Canada’s Tajon Buchanan during a friendly against Colombia in New Jersey last month.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press
In terms of encapsulating what it means to be a Canadian soccer player, men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch could barely have asked for a better sales pitch than Sunday’s Canadian Premier League final.
In a swirling snow globe of a stadium, Atletico Ottawa rode a stunning bicycle kick – forevermore to be known as an ‘Icicle kick’ – to prevail in an unforgettable whiteout that captured global attention. While Marsch was there – one of 13,000 hardy souls in attendance – the drama played out across social media, with the coach saying he got 20 to 30 texts from European-based acquaintances asking about the occasion.
“I think this was an incredible showcase of the league, an incredible showcase of the Canadian mentality, that we’re not fazed by this kind of weather,” he said Tuesday. “And, yeah, I think it was a big moment.”
With three newcomers in his Canada squad for friendly matches against Ecuador on Thursday in Toronto, and against Venezuela next Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., it’s to be assumed that Marsch made sure that the trio watched the highlights when they arrived for training camp this week.
After all, with exactly seven months until Canada opens its World Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, getting everyone up to speed with what it means to represent this country on the biggest stage is paramount.
Hamstring injury leaves Canada fullback Alistair Johnston facing long injury layoffg
Of course, the lingering pitchside snow that was present on Tuesday will likely not be an issue come June. But in lieu of a red carpet, that early taste of Canadian winter should give Middlesbrough centre-back Alfie Jones, Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Owen Goodman, and Marcelo Flores (a Tigres UANL winger who was called up solely as a training player) a lasting memory of their first Canadian national-team camp.
“That’s the job, I think, of the coach and the coaching staff,” Marsch said. “To try to make sure that even though we don’t have a ton of [international] windows left, that if we want to give any of these guys a chance to actually make the World Cup squad, that we get them up to speed as quickly as possible with the idea of the way we like to play football and what the mentality of the group is.”
Though Marsch all but ruled out the possibility of the new goalkeeper starting games next summer – “I think the World Cup starter will be Max or Dayne,” he said, referring to incumbents Max Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair – he refused to rule out further new additions in the coming windows.
“There’s a couple of others out there that could potentially feature in anytime here,” he said. “But I think we’re putting together a really good player pool, like really deep, strong player pool, that has potential to be really strong for the World Cup.”
Jesse Marsch during the first half of June’s CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final against Guatemala in Minneapolis.Abbie Parr/The Associated Press
That theme of experimentation will likely not carry over to the two games in the coming week. While Jones may get a look in one of the games, Marsch added that the turnaround time between Thursday to Tuesday could allow him to start both games with much the same lineup as he bids to increase team chemistry.
One player who will be hoping to make an impact, as ever, is Tajon Buchanan. The 26-year-old has found a new lease of life in his first season at Villarreal – alongside fellow Canadian forward Tani Oluwaseyi – in Spain, scoring four goals in 12 La Liga appearances so far this season, including a hat trick against Girona in September.
The Brampton, Ont.-born winger started both games in the last window, but he and the rest of the forwards were unable to unlock the defences of either Australia or Colombia, with Canada getting shut out both times.
“I think we’re getting to the right spots, creating chances,” he said. “Now we just have to be more clinical in finishing those chances off. And yeah, we have many guys on this team that can score goals. So that’s not anything anyone’s worried about.”
As for his own form, following on from an injury-hit spell with Inter Milan that saw him play just 314 minutes in 13 months in Italy, which included missing half of Canada’s run to the Copa America semi-finals last year, Buchanan says he’s feeling healthy.
“Feel good since the beginning of the season. Feel like myself again,” he said. “Just got to keep pushing, keep improving every day, and hopefully stay fit. … I feel back to my best.”