Timko's talents blooming
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sixteen year old Kara Lang gets all the ink. But she's not the only teenage sensation of the nation at the Women's World Cup.
Brittany Timko is only one year older. She's played every minute of this World Cup, the first two games playing out of position as a defender before moving back to the midfield to make a difference as Canada beat Japan to get to the quarter-final against China here on Thursday.
Like Lang, who scored her first World Cup goal against Japan, Timko was a member of the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship team which authored such a sensational story in getting to overtime in the final against the U.S. at a sold-out Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton last summer.
Along with Lang she'll play again for the U-19 team at the world championship next fall in Thailand.
Lang was born Oct. 22, 1986 in Calgary and Timko on Sept. 5, 1985 in Vancouver.
"She doesn't have the same exhuberant personality that Kara does but she's developing her own personality as a strong, steady, talented player,'' said veteran Andrea Neil. "She's come to this World Cup and proved herself as a very capable world-class player.''
Charmaine Hooper gives her an even greater compliment.
'A YOUNG PRO'
"She's a young pro. What impresses me most is that she maintains a high level of play at camps, practices and games. She really works at being at that level. She's showing she has a true future as a professional at a very young age.''
Coach Even Pellerud says she's a player he can trust.
"She's a very talented midfielder,'' said Pellerud. "Her most obvious talent is her range, her ability to move over distances.''
Pellerud started the young star, who now calls Coquitlam, B.C., home, as a defender against Germany and Argentina but determined Canada was suffering due to a lack of speed in the midfield.
And with the speed of China, she's certain to stay there.
"She's also very strong in the air. She's merciless in the air. On the ball she's skilled and gaining confidence in her skills.
"She's going to be even better as her confidence grows and she takes more advantage of those skills. Her passing skills are excellent, although she doesn't always use them. But she will as she gains more experience.''
There's no better place to gain experience than playing the best teams on the planet at the Women's World Cup.
"It's really cool,'' said Timko, who already has 25 international caps and was named the No. 2 college prospect by Soccer America.
"My goal was to make the team by the time I was 21 and be in the World Cup in 2007.
"It's just happened so fast for me. It's a dream come true.''
OLYMPIC POSSIBILITIES
She's headed to the University of Nebraska as a freshman along with another U-19-eligible Canadian starter Tanya Dennis. It doesn't seem real that there's still the potential to play three more World Cup games (a win by Canada over China puts them into the medal round and guarantees two more games) much less possibly playing in the Olympics before playing for the U-19 team with Lang for a second time.
"I don't know if we can do as well as we did in Edmonton. That team was so talented it'll be hard to put another team like that together again. But I think we'll be close to that. And Kara and myself and now Tanya will bring a lot of experience to that team.
"I'm going to benefit from this experience for the rest of my career ... the rest of my life.
"Just to play against players like Sun Wen and Bai Jie in the quarter-final is going to be something,'' she said of China's two superstars.
"I've never played against them.''
And to play here with family and friends planning to take the trip down from Vancouver to watch certainly adds to it.
"My parents and my brothers are coming to the game and they're telling me about so many other people who are coming down to the game, too.
"We hear it's going to be a sellout. It's going to be an amazing experience.''
