The decade without a name review: Part I - Oh what a Keeper

Merry Christmas!

As we face down the final week of a decade that never really found a name, it's time to review the top moments in Canadian soccer from the 10 years.

On the surface, it might seem like it's been bleak. Three World Cup campaigns came and went with Canada falling further and further behind in each cycle. The worst moment of the decade was undoubtedly the second game of the CONCACAF semi-final round against Honduras. It wasn't over at that point, but it was over.

But, this is a positive list and there have been a lot of positives, especially at the start and finish of the decade. The ‘00s started with hope (that proved to be unfounded) and has once again ended with hope. Only it seems different this time. Now, the hope comes not from one lucky run in a tournament, but rather from structural and attitudinal changes in the system that make you think that maybe, just maybe, this time we can get it right.

Over the rest of today I will be rolling out the top 10 moments in Canadian football over the past decade. Starting with....

No. 10 - Feb. 24, 2000 - Craig Forrest plays game of his life against T&T

Canadians tend to remember the final of the 2000 Gold Cup, where Canada was a deserving 2-0 winner over Colombia. What they forget is the semi-final, when Trinidad and Tobago were pretty much robbed.

The thief’s name was Craig Forrest, who probably played the greatest 90 minutes of soccer by a Canadian in history. Time after time Forrest turned away the T&T attack, often spectacularly. It's a Canadian sports cliché that the goalie has to steal one for you on the way to a championship. Forrest stole that game.

As a fan it was terrifying. The dramatic quarterfinal win over Mexico looked destined to be wasted throughout the evening. But, Mark Watson's 68th minute marker was just enough...

What, with a brick wall in net and all...

It wasn't a pretty game -- one of the decade's ugliest, actually, but for an unworldly individual effort, Craig Forrest nails down spot number 10 in the decades top Canuck moments.