Appointed head coach of the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer team in October 1999, Even Pellerud recalls essentially being handed a blank piece of paper.

B次元官网网址淚t was a baby program. It was really nothing to inherit,B次元官网网址� he said.

So after arriving in Canada from his native Norway in early 2000, he left his family in Toronto to scout talent. With help from local coaches, he had three practice games set up in three cities.

One player immediately caught his eye at the game in Vancouver.

B次元官网网址淥n the right side of the white team there was a player that really stood out with her smartness and speed and skills,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd of course, it didnB次元官网网址檛 take a long time before I asked the people B次元官网网址榃ho is this?B次元官网网址� And then they said B次元官网网址楾his is just a young player.B次元官网网址� And I said B次元官网网址榃ell, give me the name. I want her.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

It was Christine Sinclair.

B次元官网网址淪o that was the first thing I did in Canada,B次元官网网址� said Pellerud.

He gave a 16-year-old Sinclair her senior debut that March, making her CanadaB次元官网网址檚 youngest-ever player at the time, at the 2000 Algarve Cup. She opened her account two days later in a 2-1 win over Norway, becoming CanadaB次元官网网址檚 youngest-ever scorer (Kara Lang subsequently broke both records).

B次元官网网址淓ven though she was immature and young and shy, I think I immediately knew this is the player to build the team around,B次元官网网址� said Pellerud. B次元官网网址淏ecause it was her and then you had some of the veterans like Andrea Neil and Silvana Burtini around her to build leadership. That was what I built on. Those veteran players with smartness and leadership and then Sinclair. And then you kind of filled out the team around that.B次元官网网址�

Sinclair went on to score 15 goals in 2002 and 98 in all during PellerudB次元官网网址檚 nine years at the Canadian helm.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think I really remember coaching her a lot,B次元官网网址� said Pellerud. B次元官网网址淚 just gave her a position where she could expose her skills. Without over-coaching or over-directing her moves or her decision-making, I think I just gave her a space to be close to the net. Because she was already then a good goal-scorer.B次元官网网址�

SinclairB次元官网网址檚 world-record total now stands at 190 goals after 23 years on the Canadian team.

The 40-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., calls time on her international career Tuesday in her backyard, against Australia at B.C. Place Stadium, in what will be her 331st appearance for Canada

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While intensely private, Sinclair has helped foster a welcoming and open atmosphere with the womenB次元官网网址檚 team.

Former Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller, who took over the team in early 2018 when John Herdman switched to the Canadian men, says Sinclair has the biggest influence and impact when B次元官网网址渢he cameras are shut off and the doors are closed and she can be just herself.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪he is one of these persons thatB次元官网网址檚 just a connector,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淪he doesnB次元官网网址檛 speak a lot but when she speaks, people listen. But the way she just embraces everyone and takes good care of them, I think sheB次元官网网址檚 got a very high social knowledge and interest in people. So she can feel or see when people or teammates or staff are not comfortable.B次元官网网址�

Former teammate Rhian Wilkinson, a Canada Soccer Hall of Famer who won 181 caps in an international career that stretched from 2003 to 2017, says Sinclair is special off the field as well as on it.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the gift of some people that they donB次元官网网址檛 belong to any one group. They belong to all groups because, I think, straight from Day 1 of meeting her, she was easy to be around and talk to,B次元官网网址� said Wilkinson, who later coached Sinclair at the NWSLB次元官网网址檚 Portland Thorns. B次元官网网址淎nd then youB次元官网网址檇 watch her on the field and sheB次元官网网址檚 one of the cool kids through ability. She automatically could do whatever she wants.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪o whether youB次元官网网址檙e at your first camp or whether youB次元官网网址檙e a friend of hers thatB次元官网网址檚 been around for 20 odd years, sheB次元官网网址檒l sit with you and have a conversation and itB次元官网网址檚 not a big deal,B次元官网网址� Wilkinson added. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 ever occurred to her to limit the ability to talk to everyone. ItB次元官网网址檚 a pretty special thing when your best player acts like that because it sets the standard for the whole team around them.B次元官网网址�

But that took time.

Wilkinson recalled the ill-fated 2011 World Cup in Germany where the Canadian women, under Italian coach Carolina Morace, finished last.

B次元官网网址淚t was almost a bit cliquey those years,B次元官网网址� Wilkinson recalled. B次元官网网址淎nd we fell into that trap of thereB次元官网网址檚 the new people and then thereB次元官网网址檚 the older group. And I think we just started to taste a little bit of some notoriety and it really backfired on us.B次元官网网址�

With Herdman as coach, the team began to understand everyone had to pull in the same direction.

B次元官网网址淧eople talk about how close Canada is as a team,B次元官网网址� Wilkinson said. B次元官网网址淚 think that stems from this understanding that every single player, no matter how long theyB次元官网网址檝e been on the team, has got to feel like theyB次元官网网址檙e valued and that theyB次元官网网址檙e important. And when your leader is setting that standard because sheB次元官网网址檚 learned those lessons, no one has an excuse for acting differently. SincyB次元官网网址檚 done that.

B次元官网网址淎nd you see it now. Jessie Fleming is the veteran at 25 with God knows how many caps (122). And sheB次元官网网址檚 learned watching Sincy. And Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence and Kailen Sheridan, how can they possibly have an overblown ego when they share a field with Christine Sinclair and she doesnB次元官网网址檛. ItB次元官网网址檚 pretty cool to have around.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址�

Sinclair says simply that scoring goals B次元官网网址渉as always come naturally.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 honestly have no idea why,B次元官网网址� she wrote in her autobiography B次元官网网址淧laying the Long Game: A Memoir.B次元官网网址�

But there is no secret to SinclairB次元官网网址檚 success in front of goal. Hard work, a unique football brain and a competitive streak that runs a mile wide will go a long way.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e heard her say before, when people ask her B次元官网网址極h how do you score so many goals?B次元官网网址� and she explains that sheB次元官网网址檚 always had this really calm presence in front of goal and she doesnB次元官网网址檛 really know where it came from,B次元官网网址� said fellow forward Janine Beckie. B次元官网网址淏ut when most people panic in the six (-yard box) and thereB次元官网网址檚 total chaos, she says she feels like thatB次元官网网址檚 her most calm moment on the field.

B次元官网网址淎nd as a forward I can definitely say that thatB次元官网网址檚 not true for the majority of players. ItB次元官网网址檚 usually the most chaotic moment right in front of goal. But she feels her most comfortable there and she will literally explain that she just puts it where the goalkeeper isnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�

Heiner-Moller notes the speed of SinclairB次元官网网址檚 finishing touch, which unbalances defenders and goalkeepers.

B次元官网网址淏eing smart, able to read the game but also having this great finishing touch, which she was rehearsing over and over B次元官网网址� this is the hard work B次元官网网址� then youB次元官网网址檝e got a lethal package,B次元官网网址� he said.

Bev Priestman, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 current coach, said she learned early on that coaching Sinclair is B次元官网网址渁 balance of trying to challenge someone but also not overcomplicating the game.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 learned very quickly that she just has an unbelievable football brain, that you can keep it simple,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淎nd in many ways that is what the team feels, itB次元官网网址檚 that simplicity and just the football nous that she has.B次元官网网址�

Added fullback/midfielder Ashley Lawrence: B次元官网网址淗er vision is impeccable B次元官网网址� I think thatB次元官网网址檚 something we donB次元官网网址檛 talk about enough.B次元官网网址�

Goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who retired from international football in January and is also being honoured Tuesday, relished the challenge of facing Sinclair in practice or at club level.

B次元官网网址淚 loved going against Sincy because she could sense when the B次元官网网址榢eepers are unbalanced, so you had to really stay true to your positioning and you couldnB次元官网网址檛 really guess because youB次元官网网址檇 get caught,B次元官网网址� said McLeod. B次元官网网址淏ut then youB次元官网网址檇 kind of have to guess because her finishing was so good.B次元官网网址�

There were some painful lessons along the way.

McLeod, then with the under-19 team, remembers playing against Sinclair and the full international squad in a scrimmage in advance of the 2002 FIFA U19 WomenB次元官网网址檚 World Championship on home soil B次元官网网址� a tournament that saw both players excel for Canada.

B次元官网网址淪incy chipped me from like halfway. and IB次元官网网址檒l never forget it. Even though I hadnB次元官网网址檛 met her, you had already heard about her B次元官网网址� I think everyone knew she was already special. But that was a humbling introduction, I would say, to Sinclair.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址�-

While Sinclair is stepping away from the international game, her goal-scoring record remains.

And while records are made to be broken, many think it will take a while to surpass B次元官网网址� if ever.

B次元官网网址淗onesty itB次元官网网址檚 going to be very hard to beat,B次元官网网址� said 28-year-old forward Nichelle Prince, whose two goals in FridayB次元官网网址檚 5-0 win over Australia in Langford, B.C., raised her total for Canada to 16 in 95 games. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 hoping there is a young girl out there right now that is trying to beat it, but thatB次元官网网址檚 a very difficult thing to accomplish. And so it just shows how amazing Sinc is.B次元官网网址�

Added Beckie: B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to be a very long time B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 sure it wonB次元官网网址檛 happen for a very long time.B次元官网网址�

Said Heiner-Moller: B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 see too many players being a part of the game for so many years that Sinc has B次元官网网址� I canB次元官网网址檛 see the record being broke, perhaps forever.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址�-

While Sinclair has earned countless awards, from being named CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Player of the Year 14 times to the Order of Canada, she has never won FIFAB次元官网网址檚 World Player of the Year award.

Pellerud still canB次元官网网址檛 believe it.

B次元官网网址淚n my opinion she should have had the award somewhere between five and 10 years,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淪he was nominated a couple of times but never got it,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淎nd every time IB次元官网网址檓 angry B次元官网网址� It drove me crazy to see she didnB次元官网网址檛 win. But she has a lot of other official awards and she deserves them all.B次元官网网址�

Herdman agrees.

B次元官网网址淚t was tough. It was really tough, as her coach not to see her recognized in the way she should have been,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淩eally difficult.B次元官网网址�

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