The Canadian Premier League revealed on Wednesday the official Best XI, fuelled by Gatorade, for the 2023 season, honouring some of the league’s brightest stars from its fifth campaign.
Eleven players were selected to the team of the year, with five different CPL clubs represented, including all five nominees for the league’s Player of the Year award.
Here’s a breakdown of the full group of honourees.
Goalkeeper
Triston Henry (Forge FC)
The day-one Forge keeper backstopped the Hamilton club to a fourth CPL championship this year, in what was arguably his best season yet. Henry won the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for a campaign where he led the CPL in clean sheets with nine, conceding just 32 goals in 27 regular season games. With some extraordinary saves on his highlight reel for 2023, Henry is a natural choice to tend the goal in the Best XI.
Defenders
Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)
Cavalry’s Dutch stalwart in defence was an absolute force in 2023, leading the Calgary side to win the regular season title by 13 points. Klomp won both the Defender of the Year and Player of the Year honours, and he was the only outfield player in the CPL to play every single regular season minute. He ranked second in the league in blocks (17), aerial duels won (51) and possession won in the defensive third (87), and also contributed four goals. Klomp was named Player of the Month in September, and made a league-leading 11 appearances in the Gatorade Team of the Week.
Manjrekar James (Forge FC)
James, a veteran with 17 caps for the Canadian men’s national team, came as advertised for Forge, who benefitted from his experience and stability en route to lifting the North Star Cup this year. In his first year in the CPL, James finished second among all players with 184 recoveries and 1,764 total passes, playing a team-high 2,340 minutes. James was named Player of the Week after the third round of regular season matches, and got Gatorade Team of the Week nods twice.
Daniel Nimick (Halifax Wanderers FC)
The 23-year-old Nimick was one of the most impressive newcomers to the CPL in 2023, anchoring a young Halifax backline that conceded just 32 goals in the regular season (tied for second-fewest in the league). He was named Player of the Week twice — in weeks 12 and 20, and Player of the Month in August, in a season where he dominated at both ends of the pitch. The Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nfld., native scored six goals, including four high-pressure penalty kicks, but also distributed the ball from his own end with a league-leading 174 successful long balls.
Midfielders
Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers FC)
Another newcomer to the CPL in 2023, Callegari added a touch of class to the Wanderers’ midfield. The 25-year-old Frenchman with experience in the Paris Saint-Germain academy was outstanding in Halifax, leading the league with 1,949 passes, 2,344 touches and 224 possession wins. Callegari kept things ticking in the middle of the park, helping create attacking moves and providing six assists while also serving as a defensive shield in front of the defence. He was nominated for Player of the Year, and he finished fourth in Players’ Player of the Year voting.
Manuel Aparicio (Pacific FC)
Aparicio has been one of the best players in the CPL since the first season in 2019, and this year was no different. The workhorse midfielder was Pacific’s engine in 2023, scoring four goals and providing five assists. He helped create attacking opportunities, not only by playing clever creative passes but by winning the ball high up the pitch to spring chances for his side. The Tridents were winless in their four games without Aparicio in the lineup this year, profiting from his presence in the centre of the park. Aparicio was also nominated for Player of the Year for a second consecutive season.
Kyle Bekker (Forge FC)
Since the beginning of the CPL, Bekker has been an essential piece of Forge’s dynasty, captaining the Hamilton club to a fourth championship in 2023. The 33-year-old earned a fourth Player of the Year nomination for a campaign where he provided seven assists and created 51 chances (joint-first in the league). Bekker was named Player of the Month in July, when he steered Forge to an unbeaten run throughout the month and picked up three assists of his own.
Ollie Bassett (Atlético Ottawa)
In his second year in the nation’s capital, Bassett was Atlético Ottawa’s star once again. After winning Player of the Year honours in 2022, he followed it up by scoring 11 goals to share the Golden Boot award with Cavalry’s Myer Bevan. Bassett was named Player of the Week a league-high three times, and he finished sixth in Players’ Player of the Year voting. The dynamic central midfielder was a force all year for Atleti, serving as their most effective creative force and goalscorer.
Forwards
Béni Badibanga (Forge FC)
Badibanga took the CPL by storm when he arrived at Forge in July. The Belgian-born winger made his debut at the beginning of August and started every game after that, including both of Forge’s playoff matches. Badibanga scored three goals for the Hammers, including an outrageous long-distance curler to equalize the CPL Final in extra time and set the table for Forge’s championship. The 27-year-old quickly became one of the most entertaining and effective attackers in the league, providing a crucial mid-season boost to the Forge attack.
Terran Campbell (Forge FC)
In his second year with Forge, the Burnaby, B.C. native flourished up front, scoring 10 goals to finish second in the Golden Boot race. Campbell scored a memorable hat trick against York United in Week 13, finding himself in the Gatorade Team of the Week four times. He finished tied for eighth in Players’ Player of the Year voting, playing a very important role up front for Forge as he won his third consecutive CPL championship.
Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)
Perhaps the most entertaining player in the CPL this year, Musse was an absolute force in attack for the regular season champions Cavalry. The 27-year-old scored five goals with six assists in the regular season, also scoring two goals and two assists in the playoffs — including an absolute wonder-strike in extra time of the CPL Final that nearly won the North Star Cup for his side. Musse was voted Players’ Player of the Year by his peers and was nominated for Player of the Year as well, earning a Player of the Month nod for October as well.