Having made his debut in January 2003 to rise to become the captain of the Canada Men’s National Team, Atiba Hutchinson has long since cemented himself as a legend of the sport in his home nation.
The Brampton-born midfielder – who can just as easily slot in at centre-back – has amassed 97 caps and nine goals prior to the final round of international friendlies before the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hutchinson has been a core part of John Herdman’s build of Canada as a true competitor on the international stage, and in November, he looks set to lead the team out one more time for the nation’s greatest challenge yet.
A Talisman Of Canadian Soccer
Plying his trade for Östers IF in Sweden at the time, head coach Holger Osieck saw that it was time to throw Atiba Hutchinson into the deep end for Canada on January 18, 2003.
Playing the full 90 minutes, the young Canada XI met an equally-youthful US team, boasting future stars in Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, and Carlos Bocanegra.
The US won 4-0, but at the time, the US was tenth in the FIFA World Rankings, while Canada sat down in 70th, just below Venezuela and Zambia.
Through the ensuing years, Hutchinson featured in many phases of rebuilding and rotation for Canada, remaining a regular feature under five head coach stints through to 2013, when the Ontario midfielder was utilized far less.
Under John Herdman – appointed in January 2018 – however, Hutchinson has become a regular feature once again, standing as Canada’s captain.
He wasn’t available for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup but was essential to Canada’s superb 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, playing in ten of the 14 matches and scoring twice.
Hutchinson has been lauded as one of the nation’s best for many years.
While the young guns have now taken over proceedings, Hutchinson won his sixth Canada Soccer Player of the Year award in 2017, setting a high bar for the likes of Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.
A staple of the Canada squad at five CONCACAF Gold Cups, even reaching the semi-finals in 2007, he’s also done Canada proud overseas, winning copious domestic honours with FC Copenhagen, Beşiktaş, and PSV Eindhoven in top-flight European leagues.
Still, one of his most outstanding achievements will be leading Canada out at the World Cup. The markets for betting online stack the odds against Canada achieving much in Qatar, but this is almost certainly Canada’s most talented squad ever.
So, there will be a lot on the shoulders of captain Hutchinson, who will hope to rally the young stars and cause an upset.
Hutchinson’s Legacy-Defining Challenge
He may be the record-holder for Canadian caps, surpassing Julian de Guzman in 2021, but Hutchinson’s place in Canada’s soccer history books might just hinge on the team’s showing at Qatar 2022.
This isn’t to say that he isn’t already going to end his career as a national legend, but he can certainly reach new heights with a strong showing from the squad. The Les Rouges captain might also reach another milestone.
Left out of the Canada side that’ll face Qatar and Uruguay in September international friendlies, if he can get fit in time for November, Hutchinson is in line to reach 100 caps for Canada at the 2022 World Cup.
Personal accolades aside, the CANMNT captain will need to drive his teammates beyond the bar set by the 1986 national team, which didn’t secure a single point or goal at the World Cup in Mexico.
With Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, and Stephen Eustáquio in the ranks, some are quietly optimistic that Canada can usurp the soccer odds to wriggle out of Group F, but Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco stand in the way.
At +900 to reach the quarter-finals, the oddsmakers at least see a chance that Canada can escape a group that will have stacks of pressure placed on European giants, even if Les Rouges are out at +1000 to win Group F.
Atiba Hutchinson has moved even with Julian De Guzman for #CANMNT Appearances with 89 🍁🐙#ForCanada #WCQ pic.twitter.com/oIqE4c90tE
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 13, 2021
Atiba Hutchinson is already a record-holder for Canada and incredibly well respected in soccer circles, but even one win at the 2022 FIFA World Cup could enhance his legacy ten-fold – especially if he scores.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 19th September 2022
