CP: Canadian drawing international interest

[sstackho]

Canadian drawing international interest

England's Southampton and Manchester City are two of the teams interested in the 20-year-old Hutchinson.

(CP) - Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, who has drawn interest from big-name clubs from England to Italy, was honoured Monday by being named to the all-star team at the recently concluded world under-20 soccer championships.

He was joined on the all-star roster by Canadian striker Iain Hume.

"They were two key players for us," Canadian coach Dale Mitchell said from Vancouver. "They really came through and didn't look out of place amongst any of the players that were in the tournament.

"And I don't think that anyone will be more delighted than their teammates. Because that's the type of kids they are. They fit in really well with the group."

Clubs interested in Hutchinson include Italian Serie A side Udinese. There is also a team in Portugal, three in France, three in Germany, a couple in Denmark, "almost every team in Sweden" and one in Major League Soccer in the U.S., according to agent Barry MacLean.

"A bit of a frenzy," is how MacLean describes the interest.

"We've got a lot of interest in him, that's for sure," MacLean said Monday. "Probably more than any other Canadian player I've dealt with. . .. The fact that he did so well at the World Cup, that didn't hurt for sure."

The Toronto midfielder is smooth on the ball and has poise and good speed.

The skinny six-foot 153-pounder has already won six caps for the under-23 Olympic team and four for the senior side.

Hutchinson, 20, has a year left on his contract with Osters in Sweden. The team was relegated from the top level last season but the young Canadian scored five goals in 23 games from a defensive midfield role.

With the transfer window opening in January, Osters has to decide whether any of the offers are acceptable.

Nothing concrete has happened, MacLean stresses, but he is collecting plenty of options.

If he doesn't move, Hutchinson can finish out his contract with the Swedish side and become a free agent next fall. Then he could basically pick his team.

That explains why "Osters is very amenable to the possibility of selling. They just won't do it for nothing," MacLean said.

England's Southampton and Manchester City were also interested in Hutchinson, said MacLean. But because Hutchinson does not have a European Union passport, he would need a work permit.

Given Canada's lowly standing in the world rankings - 87th at last count - and Hutchinson's relative inexperience, that would be a gamble. MacLean is not willing to miss out on the January transfer window because of red tape.

The fact that Canada put two players on the 20-man all-star roster speaks volumes for the success of Mitchell's squad, which reached the quarter-finals in a Canadian men's first at a FIFA world championship.

Especially when champion Brazil accounted for six of the all-stars with three coming from Spain and two from Argentina, the U.S. and the host United Arab Emirates.

Colombia, Egypt and Japan, with one apiece, were the only other of the 20 teams to furnish all-stars.

Hume, a 20-year-old from Brampton, Ont., holds down a starting role with Tranmere Rovers of the English Second Division. He had three goals in five games at the world under-20 championships.

The 5-7 155-pounder has already won three caps for Canada at the senior level.

Hutchinson is normally a midfielder but was slotted into the backline during the tournament by Mitchell to solidify the defence.

"Our fortunes took a turn for the better when we moved Atiba into our back three and made it a back four," said Mitchell. "We stopped leaking goals at that point and started to win some games. That was one of the turning points for us."

Hutchinson was chosen as one of four defenders on the all-star team while Hume was chosen to a four-man extra pool to make up a 20-man squad.

Notes: MacLean says an MLS team and a couple of Swedish clubs are interested in Vancouver defender Kevin Harmse, also a member of the under-20 national team. He was with Tromso in Norway most recently. Another MacLean client, forward Sita Taty-Matondo, also has some MLS interest. ... Two Canadians will be at the MLS combine Jan.11-13 in Carson, Calif.: Marin Pusek of the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Adrian Cann of the University of Louisville. Pusek was drafted by the Toronto Lynx in the recent A-League college draft while Montreal took Cann. Both went in the first round.

[Luis_Rancagua]

It's stated clearly that Kevin Harmse "...was with Tromso in Norway most recently..." Does this mean that Harmse is no longer with Tromso??? Or has Harmse left Norway to pursue career opportunity in Swedish soccer??? Can we say that this is a misprint coming from the news journalist??? I was under the impression that Harmse's contract with Tromso would end by the 2005 Norwegian soccer season.[?]

[Mimglow]

The reporter probably didn't have enough time to check if he was still with Tromso, so he played with the words so it wouldn't be factually wrong. That's my guess.

[Guest Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by Mimglow

The reporter probably didn't have enough time to check if he was still with Tromso, so he played with the words so it wouldn't be factually wrong. That's my guess.

I think Harmse is a McLean player, so this would suggest that the contract with Tromso is over. I thought it was longer than a year, but since he hardly played perhaps he got out of it.

[Luis_Rancagua]

I do think what killed Harmse was that major leg injury that lasted for about 4½ months. If I do remember by the time that Harmse was to report for Tromso's off-season camp, he came down with the injury. The timing was so wrong. I do think that Harmse could have contributed a significant contribution to Tromso, in the same manner that Rob Friend, Patrice Bernier, Marco Reda have all done for their Norwegian clubs. Nevertheless, it was that f.ucking injury that done him-in. In fact, when the injury did heal finally, Tromso never really gave Harmse an opportunity to play given the fact that his long absence from the scene never fell within the chemistry of the team.