VANCOUVER — Some quotes about Canada captain Christine Sinclair, who calls time on her international soccer career on Tuesday with one final outing against Australia at Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium:
"She's irreplaceable. That's the one word that comes to mind. On the pitch, off the pitch, it's actually really weird to imagine life in camp without Christine. I've experienced it a couple of times but it wasn't for ever." — Canada coach Bev Priestman.
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"Something she always says is she wanted to inspire a nation and I think that is her legacy … Every single young person in this country that plays this game knows who Christine Sinclair is and I think that that's a legacy she's very proud of. I also think her legacy stretches much farther than that." — Canadian forward Janine Beckie.
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"She's just class. She's all class. On the pitch, off the pitch. She has a really strong moral compass and a humility, a really distinctive humility that may have cost her to some degree with where she probably could have been with her career financially and all those other elements. She never asked for more than anyone else in our team. And that's pretty unique when you have one of THE greatest of all time, the leading goal-scorer in the world, and she's happy to be no different than any other teammate on that roster." — John Herdman, former Canada women's coach and current Toronto FC coach.
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"Sinc's always been good about empowering the next generation … (Retirement) it's hard because on the one hand it's like you're not needed any more but on the other hand it's important you're not needed any more because it's a sign of growth." — Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod.
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"(She was) the face of women's sport in Canada for almost a decade, if not more ...In 2012 (at the London Olympics) she put the country on her back. She did everything she could for women's sport in Canada. You couldn't ask for anything more." — Former Canada Soccer general secretary Peter Montopoli.
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"She's the player you go to on the field when the chips are down, An important role and a visual leader for us. But she didn't say too much. People do not realize how intelligent that woman is. So when she speaks, it's always of value." — Former teammate, coach and Canada Soccer Hall of Famer Rhian Wilkinson.
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"The game's going to miss her." — Former Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2023.
The Canadian Press
