Stephen Eustaquio

[baulderdash77]

On 12/17/2020 at 5:37 PM, SpursFlu said:

Put him next to Hutch and Arfield in our midfield tomorrow and its easily the most sophisticated midfield Canada has ever had

I honestly don’t think Hutch will play for Canada again.  I know he seems to have the fountain of youth but let’s be honest.

However Eustaquio beside Arfield and Osorio is one heck of a good midfield.  

 

[costarg]

18 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

I honestly don’t think Hutch will play for Canada again.  I know he seems to have the fountain of youth but let’s be honest.

However Eustaquio beside Arfield and Osorio is one heck of a good midfield.  

 

Ohh wise one, please enlighten us, what do you base this on? 

Do you feel he won't get a call up, due to age and a downward trend in his performance?

Do you feel he won't answer the call up due to lack of interest and/or needing to manage his minutes?

Do you feel CANMNT is soo vastly improved, they don't have a need for his quality and experience?

Do you feel he's been passed be enough players that even if he gets a call up he won't see the field?

Do you feel he lost CSA's number so they just aren't aware he retired from Intl football, and perhaps his Instagram, email, FB and media post got lost?

Do you feel Hutch means so little to CANMNT and vice versa that they'd just walk away from each other without so much as an honorary wave to the fans?

Or is it just that at the rate CSA is going CANMNT won't play another game in 3-4 years cause they can't get their shit together?  

Either way, this is Atiba Freakin Hutchinson, and as of today, is still a top three mid on CANMNT.  Osorio - as good as he his, and I'm a huge fan - will never reach the level Hutch has.  Not in Canada or Turkey, perhaps among a few TFC fanboys, but never more than that.  Maybe he takes the spot when Hutch declines or gets injured, but no way is the midfield better today with Osorio in the 11 over Hutch.

[soccer.shocker]

24 minutes ago, costarg said:

Do you feel he won't answer the call up due to needing to manage his minutes?

This is it. From what I understand Herdman invites him to everything but Atiba has to manage his body so picks and chooses. 
 

Apparently he was willing to go to the November Europe camp that got cancelled. 
 

Hoping the blank 2020 for MNT will mean Atiba turns out for WCQ in 2021

[dyslexic nam]

58 minutes ago, soccer.shocker said:

This is it. From what I understand Herdman invites him to everything but Atiba has to manage his body so picks and chooses. 
 

Apparently he was willing to go to the November Europe camp that got cancelled. 
 

Hoping the blank 2020 for MNT will mean Atiba turns out for WCQ in 2021

Big difference between the camps and friendly games we have played (or would have played) in the last little while and the next big WCQ cycle.  Anything from here on out is either a qualifying game or an absolutely mandatory part of the prep for it.  
 

Only Hutch knows for sure what he will do but I think he goes for it one more time knowing how much potential we have. That would be one helluva way to go out. 

[LeoH037]

15 hours ago, costarg said:

Ohh wise one, please enlighten us, what do you base this on? 

Do you feel he won't get a call up, due to age and a downward trend in his performance?

Do you feel he won't answer the call up due to lack of interest and/or needing to manage his minutes?

Do you feel CANMNT is soo vastly improved, they don't have a need for his quality and experience?

Do you feel he's been passed be enough players that even if he gets a call up he won't see the field?

Do you feel he lost CSA's number so they just aren't aware he retired from Intl football, and perhaps his Instagram, email, FB and media post got lost?

Do you feel Hutch means so little to CANMNT and vice versa that they'd just walk away from each other without so much as an honorary wave to the fans?

Or is it just that at the rate CSA is going CANMNT won't play another game in 3-4 years cause they can't get their shit together?  

Either way, this is Atiba Freakin Hutchinson, and as of today, is still a top three mid on CANMNT.  Osorio - as good as he his, and I'm a huge fan - will never reach the level Hutch has.  Not in Canada or Turkey, perhaps among a few TFC fanboys, but never more than that.  Maybe he takes the spot when Hutch declines or gets injured, but no way is the midfield better today with Osorio in the 11 over Hutch.

Huh, it seems your exhaustive, carefully considered list left out the most obvious one.. the fact the man is 37, and international travel takes its physical toll? One of the reasons he has been holding up lately is due to the lack of travelling he has had to do. How about using a bit of deductive reasoning next time before condescendingly coming off as a prick and personally attacking someone in an attempt (a poor one) to belittle their post, alright "wise one"?

Edited December 20, 2020 by LeoH037

[Obinna]

3 hours ago, LeoH037 said:

Huh, it seems your exhaustive, carefully considered list left out the most obvious one.. the fact the man is 37, and international travel takes its physical toll? One of the reasons he has been holding up lately is due to the lack of travelling he has had to do. How about using a bit of deductive reasoning next time before condescendingly coming off as a prick and personally attacking them in an attempt (a poor one) to belittle their post, alright "wise one"?

I get his frustration, “wise one” crack aside. When people look at his age and count him out just based on that, it gets under my skin too.

Herdman very clearly let’s Hutchinson manage his own availability, and nothing has really changed, so why assume his time is up? He is still playing and scoring at Beşiktaş. There have been no injuries or comments from him that he is stepping away. 

I know Hutchinson won’t play forever, but until something changes you have to assume we haven’t seen the last of him.

[baulderdash77]

@Obinna  @costarg  No need to be hostile and @costarg that was pretty Far over the top.

Atiba said in multiple interviews leading up to the 2019 Gold Cup that he was planning on retiring from international football after the tournament.

https://canpl.ca/video/canada-stalwart-hutchinson-set-for-international-retirement-after-2019-gold-cup

So unless he indicates otherwise - he’s probably retired from international football.  Those are his words and not mine so I’m not editorializing here.  That was in 2019 and our next competitive match will be in 2021 after he turns 38.

To be clear- Hutchinson in the form he is in- is definitely a very good midfielder and probably (until Davies came along) the best overall player that Canada has produced on the national team.

But of a player states he’s planning on retiring from international football, we should count on the next generation going forward.  Sorry if you don’t like that.

[Addona]

Even if Hutch doesn’t play, I like Estaquio, Kaye, and Arfield ...

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

@Obinna  @costarg  No need to be hostile and @costarg that was pretty Far over the top.

Atiba said in multiple interviews leading up to the 2019 Gold Cup that he was planning on retiring from international football after the tournament.

https://canpl.ca/video/canada-stalwart-hutchinson-set-for-international-retirement-after-2019-gold-cup

So unless he indicates otherwise - he’s probably retired from international football.  Those are his words and not mine so I’m not editorializing here.  That was in 2019 and our next competitive match will be in 2021 after he turns 38.

To be clear- Hutchinson in the form he is in- is definitely a very good midfielder and probably (until Davies came along) the best overall player that Canada has produced on the national team.

But of a player states he’s planning on retiring from international football, we should count on the next generation going forward.  Sorry if you don’t like that.

Fair enough. I see your point. You are taking him at his word, but Herdman said in an interview that you never know with Atiba, so based on that you’d have to assume Hutchinson hasn’t shut the door, despite his plans to do so after Gold Cup 2019.

 

[CanadaFan123]

It would be pretty unheard of for a player to be named captain a year after they retired. I think it’s safe to assume he isn’t officially retired. Did we not also hear murmurs that he was going to be involved in nations league last fall? 

[LeoH037]

5 hours ago, CanadaFan123 said:

It would be pretty unheard of for a player to be named captain a year after they retired. I think it’s safe to assume he isn’t officially retired. Did we not also hear murmurs that he was going to be involved in nations league last fall? 

Atiba isn't captain though, at least not when Scott is in the field with him, and Atiba himself has expressed to be more than okay with it. At this point, having Atiba involved in any competitive matches will be playing with house money, if he's there awesome, if he's no there, then lets celebrate the fact we had him to begin with. I'm sure he wants to extend his playing career as long as he can, and if he decides that in order to do so he needs to tone down even more on cross continental travel for a friend here and there, then who are we to blame him?

[LeoH037]

9 hours ago, Obinna said:

I get his frustration, “wise one” crack aside. When people look at his age and count him out just based on that, it gets under my skin too.

Which is fine, diff here being that you are able to be graceful and express your disagreement without personally insulting someone else in the process , whereas OP did the opposite of that.

[CanadaFan123]

6 hours ago, LeoH037 said:

Atiba isn't captain though, at least not when Scott is in the field with him, and Atiba himself has expressed to be more than okay with it. At this point, having Atiba involved in any competitive matches will be playing with house money, if he's there awesome, if he's no there, then lets celebrate the fact we had him to begin with. I'm sure he wants to extend his playing career as long as he can, and if he decides that in order to do so he needs to tone down even more on cross continental travel for a friend here and there, then who are we to blame him?

Atiba was just our captain in voting for year end worldwide awards, that was what I was alluding to.

[PiedPilko]

Another good performance from Eustaquio, in Pacos' 1-1 draw vs Boavista. Stayed in good positions, and made some really ambitious passes near the end of the match.

 

Another thing I've noticed is his ability to draw fouls. He actually has pretty decent control, and can bait more physical midfielders into silly tackles. He's a really smart player.

[baulderdash77]

Back to Eustaquio- this rumour of him going to Porto or Sporting could be really very big news.

Any time a Canadian player is linked to a Champions League team it’s a big deal and I hope it happens.

That being said- I don’t love the idea of him becoming a bench player for Sporting over starting where he’s at.  He’s rapidly improving and needs playing time to reach his potential.  

[archer21]

22 hours ago, baulderdash77 said:

Back to Eustaquio- this rumour of him going to Porto or Sporting could be really very big news.

Any time a Canadian player is linked to a Champions League team it’s a big deal and I hope it happens.

That being said- I don’t love the idea of him becoming a bench player for Sporting over starting where he’s at.  He’s rapidly improving and needs playing time to reach his potential.  

Agreed, if he is in fact signed to be a bench player. I think he’d have a very good chance to start though, particularly if Joao Mario goes back to Inter. If he could become a starter at Sporting, that would be huge. 

[Dominic94]

On 12/20/2020 at 12:44 PM, baulderdash77 said:

Back to Eustaquio- this rumour of him going to Porto or Sporting could be really very big news.

Any time a Canadian player is linked to a Champions League team it’s a big deal and I hope it happens.

That being said- I don’t love the idea of him becoming a bench player for Sporting over starting where he’s at.  He’s rapidly improving and needs playing time to reach his potential.  

Did sporting say they see him as a bench player ?

[PiedPilko]

3 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

Did sporting say they see him as a bench player ?

I sorta thought that's what they meant here, but someone pointed out that Joao Mario is on loan, so it might mean 'replacement for' in that context. 

 

I think he's good enough to start for a Porto or Sporting; he just got voted as the third best player in the league for November. He doesn't seem like a bench player to me. Of course, It's hard to know what the bigger clubs are thinking.

[dyslexic nam]

Even signing as a bench player wouldn’t be the end of the world - it is pretty normal in a lot of transfers where the move is clearly upward.  I suspect it would quickly work his way into the starting 11 if he gets a chance to showcase his skills with top teammates. 

[Kadenge]

turned 24 today

[baulderdash77]

7 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

I sorta thought that's what they meant here, but someone pointed out that Joao Mario is on loan, so it might mean 'replacement for' in that context. 

I kinda read it both ways.  In one way it’s substitute for - I.e top reserve.  In another ways it’s like Mario will leave and he will take the spot- replacement for.

It can be read both ways.

If it’s a replacement for them obviously this would be amazing.  If it’s a substitute then I’m a bit less enthusiastic; but going to a club like Sporting is a pretty big deal either way.

[Obinna]

Isn't Joao Mario a winger?

[costarg]

On 12/19/2020 at 12:30 PM, LeoH037 said:

Huh, it seems your exhaustive, carefully considered list left out the most obvious one.. the fact the man is 37, 

Read before posting:

Do you feel he won't get a call up, due to age and a downward trend in his performance?

 

 

[costarg]

I apologize if it came off too rude or abrupt.  

1- for commenting on Hutch on Eustaquio's page.

2- for the brash and arrogant comment to @baulderdash77 

I've just had it with the disrespect and baseless comments towards our alltime great.  He has not announced his retirement, yet.  He's still in the picture until he does so.  I might've been rude, however so is anyone assuming Hutch is done.  Hutch at 37 is still better than anyone else we have in that role at any age.

As most on this board know, I, personally, find it incredibly disrespectful of the all-time greatest CANMNT player when someone just writes him off of CANMNT with no foundation.  He's done when he says he's done.  Atiba has earned that.

We've got a great chance to qualify for 2022.  He's still playing great soccer in 2020, you're nuts if you think he'll pass on the opportunity to play in a World Cup.  It might even be the only thing keeping him going.  If he can still run by 2022, you can bet he'll be there, even if its a 5 minute cameo.

Same goes for the people that were claiming the same about Arfield a few months ago.  A few rough months doesn't mean you're done with the national team.  Especially players at that calibre.

[LeoH037]

3 hours ago, costarg said:

Read before posting:

Do you feel he won't get a call up, due to age and a downward trend in his performance?

 

 

OR, maybe, just maybe, cause he decides its best for him to turn it down? That's well within the realm of possibility wouldn't you agree?  A lot can happen between now and before the next competitive game takes place (which he will be 38 by then). Stating that Atiba is up in the years and him being there or not being a toss up is not disrespecting the man, and its certainty not cause for anyone to get offended about.

Edited December 22, 2020 by LeoH037