FC Manitoba eager to hit pitch for USL2 season

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This article was published 26/05/2022 (1551 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Excitement is in the air for a Winnipeg-based semi-professional soccer club set to open its USL League 2 (USL2) season this weekend.

FC Manitoba hosts the Thunder Bay Chill at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex Saturday at 7 p.m. They’ll face Thunder Bay four times this summer, rounding out the schedule with matches against the Des Moines Menace and the Minneapolis City, St Croix and Peoria City soccer clubs.

The 2020 USL2 season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and FC Manitoba couldn’t play league matches last year because of pandemic-related travel restrictions. They played many exhibition matches in 2021 to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

“We have a lot to accomplish and a lot we want to do,” said FC Manitoba executive director and player Enrique Garcea, 27, whose family purchased the USL2’s WSA Winnipeg club and rebranded it to its current moniker in 2020. “We want to prove everything we do is at a high standard.”

FC Manitoba gives players ranging from their teens to late thirties a chance to play high-level soccer. Some of the club’s members are Manitobans that play at post-secondary schools, while others are hoping to catch the eyes of university and professional scouts. They also have a number of players with professional experience that have come to Winnipeg from overseas.

“I think it’s a really big boost to help them get to the next level, to train and to compete at the highest level,” said Garcea. “Not everyone may get a professional chance, it’s very hard and the standard is increasing every year… but there is a lot more chances being had with this league.”

FC Manitoba midfielder AJ Calado has been assigned to carry a massage table to the team’s bench before practice on a sunny Thursday afternoon in Winnipeg. The 19-year-old is one of the club’s youngest players, home for the summer from York University in Toronto where he plays on the school’s men’s soccer team.

“It just shows that Canada Soccer is always having more opportunities for us young players, whereas before there weren’t nearly as many, especially here in Manitoba,” said Calado. “It’s great to see that we have these new routes where you can go pro.”

Since USL2 is a league composed of many college-level players that need to maintain eligibility, those that join the league following professional careers sign what Garcea called a “zero-dollar contract.” Like everyone else, they play for nothing but the love of the game.

“I have been lucky to have an important career that’s given me… the chance to make it off this dream of sport,” said 36-year-old Italian striker Michele Paolucci.

Paolucci signed with the club in September 2020 and made 15 appearances with Winnipeg Valour FC in 2019. Now he’s passing his down a wealth of knowledge from a lengthy professional career that’s taken him from Italy to Canada.

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“We get to play with some ex-pros and you get to learn a lot of things,” said Calado. “It’s great to just learn from them and better understand the game.”

Saturday’s match against Thunder Bay will be a long time coming for FC Manitoba and Garcea hopes the city will embrace the club as it embarks on its season.

“I hope to see a lot of locals in the soccer community come out and support it,” said Garcea. “I think it’s important for the players, and showing them that support that they… really deserve.”

gavin.axelrod@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: Gavin77axe