Atiba Hutchinson facts for kids
Hutchinson playing for Beşiktaş in 2023
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 February 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.87 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brampton YSC | |||
| North Scarborough SC | |||
| Woodbridge Strikers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002 | York Region Shooters | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Toronto Lynx | 4 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | Öster | 24 | (6) |
| 2004–2006 | Helsingborg | 49 | (6) |
| 2006–2010 | Copenhagen | 139 | (22) |
| 2010–2013 | PSV | 80 | (4) |
| 2013–2023 | Beşiktaş | 270 | (24) |
| Total | 568 | (62) | |
| National team | |||
| 2001–2003 | Canada U20 | 19 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Canada U23 | 10 | (0) |
| 2003–2023 | Canada | 105 | (9) |
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Atiba Hutchinson (born February 8, 1983) is a famous Canadian soccer player who used to play as a midfielder. He is seen as a very important player in North American soccer, especially for Canada. He played for the Canadian national team 105 times over 20 years, which is more than any other player.
Atiba became well-known while playing for F.C. Copenhagen in Denmark. He was the first North American player to be named the Danish Superliga Player of the Year. In the same year, he won the first of his six "Canadian Player of the Year" awards. After playing for PSV Eindhoven for a few years, he spent 10 years with Beşiktaş in Turkey. He became a fan favorite there before he retired.
In 2012, the Canadian Soccer Association celebrated 100 years of soccer. As part of this, Atiba was chosen for the all-time best Canadian men's team.
Contents
Atiba Hutchinson's Soccer Journey
Starting His Career
Atiba Hutchinson was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. His parents were from Trinidad. He started playing youth soccer when he was just four years old. He played for local teams like Brampton Youth SC, North Scarborough SC, and Woodbridge Strikers.
In 2001, he had a tryout with a German team called Schalke 04. Then, in 2002, he began his professional career. He played a short time with the York Region Shooters before joining the Toronto Lynx later that year.
Playing in Europe
Moving to Sweden
In January 2003, Atiba moved to Sweden to play for Östers IF. This team had just been promoted to the top league, the Swedish Allsvenskan. Atiba scored six goals for Öster during the 2003 season. When the team was moved down to a lower league, Atiba transferred to Helsingborgs IF in January 2004.
At Helsingborg, people had high hopes for him. In his second season, 2005, he became one of the team's best players. He scored six goals even though he mostly played as a defensive midfielder, helping protect the team's goal.
Success in Denmark with Copenhagen
Atiba then moved to the Danish club F.C. Copenhagen. Here, he often played in the middle of the field. His coach, Ståle Solbakken, thought Atiba's attacking skills were too good for just a central midfielder. So, he started using Atiba more as a winger, which is a player who plays on the sides of the field.
After Atiba left Denmark for a new team in the Netherlands, he received a big award. On November 15, 2010, he was named the Danish Superliga Player of the Year for his last season with Copenhagen. This award was given to him by the famous German player Franz Beckenbauer. Atiba was the first Canadian to ever win this award!
In 2014, Copenhagen fans voted for their favorite players of all time. Out of 32,000 fans, Atiba was chosen as one of the best midfielders.
Time with PSV Eindhoven
On April 22, 2010, Atiba signed a three-year contract with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He joined them for free. Atiba played his first game for PSV on August 14, 2010, in a big 6–0 win. A few days later, he played his first European game for the team in the Europa League.
Atiba scored his first goal for PSV on January 23, 2011. He started the 2010 season playing as a right back, which is a defensive position. But when another player left, Atiba moved back to his usual position in the central midfield. He continued to play well and helped PSV reach the Quarter Finals of the Europa League.
Atiba missed the start of the 2011–12 Eredivisie season because of a knee injury he got while playing for Canada. He returned in August 2011 but got another knee injury later that year. Despite this, he helped PSV win the KNVB Cup final.
Becoming a Legend at Beşiktaş
Atiba wanted to play for a Premier League club in England. But on July 31, 2013, he joined Beşiktaş in Turkey on a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club on March 23, 2014.
In 2015, Atiba signed a two-year extension with Beşiktaş. He helped Beşiktaş win the 2015–16 Süper Lig league title. They won again in the 2016–17 Süper Lig season, with Atiba playing a key role as a defensive midfielder.
Atiba kept signing new contracts with Beşiktaş, staying with the club for many years. In the 2019–20 season, he played his 200th league game for Beşiktaş. He signed extensions in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In May 2023, Beşiktaş announced that Atiba would be leaving the club. His last game was on June 3, where he scored a penalty kick in a 5–2 win. Before Beşiktaş's final game of the season, the club honored him for his 10 years of playing for them. After the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final match, he officially retired from playing soccer.
Playing for Canada
Atiba played for Canada's youth teams in the 2001 and 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships. He made his first appearance for the senior Canada team in January 2003. He played in many CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments over the years.
In the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada reached the semi-finals. Atiba scored a goal in the last minute, but it was ruled offside. Many people thought the referee's call was wrong.
In 2010, Atiba was named the Canadian Men's Player of the Year for the first time. This was because of his great play for the national team and becoming the first Canadian to win the Danish Superliga Player of the Year award.
For much of Atiba's career, Canada's national team struggled to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. In 2012, Canada had a very tough loss against Honduras, which many saw as a low point for the team. Despite this, Atiba was again named Canada Soccer's male player of the year in 2012. He said he still wanted to try and qualify for another World Cup.
Atiba won the Canadian Men's Player of the Year award again in 2015, 2016, and 2017. He was disappointed that Canada didn't qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He even thought about retiring from the national team.
However, coach John Herdman convinced Atiba to come back. Herdman believed Atiba's experience would be very helpful for the team's younger players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. Atiba accepted the call-up for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March 2021.
This time, the team was much more successful. On November 16, 2021, Atiba was the captain when Canada beat Mexico 2–1. This game was also his 90th appearance for Canada, making him the player with the most games played for the men's national team. On March 27, Canada officially qualified for the World Cup with a 4–0 win over Jamaica. This was the first time Canada had qualified for the World Cup in 25 years!
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Atiba had an injury before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but he recovered and was named to Canada's team. He was the oldest player on the field at the 2022 World Cup. On November 27, he played his 100th game for Canada, becoming the first Canadian man to reach this milestone.
In June 2023, Atiba was part of the team for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. He said this would likely be his last tournament with Canada. Canada reached the final, which was the first time for Atiba in an international final, and the first for the national team in 23 years. Atiba confirmed his retirement from international soccer on June 17, 2023.
Atiba's Life Outside Soccer
Atiba Hutchinson is married to Sarah, who is French-Iranian. They met when he was playing in Denmark. They have three sons: Noah (born 2015), Nava (born 2016), and Ayo Siyah (2017). All of his children were born in Istanbul, Turkey. In April 2022, Atiba also became one of the owners of a soccer club called Simcoe County Rovers FC in Canada.
Awards and Achievements
Copenhagen
- Danish Superliga: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
- Danish Cup: 2008–09
- Royal League: 2005–06
PSV
- KNVB Cup: 2011–12
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2012
Beşiktaş
- Süper Lig: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21
- Turkish Cup: 2020–21
- Turkish Super Cup: 2021
Individual Awards
- Danish Superliga Player of the Year: 2009–10
- Canadian Player of the Year: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- CONCACAF Best XI: 2016
- FC Copenhagen All Time Best XI - 100th Anniversary fan vote
- Canada Soccer President's Award: 2023
- Canadian Soccer Association: All-Time Canada XI
- Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21
See Also
In Spanish: Atiba Hutchinson para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
