\t\tRead: 3 min<\/p>\n
Quiet and unassuming off the pitch, Jonathan David is already one of Canada\u2019s greatest footballers at just 26. Now, as the co-hosts prepare for the World Cup, the forward hopes to make plenty of noise on the global stage.<\/p>\n
Dubbed the \u201cIceman\u201d by former national team coach John Herdman for his composure and cool finishing, David\u2019s path to the top has been anything but conventional.<\/p>\n
Born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents, he spent his early childhood in Haiti before his family resettled in Ottawa. His multicultural background mirrors that of a Canadian squad built of players with diverse, immigrant roots.<\/p>\n
Football has always been part of him. He fell into the sport \u201cas soon as [he] could walk,\u201d inspired by his father and early childhood in Haiti, where football is hugely popular.<\/p>\n
He has only a handful of memories from his time there, but they remain meaningful. Returning in 2021 for a World Cup qualifier with Canada was a moment of immense pride.<\/p>\n
As a boy, it was the Barcelona teams of the 2000s \u2014 and Ronaldinho in particular \u2014 that captured his imagination and fuelled his desire to one day play in Europe.<\/p>\n
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That ambition carried him to Belgium with Gent and then to Lille, where he became one of the most prolific forwards in the French club\u2019s history. He scored 109 goals in 232 appearances, won the Ligue 1 title in 2021, and climbed to third on Lille\u2019s all-time scoring list.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve advertised him often as the most intelligent footballer I\u2019ve ever coached,\u201d Canada coach Jesse Marsch said in 2024. \u201cHe\u2019s really clever. We all really believe that he can be one of the best in the world, if he\u2019s not already in that category.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet David remains modest, and happy to shun the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, speaking in public isn\u2019t really in my nature because I don\u2019t like putting myself forward \u2013 I\u2019m someone who is discreet and calm,\u201d he once said to La Voix du Nord newspaper. \u201cAfter a match I prefer to leave the stadium without saying a word.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last summer, David joined Juventus on a free transfer. He remains the most expensive Canadian footballer in history, with Lille splashing out \u20ac30 million ($34.8 million) to sign him in 2020.<\/p>\n
His first season in Italy, however, proved challenging. He scored just eight times in 46 appearances and saw his minutes reduced late in the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I think it\u2019s been up and down \u2026 I wasn\u2019t scoring as regularly as I wanted to,\u201d he said to TSN in April. \u201cJuventus is the club that is under more scrutiny than any other club in Italy; there are all these eyes on you, and obviously, people will talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, David remains central to Canada\u2019s hopes. Alongside captain Alphonso Davies \u2014 who is in a race against time to be fit \u2014 he is one of the faces of a team seeking its first-ever World Cup victory.<\/p>\n
And his ambition is clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wildest dream? Let\u2019s just say winning the World Cup with Canada. If I ever manage to do that, honestly, I could retire the very next day,\u201d David said to La Voix du Nord.<\/p>\n
That may be a stretch, but a more realistic target is to help transform the sport at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want this World Cup to change soccer in Canada forever, to make it maybe the number one sport in the country,\u201d David said to FIFA.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe national team have come on leaps and bounds since I came into the picture,\u201d he reflected.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win a match would be momentous for Canada. After that, the aim is obviously to go as far as possible in the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
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