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It’s been quite the year for Canadian defender Mason Trafford.
After elevating his game and his profile via his time playing for Finnish club IFK Mariehamn, the 27 year old earned his first call-up with the Canadian Men’s National Team last January and then promptly made somewhat surprising move to play in China when he signed with League One club Guizhou Zhicheng for one year as one of the club's three international players.
According to Trafford, while it was a move that was made as much for the life experience as it was for professional reasons, it ultimately ended up being one that not only enabled him to grow as person, but also a footballer.
“It was quite an experience both from a football standpoint and a life standpoint,” Trafford told RedNation. “It was really interesting and also quite difficult to adjust to, especially at the start. As the months went on it was always interesting and also a challenge, but it started to get more fun as I went along. I saw the different culture and the different ways they would do things over there.”
“I think I did grow as a player,” Trafford added. “Looking back at it now, the season ended not very long ago and I have been reflecting on it a bit while I have been on holiday. I really do think I grew as a player. Like with any league, it is hard to compare it to another league because it is such a different style there. As a foreign player I had a lot of responsibility and played as a centre back and had to lead the back line.”
In Trafford’s estimation, it was his designation as one of three allowed foreign imports on Guizhou Zhicheng’s roster that enabled him to take his game to another level while playing in a league that was very different from what he had been used to previously in Europe and North America. In North American terms, Trafford’s designation as Foreign Player was in many ways similar in stature and responsibility to that of a Designated Player in Major League Soccer.
“It definitely came with more pressure because you are only allowed three foreign players on each team,” Trafford explained. “With the way that it works in China there is definitely more pressure on foreign players. The three foreign players and the coach are kind of the first ones that they look at if things aren’t going well. Even if it has nothing to do with you, you still often get questions like ‘Why aren’t we winning the games?’. But that being said, as the season goes along and they get to know you a bit, it becomes more that everybody is equal. There was definitely big pressure to perform in the first few months and to live up to the foreign player billing.”
“The fact of the matter is that you are playing in a Chinese league and the majority of the players are Chinese,” Trafford explained. “However, every team has one big foreign import who is a striker, so more or less every game I was going up against ex-Bundesliga players, top Brazilian strikers or World Cup veterans. I played against some tough forwards like Chris Killen from New Zealand, who played for Celtic and Middlesborough.”
“Carlo Costly was on my team and I was training with him every day. He is going to the World Cup in 2014. So it wasn’t just an average league type situation. I was matched up against some top players and it is your responsibility to be the main guy against them. I feel like my game definitely improved and from a mental standpoint you kind of just mature as a person.”
Asked to describe the transition of going from a European environment to one in China, Trafford classified the difference as being a genuine world apart.
“It was a pretty massive difference,” Trafford said. “It is a just pretty wild over there and it can be like the Wild West. Every day things would happen and you couldn’t believe they were happening. In terms of the facilities and the ways things are done, it was a pretty big shock. Coming from Canada or Finland where everything is done in quite a western way, things there are much, much different. Especially during the first half of my season when we had a Chinese coach and the whole staff was Chinese. We would be training up in the mountains an hour outside of Guiyang.”
“In that sense, it was really different in terms of coming to terms with the facilities and the coaches and the style of everything over there. Things did change at the half way point when they brought in a foreign Dutch coach named Arie Schans. Things drastically changed from that point on and everything was done in a much more European way. We brought in two foreign players at that time, including Carlo Costly. Everything changed and became much more standard and easy for me and life became quite a bit easier. That is when the team started to improve as well.”
As much as Trafford gained from his time as a player in China, the fact that Guizhou Zhicheng suffered relegation to a league where foreign players are not permitted has now left him as a free agent who could return to Europe, make the move to North America or even join on with another team in China.
“I’m excited now to see what the next chapter is and how I move forward,” Trafford said. “My team was relegated and it is no longer a possibility to stay with them because you can’t have foreign players in the third division in China.”
“I have been thinking about where I might land next, but it is one of these things that is hard to control,” Trafford explained. “You can only do what you can and work with your contacts and your agent and see who is looking for the type of player I am. I more or less open to everything. I could go back to North America or Europe or I could even stay in Asia if there was a decent offer. Now that I have spent a year here I could see myself playing here for another year.”
“I also have to consider the national team. As you have seen, I wasn’t involved after that initial camp and that could have in some part been due to the fact that I was in China. There are many things that I have to consider when I am looking at the next step for me.”
Ultimately, if there was one drawback to his Chinese adventure, Trafford was quick to admit that it probably came with the fact that playing on the either side of the planet in a hard to follow league likely hurt his chances to earn further opportunities with the Canadian Men’s National Team. With that in mind, Trafford was open in saying that national team considerations will play something of a role in choosing his next club.
“I would love to be a part of (the Canadian National Team),” Trafford. “I had that taste in January and obviously there were some changes with the team since then with the hiring of Benito Floro and I had a change in my career with my decision to play in China. I followed the team over the past year and one part of me was always hoping I would get a call for one of the camps. Realistically, I kind of thought that they probably didn’t have any idea what was going on with my career over in China, so I also didn’t have a huge hope for it.”
“I hope that if I was to land back in Europe in a top league and I start playing well that I will get another look,” Trafford added. “It would be really nice to take that next step with the national team as well as in my club career. I know Canada is going through a transition period now and there are a lot of young players coming through. They are trying to find that group that will move the program forward and of course I would love to be a part of that.”
Ultimately, the 6 foot 2 defender is entering the prime years of his career with a completely open mind, but also cognizant of the fact that his next move has to be the right one on a number of different levels.
“I don’t rule anything out,” Trafford said. “When I make a decision it usually hinges on a few factors – the level of football and the life experience. I’m also 27 years old and I have to think a little about the contract and whether it is a good contract financially and does it give me some security. As opposed to when I was 20 years old when I would sign anywhere there was a good coach who could lead me forward in my development. I now have to think about all these things and also where it will leave me in terms of the national team picture.”
With Canada now having five high level professional clubs, Trafford ended off by stating that a return to his home country would be something that he would certainly relish.
“I would never rule out Canada,” Trafford admitted. “I would love to come back. I know Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal – I’ve spent time in each city and they are fantastic cities. The MLS is so big now and I would love to play for an MLS team. Of course we also have Edmonton and Ottawa that are on the up and up. Ottawa has Marc Dos Santos – I know a little about him and he seems like a really interesting coach. I would love to come back to Canada if it was the right opportunity.”
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