The name Joseph Di Chiara has been pretty much akin to that of a Canadian Soccer mystery man over the last several months. As the lone Canadian competing in the Russian Premier League on Samara-based side, FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, the 19 year old midfielder has impressed many Canadian soccer supporters with that achievement alone and his rise has had many of them asking questions along the lines of just how good the Thornhill native really is and when he might get his first call-up by the Canadian Men's National Team.
That latter question was answered last week when National Team Head Coach Stephen Hart announced his roster for Canada's next two World Cup Qualifiers against St. Lucia and Puerto Rico and, according to Di Chiara, it was an announcement that was very much a pleasant surprise to the young player that has so many people intrigued.
"I was actually kind of surprised to get the call. I thought that maybe I would have played for one of the younger (national) teams, but I was suprised to get the call to the men's team. It's of course a good achievement to play for your country. To get a call to the Men's Team at such a young age, it's a very good step forward. I'm excited and I hope this isn't the last time I get the call," says Di Chiara, who is currently training with the rest of the Canadian squad ahead of the team's away fixture against St. Lucia on Friday.
Ahead of Di Chiara's first national team call up, there had been those who questioned why a player with the talent to play in one of the top leagues in Europe had not been called up by Canada's U-20 or U-23 team in the past. As for the player himself, he is pragmatic in stating that he has not at any time in the past felt snubbed by the Canadian National Team programs.
"I wasn't disappointed. I just figured that they didn't think I was good enough. Before going to Russia, I hadn't played on any big teams or anything that would really get Canada to notice me. Coming to Russia I guess has made the Canadian Team notice."
Instead of being focused on International play, Di Chiara admits that his sole focus over the last year has been in launching his professional career and in starting the process of realizing his dream of playing at a high level in Europe.
"I wanted to play over in Europe and I figured Russia was a good place to start. It's a strong league and I wasn't really thinking too much about the national team. I was thinking more about trying to start my professional career and, that if I did well over in Russia, I kind of figured that Canada would notice."
When asked to describe his experiences playing in Russia, the teenage midfielder openly admits that while it has been a very challenging experience, it has matured him as person and made him a better player.
"The number one hardest thing is being on your own all the time. You have to always focus on your training and everything is about football. You don't have a lot of time to do other things. That's probably been the number one thing that young players have to go through or have to work through to play over in Europe. And it's very difficult. You are away from your family and you are a thousand miles away from home, so you have to really adapt to a different lifestyle. The language issue is probably one of the biggest difficulties. Samara is not a bad city. I don't get out too much due to a lot of training. I'm staying focussed on what I have to do. The city is not bad, but the language is very difficult. I recently started doing some classes because the coach said that I have to learn how to speak Russian. I do have a translator over there, so that helps a lot."
In addition to the language issue, the cultural challenges and just the day in, day out physical grind of competing for a spot on a top level European club team, Di Chiara has also had to contend not only with being a rookie on a team in a relegation battle, but also with seeing the coach who gave him his initial chance fired and replaced with a new coach.
"It has been difficult. In the beginning I had to get used to the Russian style, which is a very physical game and it's been quite an experience, especially having a coach bringing me and then him being released and then kind of having to do it all over again with a new coach and building the new coach's confidence. But it's made me a better player and I just have to keep working and hopefully good things will happen in my career. It's tough (being in a relegation battle). Every game is very difficult and we are trying to fight for points. We'll see how things go. I really believe that the team is good enough. We have a good coach and a good group. We'll survive. I have lots of confidence in the team."
And if there is one other challenge that any young player trying to establish himself never wants to deal with, it is having an injury that keeps you off the pitch. Di Chiara has had to deal with that as well and admits that the injury did set him back somewhat in terms of his progress.
"Having my injury kind of set me back a little bit and I had to have an operation. But the new coach speaks to me every day and he tells me that he is going to use me when he sees that I am ready to go. I had a sports hernia in my lower abdominal. I had started to feel it back in April and it started to get worse as I played through it. After the long month break in training camp that we had in Austria, they looked at it and just decided to take care of it quickly before it got any worse. I feel good now and every day it's getting better."
Even with all of the challenges that his club has faced in recent months, Di Chiara is bullish on the state of Russian football and admits that he could see himself playing there for a long time.
"That's one thing that a lot of players talk about - the amount of money in Russia. They are building very nice stadiums and are building a new one in Samara for the World Cup. And they have a new one in Grozny as well. There is a lot of money and Russia is attracting a lot of players. It's a strong league now, but hopefully it becomes much stronger down the road. It would be a nice to have a long career in Russia."
With Canada's match on Friday not being televised, the first possible opportunity that Canadian soccer fans will have to see Di Chiara in action is in Toronto on October 11th. When asked to describe himself as a player, the Thornhill, Ontario suggests the image of a prototypical hardworking and physical central midfielder.
"I've always been a very hard worker. I really pride myself on working hard, winning tackles in the middle, being confident on the ball, and being a leader. I'm a young player and the position I play in is usually a position played by older, more mature players, so I try to bring a little maturity into my game. I try to be very tenacious and just work hard every day."
While it is early days yet, Di Chiara is happy to report that he is settling in well with the national team and is focusing on familiarizing himself with his new teammates.
"I arrived at camp on October 2nd, so this is my second training day.
It's been good. I enjoy playing with the guys on the national team. It's different from playing in Russia, so it takes a few days to get used to it, but it's going well so far. Today we had our first full training session with the entire team and it went well. Every day it's getting better in terms of getting to know the other players and understanding their strengths and weaknesses. It's different from playing with my Russian club, so it's just about getting used to playing with a new group of players."
When Stephen Hart was asked recently about the probabilty of either of the two players (Di Chiara and Toronto FC fullback Ashtone Morgan) making their national team debuts seeing actual playing time against St. Lucia or Puerto Rico, the Canadian Head Coach was quick to state that they will have to earn their playing time on the training pitch just like every other player on the team. As a player who is in such similar type of battle every day and every week at his Russian club, Di Chiara is confident he will be able to do just that. And if he does that, he will become the first teenager to appear for Canada in a World Cup qualifier since Jaime Peters played in a 1-0 win over Guatemala in 2004.
"I don't know about playing time as he has not spoken to me too much about that. But I'm sure if I show him that I can do well in training, it will give him confidence in me that I have the ability to play. I'm sure I'll get quite a few minutes or a few minutes on the field. I hope to."
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