| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 8, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder / Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | PSV | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brampton Braves | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2003 | York Region Shooters | ||
| 2003–2004 | Toronto Lynx | 4 | (0) |
| 2004 | Östers | 24 | (6) |
| 2004–2006 | Helsingborg | 49 | (6) |
| 2006–2010 | Copenhagen | 139 | (22) |
| 2010– | PSV | 34 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001–2003 | Canada U-20 | 19 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Canada U-23 | 10 | (0) |
| 2003– | Canada | 55 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 August 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Atiba Hutchinson (born February 8, 1983 in Brampton, Ontario) is a professional Canadian soccer player who plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie.
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Born in Brampton, Ontario to Trinidadian parents,[1] Hutchinson began his professional career in the 2002 summer season, playing briefly with the York Region Shooters of the Canadian Professional Soccer League before signing with the Toronto Lynx of the then A-League in mid-season, on July 26, and playing in the teams final four games.
In January 2003 he signed with Östers IF, newly promoted to the Swedish Allsvenskan. Hutchinson scored six times for Öster during the 2003 season. With the club relegated out of the Allsvenskan, Hutchinson was granted a transfer for an estimated £1.32 million and signed with Helsingborgs IF in January 2004.
Expectations were high for him the first season in Helsingborg, but they were ultimately unsatisfied.[2] However, in the 2005 season he was consistently the team's best player, scoring six goals from a primarily defensive midfield position.
Hutchinson moved to Danish F.C. Copenhagen, where, for the first half of the year, he played alongside Swedish international Tobias Linderoth in central midfield, latterly being used around the midfield and as a striker. Manager Ståle Solbakken said in an interview with the football paper TIPS-bladet, that he saw Hutchinson's attacking talents as being too impressive for a central midfielder, saying that he would be used more often as winger.[3] He has been linked with Premier League clubs several times.
After Hutchinson had left Denmark for his new team in the Eredivisie he was awarded Danish Super Liga Player of the Year for his last season with Copenhagen.[4] This award was given on November 15, 2010 by Franz Beckenbauer at the annual Danish Football Association award show. This was the first time a Canadian had won this award in the Danish League.
On April 22, 2010, Hutchinson signed a 3-year contract with PSV Eindhoven joining them on a free transfer.[5] Atiba made his PSV debut in a 6-0 home victory against De Graafschap on August 14, 2010.[6] Four days later he made his European debut for the team in a surprising 1-0 first leg defeat to FC Sibir Novosibirsk in the Europa League, however PSV won the second leg 5-0 making it to the next stage of the competition. Atiba scored his first goal with the Dutch side on January 23, 2011, his goal came in the 46th minute of a 3-0 away victory against VVV-Venlo.[7] Hutchinson started the 2010 season playing a defensive role as a right back, however with the mid-season transfer of Ibrahim Afellay to Barcelona allowed Hutchinson to move into his more natural position of the central midfield. Atiba continued to impress through the winter scoring his second goal of the season in a 3-2 away victory against Excelsior on March 5, 2011.[8] Atiba also help lead PSV to the Quarter Finals of the Europa League before being knocked out by Benfica in Mid-April losing 6-3 on aggregate.[9]
Hutchinson was forced to miss the beginning of the 2011–12 Eredivisie due to his knee injury sustained with Canada at the Gold Cup that summer.[10] After missing the first two games of the season Hutchinson made his return on August 21, 2011 as a second half substitute for Zakaria Labyad against ADO Den Haag, the game ended in a 3-0 away victory for PSV.[11] Weeks later Hutchinson sustained yet another knee injury during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification against Saint Lucia forcing him to have his third knee operation in 18 months.[12]
Hutchinson played at the 2001 and 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships.
He made his senior debut for Canada in a January 2003 friendly match against the United States and, by December 2009, has earned a total of 47 caps, scoring 3 goals.[13] He has represented Canada in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[14] and at the 2003, 2005, 2007 & 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cups.
On June 21, 2007, Hutchison appeared to have scored a vital equalizer against the United States in a 2007 Gold Cup semi-final. However, he was controversially ruled off-side.
On October 8, 2010 FIFA.com named Hutchinson FIFA player of the day after his man of the match performance vs. Ukraine.
December 17, 2010 Atiba was awarded the Canadian Men's Player of the Year by the CSA for the first time of his career.[15] Hutchinson was heavily favored for this award in 2010 for his play with the national team, joining a well known European club and becoming the first Canadian to win the Danish Superliga Player of the year. Atiba won with 31.4% of the vote with Dwayne De Rosario in second place, Simeon Jackson was the award winner in 2009.
Hutchinson went into the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup as one of the most integral members of the Canadian squad, he was able to partake in the pre-tournament friendly against Ecuador and the first game of the group stage against United States. However following the 2-0 loss to the Americans at Ford Field Hutchinson sustained a knee injury forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament.[16]
Hutchinson can play all positions on the midfield and as supporting striker. Hutchinson has also played at right back for Canada and PSV as well as center back for Canada.
In February 2007, Hutchinson was named 2006 CanadaSoccer.com Fans' Choice winner (most popular player).
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 9, 2004 | Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Honduras | 1-1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | July 12, 2005 | Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, United States | Cuba | 2-1 | 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 3 | March 25, 2007 | Hamilton, Bermuda | Bermuda | 0-3 | Friendly |
| 4 | October 8, 2010 | Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine | Ukraine | 2-2 | Friendly |
| Canada national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2004 | 7 | 1 |
| 2005 | 7 | 1 |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 |
| 2007 | 9 | 1 |
| 2008 | 9 | 0 |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 |
| 2011 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 55 | 4 |
Statistics as of September 2, 2011
F.C. Copenhagen
Canada
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hjalte Nørregaard |
F.C. Copenhagen Player of the Year 2010 |
Succeeded by Dame N'Doye |
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