ALLISTON, Ont. — Atiba Hutchinson's reason for ending a one-year hiatus from the Canadian national team is simple.
"I kind of missed it," he said. "It's nice to be back."
Hutchinson, who last played for Canada in its final World Cup qualifier last September, is due to earn cap No. 78 — tying Mark Watson for No. 5 on Canada's most capped list — on Saturday when the Canadian men host Jamaica in a friendly at BMO Field.
You can watch the action on TSN1, TSN4 and TSN GO at 7pm et/4pm pt.
Some 16,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday's game. Jamaica was a surprise finalist at the Gold Cup, dispatching Canada 2-1 in the quarter-finals and Mexico 1-0 in the semifinals before losing 2-1 to the U.S. in the championship game
Both countries rose in the rankings after the Gold Cup with Jamaica jumping 19 spots to No. 57 while Canada moved up five places to No. 95.
The 34-year-old Hutchinson is arguably Canada's finest soccer export. Since 2013, the midfielder has plied his trade in Turkey, winning back-to-back championships with Besiktas while rubbing shoulders with the sport's elite in the Champions League.
The six-foot-one Hutchinson is a sight to behold on the field, even if his spindly pipe-cleaner legs deceive at first notice. He is like a soccer Hoover, vacuuming up balls then holding off opponents before finding a teammate.
Besiktas fans call him Octopus for his long legs and long reach.
When it comes to Canada, his longevity is remarkable. Hutchinson, who made his Canadian senior debut in 2003 in a 4-0 loss to the U.S. in Fort Lauderdale, has played for nine Canadian managers.
Octavio Zambrano is the latest to value Hutchinson. Benito Floro, Zambrano's predecessor, was also a fan.
"Atiba is our best player," Floro said in 2014. "He is the best player in Besiktas."
Zambrano, named Canada coach in March when Hutchinson was still on hiatus, essentially told the player he was always welcome.
"I'm just very glad that he left the door open and he's here now," Zambrano said in an interview at his team's training base north of Toronto. "We'll see what happens in the future."
How long Hutchinson plays for Canada remains to be seen. Games that matter are few and far between — the next round of World Cup qualifying is in the distance — and the 10-hour hour trip home from Istanbul is daunting.
"I thought now is a good time," he said of his national team participation. "I don't really know how it will go in the future. Obviously I'm a bit older and it's a new generation. These guys need time to develop and find their way here with the program, the national team.
"But in any way I can be involved or help out, I'll try to do that ... Whether it's one game or a few games at a time. I'm just taking it one step at a time."
On the plus side, Hutchinson is clearly intrigued to see Zambrano and his young talent at work after watching some of the Gold Cup games this summer.
"There's a lot of talent in this group," he said. "You can see the level has gotten a lot higher from when I started off here. The flow of the game, the vision of the players. It looks very good."
He was 19 when he debuted for Canada. Now he is the eminence grise on a roster that features 13 players aged 24 or younger.
Hutchinson worked his way up the ranks and through Europe, building his career carefully starting in Scandinavia with Osters and Helsingborg in Sweden and FC Copenhagen in Denmark.
He joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in 2010 before moving to Turkey in 2013.
Under president Fikret Orman, Besiktas has grown on and off the field. Hutchinson now plays in the sparkling 41,900-capacity Vodafone Arena.
"Amazing stadium. State of the art. Amazing atmosphere," said Hutchinson, who draws attention when he walks the streets in Istanbul.
Hutchinson, who is married with a third child on the way, has seen first-hand the political turmoil that has rocked Turkey in recent months.
"Obviously it's not easy to deal with," he said. "But I'm there and it's home for me at the moment. You kind of try to block out, stay away from a lot of places, crowded places."
He's happy to report the situation is a lot calmer.
"Luckily things are going in the right direction right now," he said.
Playing in England has always been a dream and there have been offers, with former Besiktas manager Slaven Bilic eager to bring him to West Ham.
But the Brampton, Ont., native opted to repay his Turkish club's loyalty to him by signing a contract extension.
"I've been comfortable in Turkey and they've done a lot for me," he said. "The fans have been great. I've taken so much from them. It's always been in my head that I'd like to stay there and maybe end my career there."
As for coming home and Major League Soccer — he was recently linked to Vancouver — Hutchinson says it's always an option.
"But for now, I'm just kind of focused on Turkey," he said.
He wants to stay healthy and help Besiktas prosper this season.
"Then we'll see what happens after that," he said.
While Hutchinson is in the last year of his contract, he does not see retirement on the horizon yet.
"I don't think I'm ready to call it quits after this season," he said.
