The Record Breaker

Who Is Christine Sinclair?

Fans know the Christine Sinclair they've watched on the pitch for almost 20 years, but who is the Christine Sinclair that only those closest to her get see?

Diana Matheson

(teammates on Canada since 2003)

“Most Christine Sinclair stories are, perhaps, not safe for media consumption."

Tobin Heath

(teammates on the Portland Thorns since 2013)

“First and foremost, she’s an incredible teammate. There are players who play the game the right way and I think for a No. 9 – she’s played No. 9 for her whole career and she’s transitioned back to more of a No. 10 role – to have a No. 9. that plays football the right way and has led her team for a really long time is pretty special. .

So I think it speaks to her as a leader and to her character and how well she plays the game – how well she plays for other people and then in the big moments where she always steps up and makes the play that matters most.”

Allie Long

(teammates on the Portland Thorns from 2013-2017)

“Whenever I think about Sinc, I always say Sinc is class. She’s someone on the field who you want to be on the same team with. She’s competitive. She’s just so good on the ball, she’s a great teammate and there are so many great things I could say about her, truly.”

Mark Parsons

(coach of the Portland Thorns since 2015)

“She’s probably one of the goofiest and funniest people in her quiet Sincy way in the locker room. Sometimes it’s hard to have a serious conversation with her and that’s why it’s so surprising because she’s so serious and focused as a professional. On a personal side, if I just sit there and catch up over coffee, she’s just funny. She’s cracking jokes and it’s sometimes hard to get her to focus and be serious. She’s goofy and funny all the time when she’s relaxed, when she’s away from being the best athlete in the world.

I think people can look at Sincy and think she’s born to play football and to score goals, but she has mastered her craft and she’s still mastering her craft. It’s hard to say ‘master’ with many athletes in the world, but she wants to be the very best every single day. The way she trains and even prepares for training and the way she recovers from training has real purpose, has real focus every single day. That first day of preseason, everyone’s tanks are full – motivation tank, energy tank, emotional tank. Everyone is raring to go and everyone’s brains are so intensely in the moment and present in every second of that practice, the first one of the year. That’s Sincy every day, the way she attacks every day is with the ultimate professionalism. You think she’s a born footballer? She’s got to where she’s got to through hard work, through mastering her craft, through real deep and purposeful training and consistently – every day, every time she’s out there...don’t be fooled by this really talented footballer. She was given this talent and she’s created and developed and nurtured this talent through hard work and perseverance. ”

Friend and Foe

Fierce rivals on the field internationally, Christine Sinclair has been teammates with several members of the USWNT on the Portland Thorns over the years. While there might be rancor on the pitch when Canada and the United States meet, there's nothing but respect for Sinclair as a competitor from her club teammates.

Allie Long

(teammates on the Portland Thorns from 2013-2017)

“When I think of Sinc, I think of her as a competitor and feel like she is someone that when it comes to once you cross the white line, it’s game time. It doesn’t matter who you played with before, when you’re against that person, you’re against that person and for those 90 minutes, you’re trying to beat them. I respect anyone who handles tough situations like that because that’s how I am and I respect Sinc so much for the competitor that she is and who she is as a player and a person, of course...People can hold grudges and maybe it’s uncomfortable for some players, but I live for the times you compete against the people you know best and I think Sinc is the same way, as well.”

Tobin Heath

(teammates on the Portland Thorns since 2013)

“I think we’ve become so accustomed to it because we even do it within our own national team when we go back to our clubs and play against each other, so I think that part of the sport in general is very natural. I think some people do it a lot better than others, but honestly, I’ve never really felt like [Christine Sinclair] is a foe. There’s just a massive amount of respect that the US team has for her as a competitor and then for the players who have played with her, that respect is just amplified.”​

London Olympics

(August 6, 2012 - Old Trafford)

The Olympic semifinal tie between Canada and the United States at Old Trafford was the game in which the legend of Christine Sinclair was cemented and one of the greatest matches in the history of women's football.

Though Canada ultimately fell - Alex Morgan's goal in the third minute of stoppage after extra time proved to be the winner in a 4-3 contest - and missed out on the chance at a gold medal, Sinclair's hat-trick perfomance might have been the finest of her career as she nearly willed Canada on to victory on her own.

Megan Rapinoe

(scored twice in the semifinal)

“In a historical stadium like that, to play who you consider a rival and you’ve got a good, healthy animosity towards them from both sides and to have it be such a spectacular game like that, not only for us, but for the fans and for the whole tournament...with the sheer excitement and energy...you had tons of goals and we hate each other, there was all kinds of controversy and it was in the Olympics and with tons riding on it. It was just a dope game to be a part of.”

Allysha Chapman

(teammates on Canada since 2014)

“It was before I knew her and was just watching from home, but she just completely took the game under her own control. It was just the best individual performance I think I’ve ever seen from her. It was wild to watch."

Mark Parsons

(coach of the Portland Thorns since 2013)

“I was studying for my [UEFA] A [coaching] License during that time and I remember watching it in England and seeing the way she performed that day – obviously, it was heartbreaking at the end – and going ‘Wow!’ I’m just watching her really for the first time and wow, what an elite athlete. What a leader. What a person to put her country on her back and – before the referee got involved – was dragging her country through [to the final].”

Tobin Heath

(played all 120 minutes of the semifinal)

“Honestly, from our side, it felt like a very typical US important match where you keep going down and keep coming back, but when I think about it from her perspective, I think of it as one of the greatest games that any single player has ever played and, unfortunately, had to come out on the losing side. I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been to really have played at like an impossible level and for it still not to have been enough, I’m sure it must have been difficult, but I think it was one of the greatest individual performances I’ve ever seen in a big game.”

Her Best Goals

From the people who have watched them up close, does Christine Sinclair have an absolute best goal?

Diana Matheson

(teammates on Canada since 2003)

“My favourite goal of Christine’s, and I’ve said this before and I think other people have, I think was in 2009 against Brazil in Brazil and for some reason we had to tie this game against Brazil to win the tournament – it was a weird tournament. We were down 3-2 and we had a red card, so we were down a man, and I think in, like, the 79th minute or something, we transitioned and it went up to Melissa Tancredi just outside the box – to the right top corner of the box – and she laid it off to Sinc and Sinc came around and hit it with the inside of her left foot and it just curled round, like a 30-yard shot on a string and just into the top far corner. I think there’s only poor video footage of that from the stands. There’s no TV footage of that or that would be replayed forever. That was beautiful.”

Allie Long

(teammates with the Portland Thorns from 2013-2017)

“Playing with her on Portland, there were just so many times she would score a goal and I would look at the way she scored it. You don’t see many females score goals the way Sinc does. Ninety-nine per cent of people are going to try to blast it, but she’s just class. She’s placing it. I always remember being like ‘Well done, Sinc.’ She’s not smashing the ball and hitting it as hard as she can. She’s placing it and she’s just so smooth. She’s consistent and she’s smooth and there are so many goals I can pick out where she bends it perfectly, right around the ‘keeper. She’s did it all the time in practice when I’ve seen her and she trains that way. She scores goals and I’m just like, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen that like 27 times.’ She’s just super classy with the way she plays and just clinical.”

Tobin Heath

(teammates on the Portland Thorns since 2013)

“There have been so many Christine Sinclair goals, obviously, but I think it’s just the natural ability for her to be a goal scorer. We always kinda joke about she always makes the hardest thing in the game look so simple. Scoring a goal is magical no matter what it looks like and I think she just has the beautiful magic inside her that it’s just so natural for her that she always knows exactly the right shot and the right time in order to score. She doesn’t complicate it. She just does exactly what’s needed in that moment to produce that magic and I think being able to watch her every day for so long and just see how naturally it comes to her, I’ve been really lucky to have been around that.”

Mark Parsons

(coach of the Portland Thorns since 2015)

“Watching the NWSL Final in 2013 – I was not coaching her at the time – and she scored for Portland Thorns the second goal in a 2-0 win [over the Western New York Flash]. They were down to 10 players and she went through and just typical Sinc, an absolute class finish and wins her club the first championship...never did I think I would get to coach this incredible person and player and now I do, which is a privilege every day.”