January 8th Edition

We’re back, baby!

We hope you all had a lovely holiday season and are starting 2024 refreshed and ready for a big year ahead. We certainly know we are here at The Northern Pitch.

To kick things off in 2024, we are upping the vibes of this newsletter by adding original lead graphics each week created by the incredibly talented Gonzalo Alfaro (@casacadelmedio).

In this first edition of the year we take a look back at some of the biggest stories you might have missed over the holiday season, plus what has already been a busy start to the year in Canadian soccer.

The January Transfer Window has opened, and with it, as always, comes plenty of spicy transfer news and rumours involving Canadian players. Plus there has been big movement at the top in Canadian soccer and a lot of players balling out over the holiday season.

All that and plenty more ahead in the first 2024 edition of The Northern Pitch.

It is a new year for Canadian Soccer, and while the wounds of 2023 still linger, 2024 brings with it a significant amount of opportunity for the program.

The biggest story going into 2024 is undoubtedly Paris, where for the first time ever, Canada will enter an Olympic games not only as the defending champions but also without Christine Sinclair. After an impressive farewell series for the legend against Australia, however, the vibes are fully back for the program.

Meanwhile, the men’s national team has arguably their biggest match since the 2022 FIFA World Cup as they take on Trinidad & Tobago on March 23 in a Copa America playoff. That match will largely determine what the year looks like for the program, as winning that would mean playing against Argentina and Lionel Messi in the opening match of the 2024 Copa America (no pressure, lads).

Who exactly is coaching them during that match, and for the foreseeable future, remains a massive question mark and story in 2024 as well.

At the club level, for the first time, two Canadian Premier League sides will be involved in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and three Canadian sides in general as the Vancouver Whitecaps battle Tigres in the opening round as well.

Various other youth tournaments are on the calendar, including the U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will give fans a chance to look at the next generation of ballers in this country.

All in all, it’s a chance to prove that 2023 wasn’t a pause in the rise of Canada as a footballing nation, but just growing pains after a historic few years.

The year is already off to a great start for Canadian men’s national team fans as Tajon Buchanan touched down in Milan this past week to finally put pen to paper on a long-rumoured move to Internazionale.

In joining the 19-time Serie A champions, and three-time European Champions, who currently sit top of the league, the 24-year-old Buchanan could become the first Canadian men’s international to play in Italian top flight.

Having yet another Canadian playing for one of the most historic teams in World football will only serve to boost the country’s football profile further. Buchanan is believed to have signed a 4.5-year deal that goes until 2028 — an example of just how much Inter rates his quality.

Per a great story from Josh Kloke in The Athletic on the transfer saga, Inter started tracking Buchanan after his standout performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he was arguably Canada’s best player, putting up an assist on the nation’s first World Cup goal.

Buchanan has played 20 matches for Club Brugge this season in Belgium, scoring three times. He has four goals in 35 matches with the Canadian men’s national team.

Seeing another Canadian baller with a top European side is huge for the continued level of exposure of the program. If Tajon can ball out in Italy, many more will surely follow in short order.

👩‍💼 Alyson Walker named new Canada Soccer general secretary. The search is finally over, and just before the New Year, Canada Soccer named their new General Secretary, former MLSE exec Alyson Walker will start the job on January 22, and becomes the first woman to ever hold the position. Walker has an impressive resumé, including time spent with Bell Media and the Canadian Olympic Comittee. Hopefully, Walker will be the right person to finally wrap up this labour battle with the players and help the program reach the sort of financial security that will be crucial to reaching the next level on and off the pitch.

🐐 The Messi Canadian tour. The MLS schedule is out, and the Argentine G.O.A.T. will be “travelling” to all Canadian MLS clubs. CF Montréal will host Miami on May 11th—and Inter Miami will go to Vancouver on May 25th. Finally, the Messi Canadian tour will end in Toronto on October 5. We added quotations to travelling because it is unclear whether Messi will play on turf. Some feel confident, while others have noticed he skipped out on venues that play on turf, such as Atlanta. Time will tell, but this is a primary concern for Vancouver as it is the only Canadian MLS club that doesn’t play on grass. Let’s hope for the best.

🔄 Kamal Miller was traded to the Portland Timbers. Unfortunately, one Canadian will not be featuring on the Messi tour as Canadian international defender Kamal Miller was part of a second surprise trade in as many years, with this one sending him to the Pacific Northwest to join the Portland Timbers. He joins former CanMNT assistant Phil Neville with the Timbers, in exchange for $625,000 in general allocation money, and a 2024 international roster slot. It looks like Miller certainly won’t be alone among Canadians in Portland, however, more on that later…

👀 CF Montreal has yet to give the rose to a potential manager. The Quebec club should make a reality TV show out of this process. Many have interviewed for the job. Names include Pa-Modou Kah, Laurent Courtois, Giovanni Savarese and former Impact midfielder Marco Donadel. Kah is the only non-Forge FC coach to have won the CPL with Pacific FC. Laurent Courtois is the manager of Columbus Crew 2 and has won the MLS Next Pro Championship with the club. Also, earned MLS Next Pro Coach of the Year. Giovanni Savarese has made it to the post-season with the Timbers four out of his five-year tenure. He has also reached the final in 2018 and 2021. Marco Donadel was hired as head coach for Serie C club Ancona and was fired six and half months later. As of January 4th, Laurent Courtois is reported to be favourite to be CF MTL’s new head coach.

✍️ Matteo de Brienne signs with Atlético Ottawa. A Homecoming Christmas gift for Ottawa fans. The 2023 CPL Best U-21 Canadian Player of the Year has signed a one-year contract with the option to extend to 2025. At Valour FC, de Brienne scored three goals, three assists, 24 chances created and 40 interceptions at left-back. Solid. Atlético Ottawa fans must feel confident with the latest acquisition—a big move.

✍️ Valour FC sign Australian defender Tass Mourdoukoutas. Valour has bolstered their defence by signing the 24-year-old Sydney native from York United FC. Mourdoukoutas has featured for Australia at the U-19 and U-23 levels at the AFC Championships in 2018 and 2020.

🐎 Cavalry FC sign youth international Lleyton Brooks. Another Aussie has entered the chat. The Calgary club signed the Australian free agent to a two-year deal plus a one-year option. Brooks made 32 appearances for Melbourne Victory, made three appearances, and scored two goals for the Australia U20 National Team. Tommy Wheeldon Jr. has secured a potential attacking monster to bolster his options.

🔨 Forge FC sell Manjrekar James to Alajuelense. The Hamilton club has announced the departure of the defender for an undisclosed fee to the Costa Rican club L.D. Alajuelense. In the 2023 season, he was among the nominees for the CPL Defender of the Year. He was also featured in CPL’s Best XI of the Year.

🦅 Vancouver Whitecaps sign Damir Kreilach. The Caps are proving to move wisely in the transfer market. They reinforce their attacking midfield by signing former Real Salt Lake captain Damir Kreilach. The Croatian plays as a #10 and can be deployed as a second striker. Vancouver had the most convincing attacking play in 2023, and they have now made it better with a veteran playmaker. In 151 regular season MLS matches, he has scored 47 goals and 24 assists. Vancouver is gunning for the Cup.

📋 Jason de Vos to Toronto FC. With the news of Alyson Walker’s hiring as new General Secretary for Canada Soccer, it was always going to be interesting to see what was next for Interim General Secretary Jason de Vos. It turns out, he’s back to coaching, as de Vos will be part of Toronto FC’s staff as an Assistant to John Herdman. Before taking on his role as General Secretary, de Vos served as an assistant with both the men’s and women’s national teams. The former Captain men’s national team captain and Champions baller will bring some nice experience to the Toronto FC staff.

🐎 Cavalry FC sign Diego Gutiérrez from Valour FC. Well, Valour are losing firepower. Cavalry has signed the 26-year-old to a two-year deal. The Canadian-born Chilean joins the Calgary club as a free agent and Tommy Wheeldon Jr. must be feeling like a kid on Christmas day with all these transfers.

✍️ Juan Córdova signs for York United. The Canadian international signs with the GTA club to a one-year deal with an option for another year. Córdova arrives in Toronto after spending six seasons in Chile with clubs San Felipe, Huachipato and Ñublense. The right-back has played in South America’s most elite competitions such as Sudemericana and Copa Libertadores. A big plus for York United.

🇲🇽 Lucas Cavallini moves back to Puebla. Cavallini has left club Tijuana Xolos for a second stint at Puebla. He is rejoining the Mexican club where he found success in his two-and-a-half-year stay. He has scored 29 goals in 75 games.

🇳🇱 TJ Tahid on trial with Feyenoord. It was only a matter of time before the youngest player in CPL history garnered European interest. Reports indicate that 16-year-old TJ Tahid is currently in the Netherlands where he is training with Dutch giants Feyenoord. If all goes well, the Dutch team is expected to try to sign the Canadian youth international permanently. Tahid is currently under contract with Vancouver FC, so if the Dutch side want him they gotta pay up. He became the youngest player to score a goal in the CPL this past season, and bagged three times in total. Feyenoord, meaninwhile, were in Champions League this past season, and are currently in the Europa League knockouts against Roma after winning the Dutch league last year. This is serious business.

🔨 Shelina Zadorsky joins West Ham on loan. The former Tottenham captain is on her way across London to join West Ham, a club coached by her former Spurs manager Rehanne Skinner. The Hammers currently sit 11th spot in the table, with just five points, and only sit above the relegation zone by a single point so Zadorsky will hopefully be able to provide a big boost for the squad. With the Olympics around the corner and the CB position for Canada as competitive as it has ever been minutes were crucial for Zadorsky and she should get them at West Ham.

😳 Jonathan David and Lille put up a 12-piece. A decent way to start the new year for JD and Lille, who were taking on Golden Lion FC, a club from Martinique, in the Coupe de France Round of 32. The difference in class was evident, as they won the match 12-0, the biggest win in club history. Jonathan David had three goals and three assists during the win, which should get him into good rythym for what will be a HUGE 2024 in his career as he looks to be the next Canadian to make a big move.

🇵🇹 Olivia Smith scores and gets three assists for Sporting Lisbon. In another lopsided result involving a Canadian international, Sporting Lisbon and Olivia Smith went crazy against Ouriense, winning 10-0 on Saturday. Smith had a goal and three assists. She now has three goals in eight matches in her first professional season. Star in the making.

🇮🇹 Evelyne Viens and Julia Grosso face off in the Italian Super Cup. It was an all-Canadian battle in Italy this week as Julia Grosso and Evelyne Viens went head-to-head in the Italian Women’s Super Cup final, with Grosso’s Juventus defeated Viens Roma 2-1. Viens scored the opening goal, but unfortunately it was on her own net. Roma will look to have the last laugh in the leauge, however, as they currently lead Juventus by five points.

⚽️ Ismaël Koné only scores bangers. Ever since scoring the first banger a few months ago, Ismaël knows nothing but scoring bangers in the Championship. The young Canadian prospect scored a screamer outside the box against Plymouth in a 3-3 draw. It's only a matter of time until we see him scoring bangers in the Prem.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 So does Liam Millar. Another Canadian to watch in the Championship, Liam Millar has been playing some of the best football of his career lately. On boxing day he scored an 89th-minute winner against Leeds, after setting up the opening goal. He now has three goals and four assists in the Championship this season. Unfortunately, his Preston North End side were knocked out by Chelsea in the FA Cup, but Millar still looked pretty good going up against Raheem Sterling.

🇪🇸 Cyle Larin scores in the Copa del Rey. Also getting in on the goalscoring action was Cyle Larin, who socred in Mallorca’s 3-0 victory over Segunda División side Burgos in the Copa del Rey. It was Larin’s second goal in the Cup, as Mallorca are now off to the round of 16.

👀 Mo Farsi on the move? The former Cavalry FC and now MLS winner is in Dubai. Is this a vacation or a meeting with UAE club Al Wasl FC? The Columbus Crew have received a transfer offer from the UAE club. Farsi has also been looking for a contract extension with the Crew, which implies a pay raise. Dubai got money. That’s no secret. Also, it has been reported that an unnamed Ligue 1 side is interested in the Montrealer—many moving pieces.

☀️ Huge Lloris signs with LAFC. World Cup winner and former captain ot Tottenham Hotspurs and France National Team is now LAFC’s #1. Lloris’s contract runs through 2024 with options for 2025 and 2026. Effectively pushing out French Canadian keeper Maxime Crépeau out of the squad. Where does Maxime go? Well…

🌲 Portlandia is now Canadia. Maxime Crépeau is now Portland Timbers’ #1. After LAFC signed Hugo Lloris, the Quebecois keeper was picked up by Portland Timbers alongside Kamal Miller and James Pantemis. They will be playing with Zac McGraw in Cascadia. Four Canadians in the squad. These new Canadian players have left a mark on Portland coach Phil Neville while serving as assistant coach on CanMNT.

The musical maestro George Roubos can always be seen playing Manchester United games at the family-run joint Times Square Diner as his free roam role sees him helping out all over the restaurant.

📚 What to read

My brother gifted me Sir Alex’s autobiography years ago, and after the Beckham doc came out, I felt like I had to pick it up again. It’s always nice to relive those great times. Glory, glory, Man United! Always have a music-related book on hand for inspiration, though. Currently, it’s Hitman, the memoir of David Foster. Love it when a Canadian mixes it up with the best of the best. 

📺 What to watch

Footy. Footy. Footy. United matches with my girlfriend mainly, but MLS play-offs, European leagues heating up, and Champions/Europa League group stages are getting interesting—there’s a lot to watch. Definitely have all the classic holiday movies in the queue, though. 

🎧 What to listen to

You know I’m listening to many unreleased George Roubos tracks that I’m excited to share with everyone soon.

✅ Who to follow

Obviously, @tsdtoronto — the best restaurant in the city!