With Canada playing the middle two matches of the national team’s opening round of World Cup qualifiers in the early part of October, Head Coach Stephen Hart had to call up a few players who had not worn the Canada kit in some time due to the injuries accrued by some of his recent squad regulars. And in something of a surprise move, keeper Kenny Stamatopoulos got the start in Canada’s 7-0 victory over St. Lucia last Friday and the Toronto native could not be happier with both that result and the fact that he is be back with the Canadian squad for the first time since 2006.
“It's great to be back. Whenever you get a chance to represent your country, it's always an honour. And it's good to have come out with a win,” said Stamatopoulos on Sunday at BMO Field, where the Canadian team was training ahead of another World Cup qualifying match to played against Puerto Rico in Toronto on Tuesday.
Asked to assess his own performance in Canada’s shutout victory over the St. Lucians, the 32 year old keeper admitted that it wasn’t the busiest match he has every played, but he also stressed that matches in which a goalkeeper has to contend with long stretches of inactivity can present challenges in and of themselves.
“With respect to the other team, we played well. I didn't have too much to do., which can be difficult for a goalkeeper. When you don't have too much to do and you have one chance in the 70th minute, it's tough to stay focused. But overall I think both the team and I played well and came out with a good result.”
Another challenge that Stamatopoulos faced in his return to International duty was the challenge of playing behind a back line of players with whom he had never played before.
“I think it is all about communication and I think we had that during the game and in the whole buildup with the training. Everyone is slowly getting to know each other, but when you are a professional, I don't think it's a big problem.”
When Canadian National Team Head Coach announced his call-ups for Canada’s two October World Cup qualifying fixtures, he made a point to highlight the fact that both Stamatopoulos and veteran keeper Lars Hirschfeld have been playing regularly every week at a high level in Europe. And according to the former Scarborough Azzurri youth player, it has been a very successful season in the Swedish top flight for both the keeper personally and his side AIK as a whole.
“It's going well. I think that by Swedish and Scandinavian standards it's a very big club. We've finished second. We have two games left, but another team has already clinched the Championship, so we're just going for the European League (qualification). In general, obviously when you don't win the season, it's a bit of a disappointment, but I guess with the way the results came, we are generally happy with 2nd.”
Tuesday’s home fixture against Puerto Rico doesn’t only represent a continuation of a national team return that started for Stamatopoulos in St. Lucia, it also represents a return to BMO Field for a player who played a significant role for Toronto FC in their inaugural campaign.
“It's another great feeling (to be back at BMO Field). Obviously Toronto is home for me and BMO Field is obviously one of the best stadiums. I love it here. I love the fans and I have family and friends here. It's great to be back and hopefully we can do it on a more permanent basis.”
Mention Toronto FC to Stamatopoulos and it immediately becomes clear that the keeper has many fond memories about his time playing for TFC. When asked to describe his favourite memory from 2007, he was quick highlight his first game with Canada’s original MLS franchise.
“Coming out of the tunnel in my first game with TFC and seeing fans and hearing the roar of the crowd. It was just an eye opening experience that you never would have thought you would have seen in Toronto. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
While Stephen Hart will be the one who will make the decisions around whether Stamatopoulos will be featuring against more regularly for Canada, the keeper himself was quick to admit that he would welcome the opportunity to return to the Canada in the near future and possibly finish out his career with one of the three Canadian teams in the MLS.
“I can definitely see myself possibly returning to Canada someday. Soccer in Canada has picked up a lot and I would love to come back here at some point when the time is right. And hopefully the decision can come sooner than I might think.”
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