There seems to be a growing consensus on social media that it’s job done after arriving at a European super club or that it’s only onwards and upwards for a player’s career from there. It’s hard not to get excited about CONCACAF footballers at some of the world’s biggest clubs, but it’s also worth remembering that the challenge really only begins once you get through the door.
Look at Alexander Hleb’s career after arriving at Barcelona or Christian Poulsen at Juventus for examples of dream moves turned into living nightmares.
The truth is that arriving at a super club isn’t the end so much as it is a rapid acceleration of the means to an end. If you have a few good matches for Schalke, your name still doesn’t reverberate much outside of North Rhine-Westphalia; if you have a few good matches for Juventus, your name is enough to move mountains.
On the flip side of that, if you have one poor match for Juventus you’ll find your permanent option declined and you’ll be back in Gelsenkirchen before you know it. If you have one poor match for Barcelona, you’ll be part of a massive clear-out to balance the books. Hell, even if you have six staggeringly good seasons for Barça that’ll be the case.
Of course the early signs for Weston McKennie in Turin have been positive, and Sergiño Dest was arguably Barcelona’s best player over the course of 90 minutes in Saturday’s Clásico, but there will be bumps of inconsistency ahead for players that are just 22 and 19 respectively.
Even a player like Christian Pulisic has to fight week in, week out for his place in Chelsea’s starting XI while an unquestionable talent like Diego Lainez is being made to work for every minute he gets at Real Betis.
The cutthroat reality of it all was perhaps most evident in Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick’s decision to drop Alphonso Davies at the start of the season after his “form dropped a bit.” He’s now out for six to eight weeks after suffering a ligament injury on Saturday.
In the end, these youngsters are targeting the sort of consistency that’s defined Atiba Hutchinson’s career with Beşiktaş. Yes, it’s not the sexiest name I’ve ever dropped (that accolade belongs to Congolese striker Bongo Christ), but the 37-year-old Canadian has defied all expectations in Turkey while winning two league titles.
On Monday, Hutchinson scored his side’s opening goal in a Süper Lig match against Denizlispor. The second-most capped player in Cananda men’s national team history, Hutchinson has now scored across eight consecutive Süper Lig seasons for Beşiktaş.
@atibahutchinson puts @Besiktas in front with a finish cooler than a Canadian winter.#DNZvBJK - LIVE
beIN SPORTS
CONNECT https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/ncqIvAHq5u— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) October 26, 2020
Beşiktaş would win the match 3-2 with the winning goal scored by another Canadian, 25-year-old striker Cyle Larin.
Cyle Larin gets in on the act! 3-0, @Besiktas #DNZvBJK - LIVE
beIN SPORTS
CONNECT https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/YiVOkjr5DM— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) October 26, 2020
Larin exemplifies the highs and lows of playing abroad as a youngster. After three hugely successful seasons in the United States with Orlando City, the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year arrived at Beşiktaş in 2018 at the age of 22. He looked to be on a stepping stone to great things after scoring four goals in his first four Süper Lig appearances, but a 2018-19 sophomore slump saw him loaned out to Belgium’s Zulte Waregem for the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign.
He’s back in Turkey this season and now has three goals in seven appearances across all competitions.
