Tony Donatelli (black jersey) may be from the United States, but he's enjoyed a successful and notable career in Canada. (Photo courtesy of the Ottawa Fury)

OTTAWA -- He’s a Philadelphia son at heart, but Tony Donatelli has been at the center of some of the most exciting moments in Canadian soccer over the past nine years.

The 29-year-old midfielder has won a championship with the Vancouver Whitecaps, reached the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League with the Montreal Impact and is currently part of the Ottawa Fury’s first season in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

“When I first got to Vancouver nine years ago, you could see the sport was growing,” Donatelli said.  “There was a lot of support.  It’s a good culture, almost European where they’re really supporting soccer there.  To see it nine years later and to see how far it’s come with three MLS teams and Edmonton and Ottawa back in, it’s definitely something to be excited about for the Canadians.”

Long before his Canadian adventure, Donatelli was an accomplished youth player from Glenside, Pennsylvania.  His first youth coach was his father Gene, who played for the United German-Hungarians, a prestigious U.S. amateur club.

Donatelli wasn’t expecting to have such a long career in Canada, especially after being selected in the 2006 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft by the Houston Dynamo on the heels of four successful collegiate years at Temple University.

When the Dynamo didn’t offer him a contract, a Plan B became necessary.  Not long after, he was contacted by then-Vancouver coach Bob Lilley, who was a former teammate of David MacWilliams, Donatelli’s coach at Temple.

“As I was thinking about going out there, I honestly didn’t know where it was,” Donatelli said of Vancouver.  “To spend six seasons up here (in Canada) is something I never even envisioned, but I’m pretty happy about it.”

Success came rapidly for Donatelli, who scored three goals in the 2006 USL Division One playoffs, including one in Vancouver’s 3-0 win over the Rochester Rhinos in the championship game to cap his rookie season.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a great team and an even better group of guys,” Donatelli commented.  “They really welcomed me.  It was a perfect situation to be in as a rookie.  They brought me along slowly, but by the end of the season I was starting in the playoffs.  To be able to contribute like that was a dream start to my career and something I’ll never forget.”

Two years later, Donatelli was traded to the Montreal, where he scored in the two-legged final to lift the Impact over his former teammates from Vancouver.

“It was definitely a little different,” Donatelli said.  “I had a lot of good friends on the team still, but once you step on the field everybody is trying to win and when you’re in that situation you can’t let it pass.”

Donatelli also played a big role in Montreal’s historic run in the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League, helping the Impact reach the quarterfinals of the inaugural tournament.  He scored three goals in the competition – all against Trinidad & Tobago’s Joe Public.

“It was an amazing run, something we all weren’t expecting,” Donatelli enthused.  “It was really exciting.  Going into it we didn’t know what to expect out of ourselves.  We were underdogs throughout.  We just told ourselves we have nothing to lose, play our game and let the chips fall where they may.  To have a run like we had was really special and maybe won’t be done again.”

After playing for three teams in three years back in the United States, Donatelli has returned to Canada and again finds himself at the forefront of a significant moment in domestic soccer as Ottawa embarks on its maiden NASL voyage.

“We’re starting from the ground up and it’s something to be excited about,” he said. “To have a great organization and fans behind us is something I couldn’t pass up.”

As was the case in Vancouver and Montreal, soccer has caught on in Ottawa.  Even before the Fury’s debut, Donatelli said the buzz was palpable.  He expects it to grow further when the team debuts at its new home, the 24,000-seat TD Place Stadium, in July against the New York Cosmos.

“It’s great to be back in Canada,” Donatelli finished.  “It’s a great place to live and Ottawa is a new city to me, but a place I’m really enjoying so far.  I’m hoping this is a new home for me where I can settle down for a few years.”