Young CPL talent has impressed

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This article was published 14/05/2019 (2632 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You could speculate all you want, but until the Canadian Premier League began play, there were no guarantees as to what the quality of soccer would be like.

Yes, we’re only at the midway point of the league’s inaugural spring season, but so far, the product on the field has delivered. Fans are coming out (nearly 15,000 fans have flocked to IG Field to watch Valour FC’s first two home games), international players have spoken highly of the talent in the league, and the Canadian players have taken full advantage of showing their skills on home soil.

No, the CPL doesn’t have the household names Major League Soccer does. You’re not going to find international stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney or Bastian Schweinsteiger playing at IG Field this season.

But how does the CPL’s on-field product stack up against the MLS? Well, who better to ask than a pair of Valour FC midfielders who spent last season playing for the Montreal Impact of the MLS.

“There’s a bit more mistakes than what we’d see in the MLS,” said Louis Béland-Goyette, a 23-year-old Pointe-Claire, Que., native who appeared in 11 games with the Impact in his four years with the club.

“I actually did the test of watching a CPL game, then right after going right into an MLS game. That’s pretty much what I saw. It’s much more tactical, but MLS isn’t faster. It’s a bit more tactical and waiting for the right moment to attack and the right moment to drop the defence. The speed of play is very fast pace in the CPL, which is good because it’s a good show for the fans and it’s exciting to play as a player.”

Michael Petrasso, a 23-year-old from Toronto, saw action in 14 games for Montreal a season ago. For him, the biggest difference he’s noticed is there is less room for error in the MLS.

“For instance, last year I played with Ignacio Piatti (the four-time winner of the Montreal Impact’s most valuable player award). I think there’s a couple mistakes that are made in (the CPL) because it’s very fast and everybody’s energetic. If you make a mistake and Ignacio gets on the ball at the top of the box, he will put it in the bottom corner. Where I think here, even our team, there’s a bit of questioning in the decisions in the final third,” said Petrasso, who missed Valour’s 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC last weekend with a hamstring injury, but has been a full participant at practice this week.

“But I think that just comes over time and with the more experience you get. Obviously, the more experienced players that come into the league will produce that. I think that’s the difference. The energy levels are high here and it’s a fast-paced game. There’s a lot of individual talents in the league. But I just think there’s a couple turnovers that go each way and in the MLS if you make a couple mistakes, you get punished for it. That’s a bit of a difference that I’ve noticed so far.”

While the MLS has marketed their league around superstar players, the CPL is focused on growing the sport in Canada and giving homegrown talent a platform to take their game to the next level. Béland-Goyette said the fact there are so many unknown players in the CPL is what makes the league exciting.

“I think there’s some guys we haven’t seen or heard about that come here and do well. That’s the kind of guys that are going to bring the league up instead of bringing that guy who played Champions League and everybody knows who he is,” Béland-Goyette said.

“I mean, it might get to that point that they bring in a big-time player who maybe wants to end his career here.

“But for now, I think it’s great that it’s all young players and players that have something to prove. It makes the game interesting.”

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Valour FC might not have to wait long to see how they stack up against the MLS, as they are one of three CPL teams that will play in the 2019 Canadian Championship. The championship features 13 teams across four leagues, including all three Canadian MLS teams: Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps. Valour FC will play the winner of the HFX Wanderers and Vaughn Azzuri (League 1 Ontario) in the second round of the tournament.

Valour will play a home and an away match with their second-round opponent, with the first leg taking place on the road on June 5 before they play the second leg at home on June 12. USL Championship club the Ottawa Fury will await the winner in the third round, and Toronto FC will play the third-round winner in the semifinal.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.