Will CPLsoccer help expand the canMNT's player pool? JohnMolinaro posed the question to head coach John Herdman:
CPL players with dreams of representing their country face a tough road ahead, as the men’s side is flush with players plying their trade at top European clubs, including Jonathan David at Gent in the Belgian league and Alphonso Davies with Bayern Munich. Herdman can also rely on national team members who are regular starters for their MLS clubs, with Jonathan Osorio , Doneil Henry and Samuel Piette leading the way.
Herdman hinted that it’s unlikely, but he also didn’t entirely rule out the possibility during a recent interview with Sportsnet. He also explained that a youngster might benefit more from playing regular, first-team soccer in the CPL than being on the fringes of the starting 11 with a club in MLS or Europe, and that it could lead to more opportunities with the national team.
However, Herdman doesn’t underestimate the valuable experience and lessons young players receive by playing in soccer’s lower leagues. Those hardships build character, and can eventually lead the player back to the top levels of the professional game and into the national team fold. One need only look at the case of Mark-Anthony Kaye. The Toronto-born midfielder joined TFC’s youth academy in 2013, and seemed destined to graduate to MLS when he was signed by TFC 2, the club’s farm team in the second-tier USL.
Herdman points to Kaye as a shining example of someone who toiled in soccer’s lower leagues before moving up his way up the ladder, and who has now become an important player for Canada.
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