TORONTO, Ont.—Seven years ago, a 17-year-old Samuel Piette was on the sidelines at BMO Field getting ready make his international debut.
In just his second men’s national team camp, Piette was being substituted into a friendly match against rival United States on June 3, 2012, replacing his mentor Julian De Guzman in the 86th minute.
“To have [Clint] Dempsey in front of me, [Michael] Bradley, it felt like I was in a commercial and it wasn’t real,” Piette told Waking the Red on a media call earlier today.
Stephen Hart, now with the Canadian Premier League’s Halifax Wanderers, was coaching Canada that day.