CANADA’S TRAILBLAZERS
Canada is a footballing nation on the rise. Eoin Mac Raghnaill investigates...
On top of the sensational emergence of Alphonso Davies, his fellow countryman Jonathan David commanded a €30 million transfer by moving from Gent to Lille earlier this summer. There are high hopes for Liverpool’s Liam Millar too, while 18-year-old Jayden Nelson has already made his senior international debut and played in MLS for Toronto.
Equally, Canadian women’s football has progressed rapidly of late as well – epitomised by Lyon defender Kadeisha Buchanan lifting her fourth Champions League trophy in a row following a 3-1 victory over Wolfsburg back in August. Lyon’s semi-final opponents, Paris Saint-Germain, have the next big thing on their books in the form of 19-yearold striker Jordyn Huitema – who also happens to be Davies’ girlfriend.
The Canucks have long been considered a fledgling football nation. It seems that label is now set to become out of date.
With the future looking bright for the Canadian women and men’s teams, we focus on the the Canadian trailblazers who have paved the way.
THE PIONEERS
Canadian football has a deeper and more illustrious history than is often assumed. In 1888 a team from the Western Football Association of Ontario toured Britain, becoming the first international team to do so, and featuring some of the earliest examples of Canadians who crossed the Atlantic in the pursuit of glory.
Edward Hagarty Parry
More than a century before Canadianborn England international midfielder Owen Hargreaves, there was the pioneering Edward Parry.
The Toronto native moved to England at a young age, and captained the Oxford University team that lost the 1877 FA Cup final – a 2-1 defeat at the hands of south-east London club, Wanderers. In 1881 Parry had another crack at FA Cup glory, this time captaining Old Carthusians to a 3-0 victory over Old Etonians.
In doing so, he became both the first Canadian to win an FA Cup, and the first non-UK player to captain an FA Cup-winning team.
A natural-born leader known for his mazy dribbling, Parry ended his career with three England caps.
Walter Wells Bowman
Likely the first Canadian-born footballer to have played in the English Football League, Bowman played for Accrington
(pre-Stanley) and Manchester City between 1892 and 1899.
As part of a Canada side, he toured Britain in 1891, but decided to remain in England after the rest of the squad had returned to North America.
He signed with Lancashire side Accrington, and a year later joined Manchester club, Ardwick, who would later go bankrupt and reform in 1894 as Manchester City. Bowman, who played in the outside right position, made a total of 47 appearances and scored three goals for the two clubs.
Joe Kennaway
Originally from Point St. Charles, Montreal, Kennaway was a dual international who played for both Canada and Scotland between 1926 and 1933.
Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, Kennaway crossed the pond in 1931 to join Celtic – where he won two league championships and three Scottish FA Cups.
In 1926 Kennaway appeared for Canada against the United States, but also featured once for Scotland, versus Austria in 1933 at Hampden Park. On retiring, he coached at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
THE INVADERS
In the 1980s and 1990s football became more globalised, and Europe saw an influx of Canadian talent like never before. Transfer policies at clubs became more unfettered and scouting networks were expanded further afield in search of hidden gems.
Craig Forrest
Ipswich Town invited Forrest to Europe in 1985, joining his compatriot Frank Yallop who had arrived two years earlier. The goalkeeper cemented his place in the side, and played a massive role in the club’s 1992 promotion and subsequent entry into the inaugural Premier League season.
Forrest thus became the first
Canadian to play in the Premier League, when he started in the opening day 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. His other record is less welcome: in 1995 he was in goal for the league’s joint-worst defeat, a 9-0 loss to Manchester United.
After spells at Chelsea and then West Ham, Forrest retired in 2002 with 56 Canada caps to his name, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also named in the country’s all-time XI, and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Carrie Serwetnyk
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Serwetnyk played for Canada from 1986 to 1996, and was one of the first women to move abroad in search of greener pastures.
From 1988 to 1990 she played for French side AS Poissy, before making a move to Japan in 1992, enjoying spells with Fujita SC Mercury and then Yomiuri Nippon SC.
In 1996 Serwetnyk returned to North America, resuming her career with the national team. Upon retirement she founded the non-profit organisation Equal Play and also became the first female inductee into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. Her career helped pave the way for the next generation, including Christine Sinclair – both the most-capped and highest-scoring footballer of all time.
Owen Hargreaves
Hargreaves is easily the most familiar name on this list, yet not a Canadian international.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Hargreaves joined Bayern Munich at the age of 16. Three years later he made his league debut and quickly established himself as a first-team regular.
Born to an English father and Welsh mother, Hargreaves – much to the dismay of Canuck fans – chose to play for Wales at U19 level, before switching to England U21s in 2000. He received his first senior cap in 2001, becoming the only player to have played for England without having previously lived in the UK. He ended his career with 42 caps, and appeared at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
For this current generation of exciting Canadian players, Owen Hargreaves is the benchmark. The first Canadian to win a major European title, he won four Bundesliga crowns and a Champions League at Bayern Munich, then helped Manchester United win the Premier League and Champions League in 2008.
Charmaine Hooper
The epitome of a trailblazer in the Canadian women’s game, Hooper was an outstanding talent who was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in June 2012.
Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Hooper
For this current generation of exciting Canadian players, Owen Hargreaves is the benchmark
immigrated to Canada via Zambia at the age of nine. In 1993, having been spotted playing for North Carolina State University, she moved to Norway, joining Toppserien side FK Donn. A brief spell at Lazio followed, before another high-profile move to Japanese side Prima Ham FC Kunoichi in 1994.
Having won basically every accolade on offer in Japan, she returned to North America in 1995, and represented Canada at three World Cups. She called time on her glittering career in 2008 with 129 caps.
THE NEW MILLENNIUM
The turn of the millennium saw another crop of Canadian stars surface at larger and more prestigious club across Europe. With increasingly younger Canadians being snapped up by top European academies, the calibre of player being produced was taken to a whole new level.
Tomasz Radzinski
An energetic and clinical striker, Polish-born Radzinski moved to Canada with his family in 1990, beginning his career with the North York Rockets in the Canadian Soccer League.
Radzinski returned to Europe with Belgian side Germinal Ekeren, before joining giants Anderlecht in 1998. He was top scorer in 2000-01, putting in some electrifying performances, most notably in Europe where he scored a brace in Anderlecht’s famous 2-1 win over Manchester United.
A move to Everton followed in 2001, where he became a big fan favourite, notching up 25 Premier League goals in 91 appearances over three seasons, before three years at Fulham. He is still the Premier League’s top-scoring Canadian, and in 2018 was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.
Julian de Guzman
Marseille scouts spotted the elder of the De Guzman brothers at an early age, bringing him to Europe in 1997.
His first taste of senior football came in Germany, first with Saarbrucken and then Hannover, before a headlinegrabbing transfer to Deportivo La Coruna in 2005 – making him the first Canadian to play in La Liga.
De Guzman was a massive hit in Spain, and was voted Deportivo Player of the Year in 2007-08. After his contract expired in 2009, he returned to North America with Toronto FC.
Widely considered one of Canada’s greatest footballing exports, he retired in 2016 with 89 international caps to his name.
Jonathan de Guzman
Two years after his older brother had left for Marseille, Jonathan followed in his footsteps, joining Feyenoord’s academy in 1999. By 2005, he had become a regular in the first team, notching up 109 league appearances.
So well established was De Guzman, that he eventually became a naturalised Dutchmen during his time at Feyenoord. Though born in Canada to Jamaican and Filipino parents, De Guzman lined up for the Oranje 14 times.
Spells in La Liga at Mallorca and Villarreal followed his time in Rotterdam, before two years on loan at Swansea City for two consecutive seasons between 2012-2014.
The free-kick expert was a massively influential figure at the heart of the Swans’ midfield, so much so that Italian giants Napoli came calling, with De Guzman moving there in 2014.
He was last seen back in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt, and is currently a free agent after his contract expired in the summer.
Atiba Hutchinson
The Besiktas midfielder is the definition of a stalwart.
Born in Ontario to Trinidadian parents, Hutchinson began his career with Canadian Soccer League team York Region Shooters in 2002, but made his name in Sweden – first with Osters IF, then Helsingborg.
His form impressed Danish Champions League qualifiers FC Copenhagen, and over the course of his four years in Denmark he was linked with a number of Premier League clubs, before eventually joining Dutch giants PSV in 2010.
He became a regular starter there too, winning the KNVB Cup in 2012. In 2013 he made the move to Turkish side Besiktas where he has made over 200 appearances across seven seasons.
One of the most decorated Canadian internationals with 84 caps to his name, Hutchinson was also named in the all-time Canada XI in 2012.