

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

March 27, 2015 Email

Steve Bottjer

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After several years plying his trade in Germany, one of Canada’s top young players, Samuel Piette, now finds himself following in the footsteps of one of the Canadian National Team’s most capped players in Spain.



The 20 year old midfielder signed last August with Deportivo La Coruna, the club at which Canadian Men’s National Team veteran Julian de Guzman previously made his mark as the first Canadian to play in La Liga.



According to Piette, who has been playing in the Tercera División, the move to Spain has been a positive one.



“It’s been really good,” Piette told RedNation. “I really enjoy it and I’m very comfortable over there. Deportivo de La Coruña is a really good club that plays in the Spanish first division. I have not had the opportunity to play with the first team yet. I have played in a couple of friendlies but not in La Liga because right now the team is in the relegation zone and has been struggling a little. So I have been playing with the B team that plays in the fourth division. It is a pretty good level and there are a number of good teams there. That team is the position to go up, so it has been pretty good so far.”



“(Deportivo) have told me that I have been doing really well this year and that they would like me to go with the first team,” Piette added. “The thing is that we don’t exactly what will happen because there are only 7-8 games in the first division and, like I said, they are in the relegation zone. So it is pretty hard to fight for a spot there this year, but next year anything can happen – the coach might leave and sporting director might change. I have been doing well and they like me so far.”



“I have one more year on my contract, so it depends on a lot of things, including what the first team does and what the second team does, because we might go up as well. I’m just working hard and trying to make it to the first team next year.”



Since breaking into the senior men’s national team, De Guzman has been a mentor figure for the Repentigny, Quebec-born youngster. In that vein, the opportunity to join Deportivo La Coruna has been a nice bit of happenstance for the two Canadian national team midfielders.



“I spoke to Julian a lot about (joining Deportivo),” Piette said. “We are pretty close friends. He told me about the good places to eat and good things to do because he knows the city really well. He was there for four years. Julian also spoke to me a lot about how they play there and the style of play. He had a lot of advice with regard to that.”



With 11 caps for Canada to his credit and two appearances at the 2.Bundesliga level for Fortuna Düsseldorf, the last several years can be characterized as years of significant progress for a talented young midfielder who first came to prominence as part of the Canadian U-17 National Team that qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.



Asked about his decision to leave Germany for Spain, Piette described the sequence of events as normal for the ultra-competitive environment that is professional football in continental Europe.



“I was in Dusseldorf and after the Christmas break we were looking to re-sign in Dusseldorf because my contract was ending,” Piette explained. “But we could not come to an agreement, so I left Dusseldorf and I was contacting other clubs in Germany and we were talking to them. I went to Dortmund and was with the second team for about three weeks. But they did not have any spots left on the team, so I couldn’t sign there. Then I got sick for two weeks and could not train during that time and then all the German teams were pretty full as the season was starting soon. Then I spoke to my agent, who told me that he had good contacts in Spain and asked me if I wanted to go there since it was pretty late in Germany to try and make a team.”



“Spain was starting a little bit later,” he continued. “So I went there and had a trial with a team and they offered me a really good deal. Then when I was with that team we played against the Deportivo first team and they saw me and offered me a contract that really made sense, so that’s why I decided to go there.”



With his move to Spain, Piette has now seen his prime developmental years spent in the countries that have won three of last five World Cups. In his estimation, those opportunities have really allowed him to diversify and develop has game while training and playing in three of the absolute top environments in world football.



“It has been really good for me because each country has a different type of play,” Piette stated. “In France it is very technical and tactical and more about the technical ability. Germany is more physical and tactical and Spain is about tactical possession and it’s not really that physical compared to Germany. In every country I have developed a different aspect of my game. I think it has been good for me to be here in these countries in Europe.”



With those years of key development in his pocket, Piette is comfortable with the progress he has made and is focused on breaking through at the senior level with Deportivo and continuing to be a key part of the ongoing improvement that the Canadian National Team has seen under Spanish Head Coach Benito Floro.



“I would like to play at a higher level, but I am still only 20 years old, which is pretty young compared to a lot of the guys here,” Piette stated. “So I think I have time left. I do feel like I have done well, especially making my national team debut and playing a several games with Canada so far.”



“It’s been really good (playing under Benito),” Piette added. “I think it is getting better and better with every training camp because we are learning how he wants us to play. The more we understand the quicker everything comes in our minds in the games. It is definitely easier now than in the first camps we had with him.”