Garret Andrew Kusch (born 26 September 1973) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. After retiring as a player, Kusch became a

Chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

Club career

Born in

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

, Kusch started his career at local side

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

and then played successfully in a Belgian lower division with

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. Injury-hit, he then only featured twice for

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

in the

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

in the 1999/2000 season. He revived his career after a foot injury at Swedish second division side Mjällby only to finish the first of his two years-contract at Norwegian second division outfit

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

to quit professional soccer aged just 28 in 2001 to continue his studies. Kusch briefly came out of retirement in 2007 to play for Columbus Clan FC; earning a silver medal in the

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional ...

International career

Kusch made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in an April 1997

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

match against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and earned a total of 21 caps, scoring 1 goal in a 2001 friendly against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He represented Canada in five

matches and participated in the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...

, where he played his final international against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Personal life

Kusch works for the Canada national team as a chiropractor.

Honours

Canada *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

References

External links

*
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kusch, Garret 1973 births Living people Soccer players from Richmond, British Columbia Canadian people of German descent Men's association football forwards Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players R.A.E.C. Mons (1910) players K.V. Mechelen players Hønefoss BK players Mjällby AIF players ICSF Columbus FC players A-League (1995–2004) players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Association football physiotherapists Canadian physiotherapists Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's soccer players Simon Fraser University alumni