Why Canada’s Tajon Buchanan is thriving for club and country

Speak to any close observer of Team Canada’s men’s national team and there is one overriding sentiment that they can all agree on: Tajon Buchanan is back.

Buchanan has firmly entrenched himself as one of the locked-in starters under coach Jesse Marsch ahead of next year’s World Cup.

It has only been recently that the Brampton, Ont. product has re-affirmed his position within Canada’s preferred XI.  A broken leg at the 2024 Copa America derailed his hopes to crack Inter Milan following a huge move to the Italian giants from Club Brugge of Belgium in January 2024. 

Buchanan had shown flashes of what he could do with the Nerazzurri at the back end of the 2023-24 season, but the injury that ended his Copa campaign that summer resulted in a difficult period in Italy, where playing time was hard to come by. It ultimately resulted in a loan move to Villarreal in Spain to close out last season.

The Yellow Submarine obviously liked what they saw and signed the 26-year-old to a permanent deal this past summer in a transfer worth a reported Cdn. $14 million. It was a move that did much more for Buchanan than simply getting him more playing time.

“I think coming over to Villarreal, they helped me find that joy for football again,” Buchanan told Sportsnet.

That “joy” has come in the form of not only regular starting minutes, but a starring role on the right side of Villarreal’s attack — a side that currently sits third in La Liga, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.

“I feel like I adapted very well to the league, to the culture.” Buchanan added. “It’s a league that I think suits me very well and I adapted very well. I think I’m able to show my best ability and I think I’ve been showing that recently.”

A goal last weekend against Real Betis came following some standout performances, including a hat trick earlier this season against Girona. And prior to the most recent international break where Buchanan once again proved himself as one of Canada’s biggest attacking threats, he hit the turf against the mighty Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

At this point in his career, Buchanan is not going to get starstruck or overwhelmed by any occasion. But the fact that his first match against Real came alongside not only a Canadian teammate, but a player who also toiled across Toronto area pitches was not lost on him. Tani Oluwaseyi joined Villarreal earlier this season after several conversations with Buchanan convinced him that a transfer from Minnesota in MLS was the right move.

“It’s mad that we’re two guys from the GTA and now we’re playing in the Champions League and we just played at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid,” Buchanan said. “So obviously, as a kid, these are moments that you dream of. Obviously it’s a big, big moment to play there for the first time and obviously to do it alongside a Canadian teammate was even more special.”

Buchanan’s footballing journey is not unlike most Canadian players. He almost slipped through the cracks with the national program refusing to take notice. Like others before (and after) him, he would leave for greener pastures south of the border, playing at Syracuse University before being drafted by the New England Revolution of MLS in 2019. Eventually, Canada Soccer sat up and paid attention while Buchanan began his European journey by heading to Club Brugge in 2021.

“Club Brugge is a big, massive club in Belgium. And obviously, they compete every year in the Champions League, so it’s a club with big pressure,” Buchanan said. “And then making the move to Inter, obviously, it’s a different level. Inter is an international, worldwide club. And every season you want to compete and lift trophies in front of 75,000 fans.

“But Villarreal is a club with great history. They won the Europa League. They fight for the top four almost every season in La Liga, so it’s a big club. Obviously, the fan base and the pressure is less (than Inter Milan), but it’s still there. If we’re comparing it to Inter, it’s definitely less. But I think sometimes that’s good. And I think in my career at this point, coming from a situation where I wasn’t playing a lot, I think it’s the perfect situation where I can go in and show myself and focus on football and try and improve every day.”

Bobby Smyrniotis knows Buchanan better than most. The co-founder of Sigma FC — and current head coach of Canadian Premier League giants Forge FC of Hamilton — lured Buchanan back to Canada in 2017 following a stint in the U.S.

“He’s a feel-good, play-good type of player, right? And that doesn’t mean you need special treatment, but just knowing that he’s important, and that he can express himself on the pitch,” Smyrniotis said. “I think that’s a very, very good thing. And I think that’s what is happening with the national team as well. He’s got that ability to, to express himself and do what he’s very good at, which is 1-v-1 running at players. And that’s where we’ve seen him at his best.”

And Smyrniotis agrees that Buchanan is looking like his best self again.

“I think he’s just, it’s natural what he’s doing. And I think for a player like him, he’s a dynamic attacking player … I know we’ve seen him at right back, but you know, further forward, that’s truly who he is. I remember that literally the first day of training at Sigma, I said: ‘We’ve got a true winner. You know, we’ve got somebody now.’”

The game has also changed as tactics evolve, Smyrniotis notes.

“The game kind of went away from these guys and is now back to them. He had all those abilities,” Smyrniotis added. “For players like Tajon, it’s all about scoring goals, scoring goals and entertaining. And when you look at Canada, it took us years to find these entertaining types of players and he’s definitely one of those. That’s been part of (Canada’s) success. These guys with their ability, whether it’s from deep positions like Richie Laryea or Tajon up top, or Alphonso Davies breaking out of situations. It’s something we didn’t have 10, 15 years ago and we’re starting to get an abundance of it.”

A return of confidence and form is helping both his club and his country. Buchanan is arguably Canada’s biggest goal threat outside of Jonathan David and he seems at ease in Marsch’s system.

“Yeah, I think it’s fairly similar,” Buchanan said when comparing Canada under Marsch with Villarreal under head coach Marcelinho. “Obviously, we play 4-4-2 as well. Yeah, he’s very big on the counter press and defending in the shape, staying compact. And obviously when we attack, it’s in transition and then also having the freedom to really go on and just express yourself and try and make a difference. So, I think it’s very similar. And I think that’s helped a lot with balancing coming into camp and going back to the club level because it’s basically the same system. And I think that’s helped a lot.”

Smyrniotis is a keen observer and agrees with his former player.

“Yeah, he fits into the style: dynamic, quick, loves the press, when he’s losing the ball and then is direct in the way he can attack, right? So, that can fit into different styles of play, and it fits well into the way that the national team wants to play right now.”

Buchanan seems to be enjoying life on the football pitch for both club and country. Perhaps missing so much time in 2024 and struggling through what he admits was a difficult time at Inter Milan has made him appreciate his football more than ever. 

A free and happy Buchanan has become key to his international manager. A player who is as tenacious as he is talented, he is fast becoming the poster boy for Jesse Marsch football.