Buchanan’s hot foot heating up at the right time

Opinion

Tajon Buchanan, explained Inter Milan’s welcome message, hails “from the frigid climate of Canada.”

It was January 2024, and the Brampton-born winger had just joined the Nerazzurri from Club Brugge. A few weeks later, once the Italian giants had exhausted their tropes, he became the first Canadian to play in Serie A.

In retrospect, it was the right move at the wrong time. Then-manager Simone Inzaghi was famous for playing favourites with a squad that rarely changed from week to week, and Buchanan rarely got off the bench.

Then, at last summer’s Copa America, he suffered a broken tibia that kept him off the pitch for 116 days. The injury all but ensured he’d never crack the Inter line-up. He asked to go on loan and was picked up by Villarreal.

After a slow start, the 26-year-old rounded into form, scored a crucial goal against Barcelona and helped the Yellow Submarine book passage to the Champions League.

In a recent sit-down with OneSoccer, he credited the Spanish outfit with rejuvenating his career. But it wasn’t until earlier this month that Canadian fans got to see the revival in person.

On a warm, spring night in Toronto — hardly frigid (23 C, actually) — Buchanan wasted no time reminding his Canada teammates, as well as the BMO Field faithful and a national broadcast audience, just what they’d been missing for nearly a year.

Back in the XI, he assisted Jonathan David’s tally in the 24th minute against Ukraine and then scored Canada’s fourth and final goal of the 4-2 triumph in the 81st. It was a standout performance, and yet only a preview of what was to follow.

Shortly after the restart in Canada’s Gold Cup opener against Honduras on Tuesday, he made a well-timed run and clipped a wide-angle finish past the ’keeper to give his side a 3-0 lead. Seventeen minutes later he made it 4-0 when he converted Mathieu Choiniere’s corner. At the final whistle, the Vancouver crowd could celebrate a convincing 6-0 win.

Putting the man of the hour aside for just a moment, it is mighty impressive that the Canadian men progressed to the Copa semifinals in Buchanan’s absence — that they beat the United States (twice), played Mexico to a draw and defeated Panama. Those are results a team gets when it has depth, and Canada has it in spades.

That said, the 26-year-old’s reintroduction has made the men’s national team a completely different proposition.

Suddenly, and with one of Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg on the left-hand side, it’s a line-up with weaponry on either flank. Both have to be marked by the opposition — good luck — and the ripple effect means the attackers can operate more freely, like when David played in right-back Niko Sigur on the opening goal against Honduras. Sigur, for his part, offers a smart, quick option when Alistair Johnston isn’t available, and he’s versatile enough to slot into midfield as well.

But a fit and flying Buchanan immediately consolidates Canada’s status as Gold Cup co-favourites with Mexico. He might be the flashiest player in the tournament, and he’ll give Zwolle full-back Sherel Floranus all he can handle in Saturday’s Group B match against Curacao (6:00 p.m., TSN & OneSoccer).

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Win, and Canada will secure first place in their bracket, setting up a likely quarterfinal with Saudi Arabia. Three points would also give head coach Jesse Marsch a chance to rest his key players on June 24, when Canada face El Savador in the group stage finale (9:00 p.m., TSN & OneSoccer).

Buchanan should probably be one of them. He’s still recovering from injury, after all, and is yet to hit top gear.

That’s a sizzling prospect for the Canadian men, and one that will make the opposition frozen — frigid, even — with fear.

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