In these days of fence-sitting, quasi Canadians who can’t decide whether suiting up for the greatest country on earth is better than donning the colours of some other country, it’s always refreshing to chat with Kevin McKenna.
Not that playing for Canada was ever in doubt for him, although Scotland was an option. But I don’t mind telling you that if he were playing full time in Canada, he would be the go-to guy for a quote, the unofficial team spokesman, the respected leader. He’s all of that and more.
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This is McKenna’s third crack at qualifying for the World Cup and nobody deserves it more than he does. He will walk out as the captain once again against Panama on Friday, making his 60th appearance for Canada.
He’s chipped in with 11 goals along the way. You may recall a time when then-Canadian coach Holger Oseick would employ McKenna as a target striker. He seemed to sniff out goal scoring chances as well as anybody.
When it comes to club football the Calgary native has toiled with FC Koln in Germany since 2007. Over the years they’ve bounced between the Bundesliga and the 2nd second, where they currently reside.
You may recall earlier this summer there was word that Toronto FC was interested in signing him. It never happened obviously, but the two sides did talk, and money was on the table.
Like many Canadians, McKenna hopes to eventually come to MLS and he would have this summer, but financially it just wasn’t going to work. Had money not been the issue, he might very well have been a member of TFC by now.
He still hopes to return to Canada some day, maybe not until after he’s retired, though. He has a German wife and three small children, and the eldest is just starting school. There are some obvious non-football considerations right now. Still, the Toronto move was more than just idle rumour.
McKenna is also lucky to be part of the Canadian team right now. A freak injury in pre-season with FC Koln when his foot suddenly became locked up and wouldn’t move, put a scare into him. Surgery revealed no damage, only some minor, floating bone fragments in his ankle. Once cleaned up, he was good to go.
McKenna being health is great news for coach Stephen Hart who, apart from Josh Simpson out with a broken leg, has a healthy squad. Asked about realistic expectations for the next two games, Hart didn’t miss a beat.
“Six points” was all he said.