Canada’s Tajon Buchanan shrugs off the doubts as inaugural Copa America campaign looms

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Tajon Buchanan is no stranger to big moments.

From providing the assist that led to Canada’s first goal at a men’s World Cup to becoming the first Canadian man to play in Italy’s Serie A, the Brampton-born winger is crossing items off his bucket list on a regular basis.

But if 2022 was the year that much of Canada sat up and took notice of the 25-year-old’s talents, 2024 could well be the year that the rest of the world takes an interest, too.

And there would be no better moment to start grabbing people’s attention than Thursday, when Canada kicks off its inaugural Copa America campaign in Atlanta with a matchup against Lionel Messi and the reigning world champion, Argentina.

It’s all a bit surreal for a player who admits he harboured doubts about ever pulling on the Maple Leaf when he was passed over by Canada at the under-20 level.

“It was hard when you weren’t getting called into the national team and stuff like that,” he said last week. “So now that I am where I am, and I’m playing obviously for the first team and playing in these major tournaments and going up against some of the best players in the world, yeah, this is what I’ve always dreamed about.”

But Buchanan has had to make plenty of sacrifices along the way. After having to cope with losing his father at the age of 7, he made the tough choice to follow his soccer dreams south of the border when he moved to Colorado as a teenager. His former youth soccer coach Chrys Chrysanthou had moved there for a new job, and he and his son, Anthony, welcomed Buchanan into their family.

However, despite making the team at Real Colorado, a United States Soccer Developmental Academy club, his dream got tangled up in red tape as FIFA and U.S. Soccer ruled Buchanan ineligible to play official matches since he wasn’t living with his biological family. So he had to make do with training with Real Colorado while playing matches for his high school.

Showcasing the speed and talent that would soon entice some of the world’s biggest clubs, Buchanan displayed enough to warrant interest at the next level. He earned a scholarship from Syracuse University, paving the way to be drafted into Major League Soccer with the ninth pick in the 2019 SuperDraft. Then, after he helped the New England Revolution to the 2021 Supporters’ Shield, Belgium’s Club Brugge took Buchanan to Europe, giving him his first taste of the Champions League in the process.

Throughout his journey to the apex of professional soccer, he was fuelled by the memory of his father, who first ignited his love of the sport.

“I play for my dad, and obviously I know he’s looking down and very proud and happy of me,” Buchanan said. “I’m just happy that I’m able to do what I do and make my family proud and make him proud, and that’s very important.”

Never one to shy away from challenges, Buchanan embraced arguably his biggest one yet in January when Italian champion Inter Milan paid Club Brugge €7-million ($10.3-million) to take him to the San Siro, one of the grand cathedrals of European soccer.

Now renting an apartment in Milan and taking Italian lessons twice a week, Buchanan managed to accrue 10 appearances for the 2023 Champions League runner-up. He chipped in with his first goal for the club in a 5-0 win at Frosinone in May as Inter cruised to its 20th championship.

“Everything just happens so quick in football,” Buchanan said. “It feels like yesterday that I was still playing in MLS, and then obviously I was at Bruges, and then having a good season. And then Inter came to the table … obviously a dream of mine to go and play for one of the biggest clubs and to play in a top-five league. So that was a no-brainer for me.”

Though he admits the pressure to win at Inter is greater than it was at Club Brugge, which nevertheless has the second most league titles in Belgium, he says the environment and the other players have made the adjustment easy. In particular, he singles out striker Marcus Thuram – the son of French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram – as a teammate who has helped him settle in to a new city and country.

Further establishing himself in Serie A will have to wait until next season, though, as Buchanan is fully focused on the national team right now, particularly given the new coaching regime that has been installed. Thursday’s match will be Jesse Marsch’s third game at the helm, after a 4-0 friendly loss in the Netherlands and a goal-less draw in France.

“A very experienced coach, a guy that wants to win, and yeah, definitely think he’s the right man to take us forward as a nation and super dialled into what he has to offer us,” Buchanan said of the American coach. “And extremely excited for the future.”

As for his own future, Buchanan admits he’s never really satisfied, and feels that the sky is the limit. From a kid who grew up idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo to someone who is about to go toe-to-toe with CR7′s greatest rival, Buchanan is mindful of how the generation of himself, Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies can inspire the next.

“We played at the World Cup in 2022 and now we’re in Copa America, and then 2026 the World Cup again,” he said. “So this is starting to become a footballing nation, and we just have to keep our foot on the pedal and keep working and make it even a bigger footballing nation. And definitely, I can see that in the future.”