In the hallway to the locker room inside Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field, four championship trophies are aligned in a glass case for passersby to admire. There’s a sense of pride as describes what it feels like to walk past them each day. “You feel not just the privilege, but also the ownership of being a champion,” Smith told the Star in a phone interview this week.
“But ...
2021 left a bitter taste in our mouths, and I think nobody on our team wants to experience that again.” After back-to-back titles, Forge FC lost that final to Pacific FC before winning two more. On Saturday afternoon, the Hamilton club will look to add a fifth trophy to the collection against Cavalry FC in Calgary.
As the Canadian Premier League wraps up its sixth season on Saturday in Calgary, it can than...
Win or lose, “It’s something we don’t take for granted,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of patience to be a champion.” One of the key factors has been continuity, on the roster and in the front office.
Smith, who played professionally in Canada and abroad for more than 10 years, joined the team as operations manager when the CPL began in 2019. , who spent nearly 15 years coaching at Sigma FC in Mississauga after a stint with the Olympiacos FC academy in Greece, came aboard at the same time. Even , who had a successful career in Major League Soccer, has been a leader with Forge FC since the beginning — on the pitch and in the locker room.
“When you have a specific way of playing.
