Late last year, Keven Aleman made his debut as a starter in Costa Rica’s top division; this week, the 20-year-old hit another milestone.
The dynamic midfielder (pictured above) scored his first professional goal on Saturday, the lone tally for Belen in a 4-1 loss to Limon. Aleman, a former member of the Toronto FC Academy, came into the game as a 60th-minute sub for Belen and then, 14 minutes later, cracked a left-footed strike from 20 yards into the corner of the net.
And yes, in case you’re wondering or worrying, he is cap-tied to Canada.
Speaking of young, cap-tied Canadian goal-scorers, Lucas Cavallini got back into the goal-scoring habit for Fenix as they opened the Clausura stage of the Uruguayan Primera Division season. Cavallini potted his ninth goal of the campaign in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Juventud.
Marcus Haber also found the back of the net this weekend, notching his fourth goal of the season for Crewe Alexandra in their 2-0 win over Fleetwood Town on Saturday. Haber then put in another 90 minutes of work on Tuesday, in a 2-1 loss to Doncaster Rovers.
There was also some good news off the field for Canadians abroad this week.
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who parted ways with Bulgarian club Ludogorets last month, has signed a deal with FK Radnički Niš in Serbia. Borjan has played in Serbia before, appearing in 36 matches for FK Rad from 2009 to 2011.
Also, defender Doneil Henry made it onto West Ham’s matchday squad for the first time on Saturday, though he didn’t make it onto the field in his club’s FA Cup showdown with West Brom. As it happened, West Ham went down to a 4-0 defeat on the day.
A couple big Canadian defenders did see minutes this week, though – David Edgar (Huddersfield Town) and Luca Gasparotto (Airdrieonians) both went the full 90 for their respective clubs. Gasparotto, who captained Canada at last month’s CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, also picked up a yellow card in his side’s 3-1 win over Forfar Athletic.
Atiba Hutchinson is back in the swing of things for Besiktas, who find themselves top of the table in Turkey following a 3-2 win over Bursaspor on Sunday. Hutchinson went the full 90 for Besiktas in that match, four days after going the distance in a 1-0 loss to Kayserispor in Turkish Cup play.
Tomer Chencinski is also getting back into the swing of things with a new club. The 30-year-old goalkeeper recently joined RoPS in Finland after a stint in Israel. Chencinski made his first appearance for RoPS on Friday, a 2-0 loss to HJK in Finnish Cup play.
And it’s not just about Canadian exports this week; there’s also the story of a potential Canadian import. Full back/winger Marcel de Jong, who recently parted ways with FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga, is on trial with Sporting Kansas City.
