From the another one to watch files, comes 17-year-old Joseph Dichiara.
Dichiara, from the Spartacus Soccer Club in Toronto, has signed a professional contract with Kryliya Sovetov, a Russian Premier League team.
He has no national team experience to speak of - Canadian or otherwise - and the best information I can find on him is that he captained an undefeated U-17 squad to an Ontario Youth Soccer League Championship.
What I do know of the player is that he is a product of the Yuri Studin development pool — which has built a reputation for creating pathways for young players to find U.S. scholarships and professional careers. Five players from Dichiara's U-17 club have been offered full scholarships to U.S. schools. Studin is a guy who has been on the Ontario soccer scene since the early 80s and spent a good part of the last 20 years bringing in former Russian coaches and players to participate in the system he's built. It's created a professional environment and one that many around Ontario speak highly of.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Right now, there are few North Americans plying their trade in the Russian leagues, so perhaps the greatest challenge ahead for Dichiara will be adjusting to the culture shock. But maybe that's just more motivation to focus on your football.
I stressed this last week, but again, news like this increasingly speaks to the emergance of strong foreign links in the Canadian development pyramid. I have no doubt there are hundreds of other kids, just like Dichiara, flying below the radar the national team radar. The key now, as it always has been, is finding better ways to identify young players like this and bring them into our national team programs at an early enough age, that they'll never consider looking elsewhere to cap.
Easier said than done, but it bares reminder.