Desiree Scott: CANWNT Player Profile of “The Destroyer”

ANALYSIS – Desiree Scott, the last active international player from the 2012 Summer Olympics, has recently announced her retirement. Scott, who was born and bred in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has played in three Olympic Games during that time. In those Olympic Games, she won two bronze and one gold medal.

Desiree Scott: CANWNT Legend From Winnipeg Announces Retirement

Childhood

Scott’s mother was from Winnipeg (Winnipeg is the capital city of Manitoba), while her father was born in Kingston, Jamaica. The sports she grew up playing were volleyball, soccer, track, and basketball. Also, her favourite players were players such as Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Dwyane Wade, and Usain Bolt.

Scott also earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and became a certified Zumba instructor in 2014. She also began playing soccer at the age of eight.

Note: All information about Scott’s childhood above can be found with this Canada Soccer link.

University of Manitoba (2005-09)

The University of Manitoba Bisons is where Scott began to make a name for herself. There, she won the MVP three times and in 2009-10 won the Bison Sports Female Athlete of the Year award.

This is what Hadyn Sloane-Seale, head coach of the Bisons at that time, said about Scott and staying at home (Source: University of Manitoba Bisons):

"I think the Canadian system is to a great extent quite far behind the American system with regards to university or college athletics," Sloane-Seale said . "If I'm being honest, a kid like Des, she's pretty unique and special in her own way. She didn't have that great desire to want to go away from home. She always felt like she was more comfortable here. She's a bit of a different breed."

Also, with the Bisons program, it was a method for Scott to get into the national team.

CANWNT (2010-2024)

Scott had a long and illustrious career, in both the club and the national level. Her nickname, “The Destroyer” came from an interview with then CANMNT head coach, John Herdman, who said this (Source: The Canadian Press):

"He did an interview after, and he said `How about that Desi Scott?"' Scott recalled in a 2020 interview with The Canadian Press . "He just said "She's destroying them out there.' And it just sort of stuck from there."

From 2011 to June 2015 , Scott played in 62 straight Canadian matches for the national team and played all but 11 minutes in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She is also one of the few players, along with Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt, to win bronze in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, before winning gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In that 2012 bronze medal game against France, Scott made a decisive game-saving defensive play to keep the score tied in the 70th minute of play, Diana Matheson would later score in extra time of the second half to give Canada their first-ever medal in the Olympic games.

There was also praise from another former CANWNT head coach, Beverly Priestman, who had this to say about her (Source: Brendan Dunlop of Canadian Soccer Daily):

“The room lights up when she walks in there,” Priestman told reporters on a Zoom call on Monday when asked about having Scott back in camp . “We know exactly what Desi brings. She sniffs out any danger, she’s there. She plays it really simple but really effective. She now just needs to keep building those minutes and durability.”

This success caught the attention of the University of Manitoba, with Gene Muller, Director of Athletics and Recreation, saying this (Source: University of Manitoba):

“It is hard to fathom her achievements after the gold medal and over the course of her elite career. She has won three medals in consecutive Olympic Games and has cemented her place as a legend of Canadian sport and the game of soccer. She has been an ambassador of women’s sport, the University of Manitoba and the Bisons. We could not be prouder of her!”

What Is Next for Desiree Scott

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For Scott, she knew that her time was coming as she said this in the Athletic article:

“You kind of know it’s coming, especially as all your friends start to leave,” she told The Athletic, referencing her time in camp this year without Sinclair, Schmidt, Allysha Chapman and other veterans . “I would go to camp by myself. We’d have an off day. And normally I get texts like ‘what we doing?’ and I remember sitting in my room like ‘this is weird’ because all of my closest friends were kind of gone.”

As hinted by the video above, Scott is still planning to be around the game of soccer, most likely the Northern Super League/Super Ligue Du Nord, a professional women’s soccer league starting next year in April. Scott hopes to bring a team to her hometown and the capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg, as was stated by the Canadian Soccer Daily Staff:

“I’ve got Steph Labbé and other friends and former teammates that are building this league,” she told the WFP . “I’ve tried to push to get a team to Winnipeg and that’s still on my docket. My involvement with the league is going to be inevitable. In just what capacity, I’m not quite sure yet.”

READ MORE: The Northern Super League is Born

What might give Scott and the province of Manitoba hope, is that Matheson, one of the co-owners of the NSL/SLN, said this about the city of Winnipeg (Source: Canadian Soccer Daily Staff):

“She wants to be involved in some way, for sure, whether on the field or off the field. As the league starts to look at expansion, Winnipeg was already a key market for us. I know Desi will be a part of bringing a club to that market.”

The last regular season game for the Kansas City Current will be on Sunday, November. 3, 2024 as they travel to face the Chicago Red Stars at 3:00pm ET at SeatGeek Stadium. The Current also has a playoff spot, so they will likely play a bit deeper into November into what will be the final games of Scott as a professional soccer player before her retirement.

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Photo Credit: Kyle Thomas of the Canada Soccer Flickr Account on May 8, 2014 (Uploaded on October 20, 2014) .