NICE, France — Neil Stafford laughs now about what it took him to convince Vanessa Gilles to play soccer at the University of Cincinnati.
“A lot of begging,” the long-time U.S. college coach quipped.
Stafford is probably the least-surprised person on Earth that his old Bearcats centre back scored the late winning goal against France on Sunday to keep the Canadian women’s national team in the Olympic picture. Incredibly, they can advance, despite FIFA’s six-point penalty, with a win over Colombia Wednesday in Nice.
“I’ve coached a lot of players who have played for their country,” he said, “but I’ve never coached an athlete that can manifest things the way Vanessa does. One time against UConn, we were coming back from 2-0 down and trying to win our first Big East championship. We had a free kick late and I literally turned to the scorekeeper and said we’re going to score here – and then Vanessa did.
“She doesn’t shy away from the big moments. When she scored the other night, I just shook my head – typical ‘V’. It’s remarkable.”
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Gilles, born in Quebec and raised in Shanghai and Ottawa, was rather late to competitive soccer. She started at age 16 after realizing she didn’t have the patience to be a ‘keeper and stopped playing high-level tennis because she lacked the necessary killer instinct.
That’s around the same time Stafford was just getting started at trying to rebuild a moribund Cincinnati program.
“My friend from way back, the late Joe Nucifora, called and told me, ‘Hey, I’ve got this kid here who played tennis but I think her real passion is football,’” Stafford recalled. “So I got on a plane and went to this podunk little bubble in Ontario that felt like it was 20-below inside and just sat on the sidelines watching this young woman play.
“She was very raw and not exactly clean on the ball, but you could tell from Day 1 her will to succeed was just different.”
There are plenty of leaders on the Canadian team, but Gilles has expertly voiced the frustration they felt in the midst of the drone scandal, the criticism back home, the coaching suspensions and FIFA’s six-point deduction in the group stage standings.
She brought all of us inside the hotel and locker room, describing the cycle of tears and how she almost punched a hole in the wall. She talked about leaning on sports therapists and how difficult it was to perform after barely sleeping or eating in the lead up to the do-or-die match against the hosts.
“We’re not cheaters,” Gilles told the press in an emotional post-game interview. “We’re damn good players. We’re a damn good team. We proved that (Sunday).”
Stafford, now at Anna Maria College in Massachusetts, loved to use the ‘us vs. the world’ mentality with the Bearcats. Gilles and the Canadian team have adopted that persona.
“She’s outspoken, honest, transparent and quite frankly, I don’t think she gives a shit what people think,” he said. “I love that about her. A lot of people don’t understand what’s involved with being a coach or player. Sometimes, we have to be guarded in what we say or do.
“There are times you are able to speak your mind and she is on behalf of her teammates, the federation and her country.”
In France for the tournament but largely locked out from communicating face-to-face with his daughter, Vanessa’s father, Denis, said parents have been “devastated” watching events unfold over the past week.
“When your kid is down like this, that’s our job to bring them back up. And that’s not easy. It’s very challenging — it’s devastating for us,” he said.
Vanessa’s post-match interview on Sunday was indicative of the person he knows.
“Vanessa said it well, and maybe a bit too rough, but still, that’s the truth. They have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Denis said.
Even so, he worries about the pressure players are facing.
“She’s a tough cookie — a very tough cookie, but there are limits to toughness and the disappointment from being let down by people instead of supporting them,” he said.
The most interesting part is her connection to the team and nation she helped beat. Gilles was eligible to play for France since Denis, a former footballer, was born in Paris.
She took full advantage, was called up by the Bleues and played in an U23 match for them. Four years ago, she made her Canadian debut, was named to the Olympic team in 2021 and was one of the team’s trusted penalty shootout takers on the run to the gold medal.
The only person left to convince is Stafford’s son Kayden, who uses Gilles in his EAFC 24 soccer video game.
“He told me, ‘Dad, can you speak to Vanessa in Paris and tell her to up her game,’” Neil said. “I need my starting centre back on my FIFA Ultimate Team to be higher than an 83 (player rating).”
— With files from Matt Scace