This weekend 39 Major League Soccer players will represent their country at international level. Many of them will miss a vital match for their club in the process, in the latest MLS scheduling clash with the international calendar.
For the Whitecaps this means the loss of Kenny Miller for the game in Houston on Saturday.
With Scotland's World Cup qualifying campaign seemingly dead in the water, many are wondering why Miller is being brought over for his second cross-Atlantic journey in a few weeks. He only saw 23 minutes in the friendly against Estonia at the start of February. Is he likely to see much more against Wales and Serbia?
The answer is experience and what he can bring to the squad off the pitch, as much as on it. It's a role he has been undertaking in Vancouver this season. We've already seen him take the Caps' young striking talent under his wing and the role seems to have brought the best out of him and a smile to his face, winning over some of his doubters with two excellent performances and an opportunistic goal of the highest order.
Maybe new Scotland gaffer Gordon Strachan is right to keep him involved and we'll see the Kenny Miller of old in a Scotland shirt. Whitecaps assistant coach, and former Scotland international, Paul Ritchie seems to think so.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
<i>"Kenny's in the squad now. I know for a fact that there's a number of people back home who think he's past it, he's too old. Having seen him in the first two games of this season, he's got a lot of football left in him.
"The effect he has here with the younger players, I think he can have that effect on the Scottish players. When you look at the younger players who are involved with the national team just now, playing at a good level, they're really lacking that little bit of experience. Kenny's got that experience and he's willing to share that.
"He's a fantastic pro and the younger ones like Jordan Rhodes will learn off Kenny Miller."</i>
So is a coaching role in the Scotland set up something that Ritchie sees in the future for Miller? And how happy will the Whitecaps be in Miller making 24 hour round trip journeys across the Atlantic for such a role?
<i>"Time will tell. From our point of view, unless he does play, it's not beneficial to us as a club to have Kenny flying back and forward.
"Kenny will make that decision himself. If he's part of these next two squads and playing and involved, then good for him, keep at it. But if he goes there and doesn't play.
"I know his family circumstances are a little bit different just now, his wife and baby are back home, so that's the thing, but we can't have Kenny making these trips for nothing. And that's a selfish point of view.
"Kenny was fantastic the first two games of the season for us and we need to keep him like. We don't want him travelling 5,000 miles there and 5,000 miles back to sit on the bench. Everybody knows that when you go away with the national team, the training isn't as intense as it is with your club team.
"He's a great professional. I think the break will do him good, but hopefully he does play and hopefully he plays some part in Scotland winning the next two games."</i>
Miller is certainly one of Scotland's old guard now, but the squad captain still dearly wants to be involved in the national team set up, whether the Tartan Army want him to be or not!
How keen? Well Miller made the gruelling trip from Vancouver to Scotland in February for that Estonia friendly. When you consider how many international players all of a sudden have an injury when friendlies come around, it's some commitment. Miller made the trip to Aberdeen last month knowing that he wasn't going to see much time on the pitch but he's <i>"hoping to still play a part"</i> in the Scotland set up under Strachan.
So with no plans on stopping making that trip, how does Miller cope with the jetlag and with the Chivas game coming up not long after he gets back, will it take him time to recover?
<i>"It takes a wee bit of time getting used to it. I think the more you do it, the more you're kind of prepared to get used to the timing of things going both ways. I generally find it not too bad coming back this way (to Vancouver)".</i>
Miller made his debut for Scotland in April 2001, when he came on as a sub against Poland. During his international career, which currently sees him with 17 goals in 66 appearances, he has served his country under seven different Scotland managers, including the newly appointed Strachan.
It's a familiar voice in the dressing room for Miller, having played under him during his brief time at Celtic, so what does the current Scottish captain make of the new Scotland boss? A good appointment and someone to turn the fortunes of the national team around?
<i>"Well, only time will tell. Obviously we got off to a winning start. It wasnae a great performance and things, but we got the win and that was the main thing. We just need to build on that for the next qualifiers."</i>
How Scotland perform in the upcoming games against Wales and Serbia is likely to decide Kenny Miller's international fate. Two wins will keep the faint qualification hopes alive and likely keep Miller in the mix, but any dropped points will be the final death blow to this campaign and probably signal the end of Miller's international career, leaving him to solely concentrate on his Whitecaps one in the process.
<p>