Manjrekar James


Manjrekar James is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Danish club Midtjylland and the Canada national team.

Early life

James was born in Roseau, Dominica. His father was born in Pichelin, and his mother was born in Grand Bay. James and his parents moved to North York, Ontario, Canada, when he was nine years old.

Youth career

At age 10, James signed for North York Hearts-Azzuri youth soccer club. At age 16, James signed for Sigma FC of the Ontario Soccer League. At age 18, James went on trial with RCD Mallorca of La Liga. Although he had a successful trial at the club, James was not signed because of strict visa laws for foreign players in Spain. Following his trial at Mallorca, James went on a 10-day trial with SC Paderborn 07 of the 2. Bundesliga. During the trial, James went directly into training with the first team but was ultimately not signed.

Professional career

Pécsi

In mid April 2013, James went on trial with Pécsi MFC of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. After several months of training with the reserve squad, James was offered a contract. James made his professional debut March 18, 2014 in a Ligakupa, the Hungarian league cup, match against Videoton FC. James made his league debut for Pécsi on 18 October 2014, coming on as a late substitute for Roland Frőhlich and playing two minutes in a 0-2 defeat to Ferencvárosi. At the end of the season, Pécs were relegated to the Hungarian fourth division due an unstable financial situation. James and many other first team players were subsequently released.

Diósgyőri

After leaving Pécs, James signed with fellow Hungarian club Diósgyőri VTK on August 25, 2015.

Vasas

James moved to fellow Hungarian side Vasas on June 8, 2016. Prior to the 2017-18 Vasas season, James was criticized by the club for playing internationally with Canada during the 2017 Gold Cup, while Vasas played in the first round of the Europa League qualifiers. Despite this, James would start regularly for Vasas in 2017-18.

Midtjylland

James joined Danish Superliga side Midtjylland on June 12, 2018, signing a 4-year deal. He was immediately loaned to Danish 1st Division Fredericia for the 2018–19 season. James made his debut for Fredericia on July 29 against Næstved, and would score his first goal for the club on August 5 against Roskilde. In January 2019, Midtjylland recalled him from Fredericia. He made his competitive debut for Midtjylland on March 13, starting in a Danish Cup match against Kolding IF. He made his Superliga debut five days later on March 17 against SönderjyskE. Despite only featuring in 9 first team games in his first 2 years with the club, in March 2020 James would sign a contract extension with Midtjylland until December 2023.

International career

James was called into camp with the Canada U18 squad in December 2011. In 2012 and 2013, he was again called into several camps with the U20 team in preparation for the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Mexico. In the tournament, James made one appearance, a 2-4 defeat to the United States in which he received a red card ejection. James was called up to the senior team for the first time in May 2014 for friendlies against Bulgaria and Moldova in Austria on May 23 and 27, respectively. James received his second call up to the national team for a January 2015 camp and friendlies against Iceland. He made his debut for Canada as a starter in the first of the two friendlies on January 16, 2015. James became cap-tied to Canada on June 11, 2015 against his native Dominica. Prior to the match, James received harassment from Dominica fans. James scored his first goal for Canada against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on September 2, 2016.

Career statistics

International career statistics

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1September 2, 2016Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras61–01–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2June 13, 2017Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Canada111–12–1Friendly