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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
December 12, 2012 |
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Email Steve Bottjer
Twitter @BottjerRNO |
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The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Atiba Hutchinson is the male selection for the 2012 BMO Canadian Players of the Year award. The veteran Canadian International was honoured in a vote shared by Canadian media (50%) and Canadian coaches (50%).
See also: RNO Roundtable:
2012 Canadian Men's Player of the Year
Hutchinson is one of two winners of the 2012 BMO Canadian Players of the Year award. His co-winner Christine Sinclair was recognised via CanadaSoccer.com on Tuesday 11 December.
The Brampton, Ontario native spoke with members of the Canadian media on Wednesday and expressed both surprise and happiness at earning the Canadian Player of the Year award for the second time.
“I’m very happy with this achievement. I didn’t really expect it. The last couple of months have been going pretty well with me. I have been in pretty good form. It was a bit of a slow start after having my injury and given that it took me some time until I really started feeling good and playing good football again. I’m very happy to win this award for the second time,” said Hutchinson.
Widely considered to be Canada’s top player at the moment, in 2012 Hutchinson was a leader for both club and country, returning to full form after injuries kept him out of the lineup for stretches in 2011. He made seven international appearances for Canada and 43 appearances for PSV Eindhoven including matches in the Dutch Eredivisie and the UEFA Europa League. In the CONCACAF 3rd Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers, he helped Canada post an impressive 10 points, ultimately missing a spot in the Final Round by a single point.
In the second half of the 2011-12 Dutch season, Hutchinson helped PSV Eindhoven finish third in the league standings (Eredivisie), narrowly missing out on a spot in UEFA Champions League despite ending the campaign with five-straight wins. Now in 2012-13, Hutchinson has PSV Eindhoven in first place in the standings, pushing for a league title for the first time in five years.
The 29 year old midfielder/right back indicated that his return to full health after struggling with injuries last year was the major positive for him with respect to 2012.
“It was a tough period that I went through after having a second operation and coming back from that and playing for a couple of weeks and then having to do another operation which was the third. It was pretty tough mentally and to have been able to have bounced back from that by playing a good year of football at a high level – feeling comfortable and playing without pain – that was the most important thing for me. I wanted to just go out there and enjoy football and just be pain free. That has been happening and it has just been getting better and better, so I’m really happy with that and it’s been a really good year for me,” stated Hutchinson.
In light of the fact that a number of his long time national team teammates have already indicated that they will not be continuing with the national team for the next World Cup qualifying cycle, Hutchinson was asked about his own future with respect to International football and he indicated that it is his goal to be representing Canada for several more years and to take part in another World Cup qualifying campaign.
“Obviously it was a tough loss (in Honduras) for everybody in involved. But retirement from International football is not something that has crossed my mind. I like to believe that I am still young enough to keep going and to keep pushing forward. We’ll see how my body reacts over the next couple of years. I would like to be involved if I am called upon over the next 3-4 years and to give it another shot. It would still mean everything to me if I could be part of the team and to give another go at it,” said Hutchinson.
With Canada looking to be a team in transition over the next several years, Hutchinson was also asked if he sees his role changing going forward and whether he will take on more of a leadership role and mentor position with young players.
“I will try to do exactly what I have always done with my involvement in the national team. When I’m there I’m not that much of a vocal player on the pitch. I just try to work really hard and have the other players vibe off of that. So I will pretty much be the same way in the next couple of years. Maybe off the field and on the field I will also try to help out with a little bit of the experience that I have. But I don’t think much will change.”
While Hutchinson did express his continued dedication to the Canadian National Team program, the 2010 Danish Superliga Player of the Year did indicate that he did not think he would be suiting up for Canada when the national team faces off against the Danes in an International friendly in January.
“I have always wanted to play against Denmark. Given that I played in Denmark for four and a half years, it would be nice to play against them. However, the game is in the States and normally for those camps they kind of bring in the MLS players and leave the European players over here in Europe. We will be going through our preseason and our season will get started up right away. I highly doubt that I will be coming in for that game, but I hope that I will be involved for the next game.”
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