while showing a sly sense of humour.
The 47-year-old De Rosario, who retired in May 2015 after 18 seasons of pro soccer, was his normal gregarious, outgoing self. At times, his praise had Sinclair blushing.
“Why is there not a [Sinclair] statue?” he asked. “What’s going on here?”
Sinclair and De Rosario are Canadian soccer royalty. Sinclair was named Canada Soccer Player of the Year 14 times while De Rosario won the award four times.
And there’s plenty more to De Rosario’s resume.
In 2020, he was named one of Major League Soccer’s 25 greatest players having scored 104 goals in the North American league for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, his hometown Toronto FC (in two stints), the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United.
The man known simply as DeRo won the MLS Cup four times, was named MLS Cup MVP in 2001 and 2007 and earned MLS Most Valuable Player honours in 2011.
On the international front, he scored 22 goals in 81 appearances and was a member of the Canadian team that turned heads by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.
Former Canadian soccer player Dwayne De Rosario took part in a FIFA event ahead of the FIFA congress last week in Vancouver.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
But there were more than a few bumps en route to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.
De Rosario recalled how as a 15-year-old on trial at Italy’s AC Milan, he met Dutch star Edgar Davids.
“He’s like ‘You’re the Canadian.’ And I was like ‘Wow, Edgar Davids knows who I am. Pretty cool, right? Holland international player.’ I’m like ‘Yeah, fantastic, it’s an honour to meet you.’
“And he looks at me and he goes ‘What would they want with a Canadian at Milan?’ and walked away. That stung.”
De Rosario pledged to prove Davids and all the other doubters wrong.
“Here I am, sitting beside one of the greatest players to ever play the game – also Canadian,” he said. “And I think we did a pretty good job of showcasing our talent to the world. But it wasn’t easy.”
For De Rosario, every game wearing the Maple Leaf was a chance to reflect on the sacrifices his parents made “leaving Guyana to come to Canada with uncertainty, with nothing, just hopes and dreams, just to create a better world for me and my brothers.”
“I think about growing up in a one-bedroom apartment with five of us fighting to see who would get the last of the hot water and turn on the stove for heat.”
Sinclair led Canada to two bronze medals and a gold at the Olympics. But she also lived through the lows of the 2011 World Cup, playing with a broken nose from Canada’s opening 2-1 loss to host Germany.
Sinclair broke her nose while playing against Germany in the 2011 World Cup. Canada's disappointment there was a turning point for the program, Sinclair says.AFP/Getty Images
“We were ranked, I think, fifth in the world at the time. And everyone was expecting us to do well and we choked and crashed and finished dead last. I remember sitting there embarrassed, feeling that you’ve let the country down, questioning why you were playing.
“Because female athletes don’t get the most support, especially back then. You’re sacrificing so much, missing out on birthdays, weddings, funerals. In that moment it’s like ‘Why, is it worth it?’”
She credited former coach John Herdman, who took over the women’s team after the disastrous 2011 World Cup, for turning things around.
“He brought us back to our why and our purpose for playing.”
De Rosario drew laughs when he jumped in after Sinclair’s tale of 2011 World Cup woe.
“Unlike Christine, I would have loved to be in last place at a World Cup, just to be in a World Cup,” he said.
The Canadian men have been spectators at the men’s soccer showcase other than trips to the tournament in 1986 and 2022. Currently ranked 30th in the world, the co-host Canadian men open play June 12 in Toronto against No. 65 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As her career continued, Sinclair said her goal became a drive to leave the game in a better place for the next generation. She delivered, leading the fight for equal pay for the Canadian women, who currently rank ninth in the world.
De Rosario has also done his bit, helping the next generation through his DeRo Foundation and DeRo TFC Academy.
Sinclair, now part of the ownership group of the Northern Soccer League’s Vancouver Rise, urged people to make the most of the upcoming World Cup.
“There is a lot going on in the world right now that isn’t great. But for one month, the world is going to be connected around this singular sporting event. And you don’t see that anywhere else, with anything else.”
Added De Rosario: “When Canada’s playing, make sure you wear your red and white.”