Rising star Buchanan called ‘next Sinclair’
VANCOUVER— Growing up in the gritty Toronto neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, Kadeisha Buchanan saw the different directions life could take.
“It was a tough time,” Buchanan remembers.
Playing soccer was one way for the child of Jamaican parents to avoid trouble.
“It keeps your mind off different things,” Buchanan said Friday. “That kept me kind of in place. Soccer made you more mature. It takes you away from a lot of things.”
This August, Buchanan will be one of the stars of the Canadian team participating in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. She also is expected to play for the national team at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted in six Canadian cities.
The 18-year-old centre back has earned praise from her coaches and already been compared to national team veteran Christine Sinclair, considered one of the best strikers in the world.
“She will be the Christine Sinclair of this U-20 tournament and probably of the 2015 tournament,” said coach Andrew Olivieri.
Those sorts of accolades could be a burden for some players but Buchanan accepts the challenge.
“There is definitely the opportunity there,” she said while attending a ceremony at BC Place Stadium marking one year out from the Women’s World Cup. “It’s up to me to take it and grow with it.
“I will use the U-20 tournament for improvement on what I need to work on, so when I get to the senior team my skills are there.”
Buchanan began playing soccer at age 8. She was 14 when she made her debut with the Canadian youth program in 2010. Her first senior national team game came as a 17-year-old last January in a 1-0 Canada win over China. Since then she’s played 13 games, starting 11.
Buchanan drew raves from national team coach John Herdman following Canada’s 1-1 draw with arch-rival the United States on May 8 in Winnipeg. Not only did Buchanan keep American superstar Abby Wambach from scoring, she also scored Canada’s goal off a header in the 35th minute.
“She’s the Sinclair of defenders,” Herdman said after the game. “She brings it every game. She’s got the chance to be the best in the world at her position.”
On Friday, Herdman talked about the maturity Buchanan shows on the pitch. “No challenge is too big, nothing is too stressful,” he said. “She just loves the sport. She has had a tough background and she appreciates everything she gets.” The 16-team Under-20 tournament will be held Aug. 5-24 in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Moncton, N.B. Six first-round matches will be played at Toronto’s BMO Field, with Canada playing Ghana on Aug. 5 and Finland on Aug. 8. A quarter-final match will also be played in Toronto on Aug. 16. The final will be held at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. Buchanan’s performance in Winnipeg gained her notoriety, but she says the turning point in her career was playing for the national team against the U.S. last June in Toronto. “It was Toronto and my home soil,” she said. “All my family was there. “I played a really good game. I thought, ‘I can really get used to this.’ It was an amazing experience.”