Voyageurs Vote Klukowski, Leblanc
Winnipeg, MB – The Voyageurs, Canada’s largest community of soccer supporters, is very pleased to name Michael Klukowski and Karina Leblanc as the winners of their Men’s and Women’s Canadian International Player of the Year award for 2009.
Polling was conducted online on The Voyageurs message board throughout the month of December 2009.
Michael “Mike” Klukowski, The Voyageurs International Men’s Player of the Year 2009
The versatile and skilled Klukowski was a consistent performer throughout 2009, garnering considerable attention for his play at both the club and national team level. He started six matches at left fullback for Canada and was an important part of a four man backline that conceded just three goals in four games during this past summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. His strong play earned a well deserved spot on the All-Tournament Team. He also enjoyed an excellent season for Club Brugge, helping his team challenge for the Belgian First Division title.
For Klukowski, this award comes after a decade of commitment to a professional soccer career which saw him leave his hometown of Oshawa, Ontario as an 18yr old, playing three seasons in France before moving to Belgium in 2002. Now in his eighth season in Belgium, he has become a staple in the starting lineup for one of the most storied clubs in Europe.
Klukowski’s accomplishments are an inspiration to all Canadians who aspire to become a professional footballer.
He has endured numerous injuries and setbacks in the pursuit of his dreams but has always rebounded from those difficulties to regain his place in the lineup for his club and the national team.
Klukowski began his career in Canada playing for the Oshawa Kicks and Scarborough Blues before travelling across the Atlantic to link up with Dijon FCO (France) in 1999. He bounced around France for a while, including a spell with Ligue 1 outfit LOSC Lille Métropole in 2001, before finally settling down at RAA Louviéroise (Belgium) where he made 72 league appearances over the next two-and-a-half seasons. His success at “La Louvière” attracted interest from Club Brugge KV, who signed the well-travelled youngster in a deal thought to be worth €900,000 in January 2005. While he initially had to patiently wait for playing time, Klukowski earned his way into the lineup and hasn’t given it up.
Klukowski received his first Senior cap for the Canadian national team in 2003, at the age of 21, coming on the field as a substitute in a 4:2 win over Libya in Tripoli. He has earned a total of 26 senior caps thus far.
Klukowski received the first place vote on over half of all ballots cast and was a top 3 selection on 96% of ballots.
| Michael (Mike) Klukowski | |
| Born | Amstetten, Austria – May 27, 1981 |
| Height | 1.85m (6’ 0”) |
| Position | Defender / Midfielder |
| Footed | Left |
| National Team Appearances in 2009 | 6 (1 caution) |
| Total Senior Caps | 26 |
| Professional Club History | 1998-1999 Dijon Football Côte d’Or (France Ligue 2) |
| 1999-2000 Turcoing FC (France Ligue Regionale Nord-Pas-De-Calais) | |
| 2000-2002 Lille OSC (France Ligue 1) | |
| 2002-2005 R.A.A. Louviéroise (Belgium First Division) | |
| 2005-Present Club Brugge KV (Belgian First Division) |
Honourable Mentions
A pair of Ontario-born 22 year-olds finished Second and Third in this year’s polling.
SIMEON JACKSON was a strong 2nd in polling after enjoying a breakout season with numerous club and country honours. Jackson left his hometown of Mississauga at the age of 15 for Europe. After four seasons developing his abilities at Rushden & Diamonds of England’s Conference National league, Jackson transferred to Gillingham F.C., now competing in England’s League One. 2009 saw him produce a number of memorable moments for the
Gills. Most notable was a goal in FA Cup competition and he also scored all of his team’s goals in their playoff matches including a 90th minute stunner at Wembley Stadium to Gillingham’s promotion from League Two. These exploits at the club level earned him his first start for the Canadian National Men’s Team in May 2009, where he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Cyprus.
WILL JOHNSON finished third Voyageur’s voting. He was a strong performer for 2009 MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake, which defeated David Beckham’s Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS final. Johnson, born in Canada but raised in both England and the United States, has developed into a very solid MLS player after stints at Blackburn Rovers’ youth academy (English Premier League) Chicago Fire (MLS) and S.C. Heerenveen (Dutch Eredivisie).
Johnson returned to the MLS late in the 2008 season and became the second Canadian to win the MLS Goal of the Year award. In 2009 Johnson solidified his MLS status, earning a call up to play with the MLS All-Stars vs. Everton. He also played 45 minutes of the MLS Cup Final before leaving the match due to food poisoning.
Karina LeBlanc, The Voyageurs International Women’s Player of the Year 2009
KARINA LEBLANC, the Women’s Voyageur’s Player of the Year for 2009, had the type of season young Canadian footballers dream about. The 29 year old Maple Ridge, B.C. native posted 13 shutouts in 19 games for the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Los Angeles Sol. Her 0.53 goals-against average played a big part in her team’s inaugural year success, as the Sol rolled to the best regular season record in the top women’s league in the world.
LeBlanc was selected by to be the starting goalkeeper in the WPS All-Star Game.
After a successful college career at the University of Nebraska, LeBlanc was the starting goalkeeper for the Boston Breakers in North America’s first women’s professional league (WUSA) from 2002 to 2003. In 2003, she led her club to the 2003 WUSA league championship and was the starting keeper for the World Team in that league’s All-Star Game. After the demise of WUSA, LeBlanc moved to the W-League, captaining the New Jersey Wildcats to a league title before entering the Canadian women’s national team residency program. When WPS held its first every player Draft, LeBlanc was selected 5th overall by L.A. Sol.
At the conclusion of the WPS season, LeBlanc moved off the field and onto the sidelines as an Assistant Coach with the NCAA Division I Rutgers University women’s program, overseeing the development of a handful of fellow Canadian student/athletes.
LeBlanc is a longtime fixture of our national program, having earned her first cap as an 18 year old and is the most capped Canadian goalkeeper of all time.
| Karina LeBlanc | |
| Born | Atlanta Georgia – March 30, 1980 |
| Height | 1.73m (5’ 7”) |
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Footed | Right |
| National Team Appearances in 2009 | 6 (1 Shutout) |
| Total Senior Caps | 71 |
| Professional Club History | 2002-2003 New Jersey Wildcats (WUSA) |
| 2009 Los Angeles Sol (WPS) |
Honourable Mentions:
Two of Canada’s most exciting attacking players were the runner’s up in the 2009 vote.
CHRISTINE SINCLAIR finished 2nd in Voyageurs player of the year voting in 2009. Sinclair is a long-time veteran of the women’s national team program and one of the biggest stars in women’s soccer worldwide. The 26 year old Burnaby, BC native has been involved in the national program for over a decade, and with her next start will eclipse Andrea Neil as the most-capped Canadian in national team history. She tallied her 99th career national team goal in March of 2009 in Cyprus and is looking to break the 100 goal barrier in 2010.
After a stellar NCAA career (she has the distinction of being one of only three women ever to win consecutive US College player of the year awards), Sinclair came home to British Columbia to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps of W-League as well as being involved with the national team residency program.
In 2009, she was selected 8th overall in the WPS International Draft by FC Gold Pride of San Francisco for whom she enjoyed a very solid first season, scoring 6
goals and adding 1 assist. She was one of seven at-large selections for the WPS All-Star team and enjoyed a memorable match, scoring two goals in a 4-2 win over the Swedish professional club Umea IK.
After a six-year hiatus, KELLY PARKER returned to the national team in 2009 and brought a level of electricity and pace that had been missing from the team’s attack in recent years, which helped her earn enough votes to finish 3rd in this year’s polling. Parker, a Saskatoon, SK native, had an excellent college career, including leading the NCAA in assists in her senior season and then went on to enjoy six successful years in the W-League (including 5 seasons with Ottawa Fury from 2003-2007). She earned All W-League honours four times.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Parker was drafted 28th overall in the WPS International Draft by NY/NJ Sky Blue FC, one of only three Canadians selected and quickly became a fan favourite for her new club. 2009 marks Parker’s reemergence as a key player for Canada’s senior national team under the direction of new head coach Carolina Morace. She was a regular contributor for the national team, playing 90 minutes in central midfield in all of Canada’s key matches, including the semi-final and final of the Cyrpus Cup as well as in all three summer
friendlies against the United States.
Like LeBlanc, Parker spends her off-season behind the bench as well. For the past three years, she has been an Assistant Coach for NCAA Division I University of Texas at El Paso (her alma-mater) where she also has been working with a handful of young up-and-coming Canadian players.
