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One player who has recently vaulted himself into contention for consideration for his first duty with the Canadian Men’s National Team is 27 year old keeper Tomer Chencinski. National Team Head Coach Stephen Hart recently revealed on a conference call that he is keeping tabs on the 6 foot 3 shot stopper’s progress with his new club in Sweden and has been in touch with the player’s agent.
Whether or not his first Canadian National Team cap comes in the short term or later on, one thing that is clear is that Chencinski is a player on the rise who is starting to see some of the spoils from years of hard work and a very positive attitude.
Chencinski has paid his dues in a professional career that began when he signed with Toronto FC in 2007 after impressing during a trial and that has seen him ply his trade in the United States, Moldova, Finland and now Sweden.
After impressing greatly playing with Vassan Palloseura in the Finnish top flight in 2011, the Thornhill, Ontario native attracted the interest of Swedish Allsvenskan side Orebro and signed for the 2012 season.
Initially expected by many to play the role of number two keeper with Orebro, Chencinski has recently ascended to the position of number one keeper and has silenced any doubters who might have thought he would struggle in making the jump from the Finnish Premier Division to the more competitive Swedish top flight.
According to Chencinski, he has not approached his first season in Sweden with the particular mindset of a number one or number two keeper, he simply focused on training as a keeper who would be prepared for when his chance to make his debut finally came.
“I didn't think about it like that. Coming in I knew that there would be an opportunity to play and that is the only thing that I had been looking for. I knew that with my work ethic, that as long as I worked hard and put my head down, the pieces would fall into place and the puzzle would fit together. I wasn't thinking about it in terms of when my chance was going to come. I just knew that it was going to come. They told me here that it wasn't a matter of a number one and a number two - that it was basically two number one goalkeepers and that it was going to be a situation where whoever was playing better was going to be the one who would be playing. I'm happy that they have put their trust in me and that they like what they see,” said Chencinski via phone interview from Sweden.
Chencinski certainly appeared more than ready in his first start for Orebro, with the Canadian keeper earning a clean sheet and sending a clear message that he was more than ready to compete for the number one spot week in, week out.
“I was very excited to get a shutout in my first game. I felt very comfortable and calm and confident. If there is something else that I would have wanted, it would have been to get three points, as we tied the first game 0-0. But I was very happy and it helped my confidence. I was excited, but I wouldn't say I was nervous. But I did have that little feeling in my stomach - the butterflies for the first game. I'm just happy with how it went.”
When asked to describe the difference between playing in Finland and Sweden, Chencinski was candid while at the same time admitting that he wants to continually challenge himself in order to improve as a player.
“A step up is an understatement. It is a much better level of competition. The teams here, the players - everything is a step above. The tempo is quicker, the shots are harder, the passes are quicker. The players are stronger and bigger. The game itself just goes much faster and it is helping with my development and that is what I want. I know that with what I bring to the game, it helps me, because I have adjusted quickly and it has taught me that I can adjust anywhere that I go. I just keep looking forward and I'm doing the best that I can.”
In terms of tactical differences between the two Scandinavian countries, Chencinski is particularly excited by his new team’s emphasis on possession and their desire to field a keeper who can play well his feet.
“Anywhere you go, the tactical aspects are a little bit different. In Finland, the football is a lot more direct. At Orebro, the club where I am now playing, we are a very possession-oriented team. And one thing that they wanted, even before I came in, was that they were looking for a modern goalkeeper who was good with his feet. And that is something that I work at every day, because I am playing as the last man, almost like a sweeper. So when I get the ball I need to be sure that I can play it forward quickly. In terms of Finland and Sweden, the style of play is similar, but it is much quicker in Sweden and the teams here are a lot more possession-oriented than you find at some of the teams in Finland. At the end of the day, the talent here is better and the football is much more crisp and flowing.”
With his profile in both Europe and Canada on the rise, I asked Chencinski whether it has been a matter of opportunity or experience - or both - that has allowed him to excel over the last several few years.
“I think that it has been both. I had the opportunity to play a lot last year in Finland and I learned a lot about myself, not only as a goalkeeper, but also as a person. Goalkeeping is a big position. It is not only the physical attributes, but also about learning the game and being mentally into the game. And I feel that one of my strengths is my mentality. If a goal goes in or something happens, it is part of the game and it happens. It is how quick you can shake it off and get back to the game and knowing what you have to do. I feel very comfortable in my body and understand where I stand and how I can help the team. I just come in every day looking forward to working on the ways I can improve and fine tune and just keeping that experience growing.”
Speak with Chencinski for even a few minutes and you will likely be immediately struck by both his confidence in himself as a player and by his very positive attitude. And according to the keeper, a positive attitude is not only important when making your way in the highly competitive atmosphere that is European football, it also vital for anyone who wants to excel when playing a team sport.
“I think that it is very important because I'm playing on a team. And the team is not only one player, it is twenty-five plus. There are two goalkeepers. Obviously, I want to play and whether or not I do, it depends on what the coaches choose and the way I perform. If any player goes in and has a bad attitude or is a bad apple, it's going be contagious with the team and not very good. At the end of the day, I want to win a Championship and I want to help get the team back into Europe. I try to do everything I can and it doesn't matter what support I give. It's just like Kobe Bryant has said, ‘Whether I take the game winning shot, deliver the game winning pass or hand out a towel to my teammates, I will do anything to help my team to win a Championship.’ I feel the same way. I want to help my teammates in any way that I can, including help them to improve. Because if that happens, we truly become better as a team. For me, obviously I want to grow as an individual. At the same time, it's a team sport and not an individual sport. And we need to do well as a team in order to succeed. So I will do whatever I can in order to achieve that team success.”
The keeper position can often be the hardest position for a player to establish themselves in at the professional level due to the inescapable fact that only one keeper can play at a time. Thus, Chencinski’s propensity for earning playing time very quickly upon joining a new club has been impressive and speaks well of his training habits and preparation. According to the player, respectful competition for playing time at the keeper position is a fundamental requirement for both his development as an individual player and for the success of his team as a whole.
“It goes just like any other position. You need to make sure that there is competition, because it is what is going to drive me to be better and drive me to be hungrier and it will keep me on my toes. Because the moment that I feel relaxed and lackadaisical - and I mean relaxed not in terms of playing, but in possibly letting my performance slip - it's going to start hurting the team. At the end of day, wins are what are going to keep me at the club. So the coach is not going to pick me because I am a nice guy or because I am fun, he will pick me because he thinks I am the one that is going to get the team the three points. The competition is very important and it is what I like. I like the fact that I have strong competition here. I feel very confident and I come in and work as hard as I can to improve, because I want to help the team to do the best that we can. And at the same time, I want to better myself as an individual, as a human being and as a goalkeeper.”
While Chencinski’s play during his short tenure with Orebro has been impressive, his new side’s offensive production has not been prodigious in the matches in which he has played. I ended off my interview with the keeper by asking him if a struggling team offense changes his mindset as the last line of defence.
“It doesn't make me act any differently. I get mentally prepared the same way. I want to help the team the best that I can and my job is to keep the ball out of our net. Is it going to happen every game? No. I want to earn a shutout in every game, but goals are going to come. So basically I get prepared the same way. I know that we are going to score goals and that everything is going to be fine in that regard. I just prepare to help the team the best that I can. Sometimes the team is going to need me to come up big and make some saves to get us the points or save us a point. And sometimes I'm going to need the team to bail me out. It is a team sport and it goes both ways. It is not just myself or even eleven guys. It's twenty-five guys working towards the same goal.”
That positive, team first attitude makes Chencinski not only a player to watch, it also makes him a player worth rooting for. At the relatively young age of twenty-seven – practically an infant in keeper years – Tomer Chencinski is a player to watch at both the professional and International levels.
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