Valour FC preparing for real deal

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This article was published 29/04/2019 (2656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The time for talk is over. No more speculating. No more wondering. And most importantly, no more waiting.

All that’s left to do is to sit back and watch the Canadian Premier League’s inaugural season unfold.

On Wednesday night, Valour FC — Winnipeg’s newest professional soccer team — will play their first game in Langford, B.C., against Pacific FC at Westhills Stadium. For those who have been involved with Valour FC since Day 1, and for the players who have come across the world for a chance to play for Winnipeg in a new league, they couldn’t be more excited.

“I’m like the fans, I can’t wait to see the lads go out and express themselves on the field and see that identity come to life,” said Valour FC head coach and general manager Rob Gale before the team’s practice on Monday at Investors Group Field. “That’s a huge privilege and honour for me to lead out a Manitoba team and we’re very grateful for that opportunity and looking forward to it.”

Despite the late start of 8 p.m. in Langford (10 p.m. Winnipeg time), Valour FC may have a bit of an advantage going into the game. Pacific FC opened their season on Sunday, a 1-0 victory over the Halifax HFX Wanderers, which gave Valour an opportunity to take notes on their first opponent. German centre-back Hendrik Starostzik scored off a header 21 minutes into the match to earn Pacific FC their first victory.

The CPL season officially began on Saturday, with Hamilton’s Forge FC and York9 FC playing to a 1-1 draw.

Gale said the biggest takeaway from watching Pacific FC’s match was getting a preview of what their manager Michael Silberbauer, a former player for Denmark’s national team, is about.

“I know a lot of the players, but the great unknown is Michael Silberbauer because he’s the new coach on the scene and obviously the one who isn’t Canadian. It’s interesting to see his playing philosophy and how he’s got those jigsaw puzzle pieces and what picture he’s trying to put together. So, we got a little idea of that,” Gale said.

“I think they had a clear identity in how they look to attack and how they try to defend. We’ve analyzed that. We’ll be doing some more video over the course of the next 48 hours as well.”

Another unknown is who will start for Valour FC on Wednesday. Gale wouldn’t reveal anything to do with his lineup.

“There will be 11 players. We’ll be wearing our beautiful black kit. And they’ll be ready,” Gale said.

Although Valour FC has yet to measure themselves up against any of the otyher six CPL teams in regular-season action, the team is confident they will be a contender.

“I have a lot of faith in our squad and the people we have,” said English-born forward Stephen Hoyle, who joined Valour FC from the New Zealand Football Championship league.

“This is a unique league, where everyone sets out to win the championship. In most leagues around the world, all the teams in it don’t set off as the goal to win the league. So, the question I’ve posed before to the boys is what separates us from everyone else? Who separates us from everyone else? And what do we have that’s different from everyone else? It’s quite a level playing field, but the character and how we come together as a group will push us to be one of the top teams.”

While Valour FC will make the trip out West today, it won’t be long until they return home to play in front of their own fans for the first time. Valour FC’s home opener is Saturday at Investors Group Field against FC Edmonton. The home opener will, of course, have extra-special meaning for midfielder and Winnipegger Dylan Sacramento, who is one of seven Valour FC players with ties to the city.

“You’d love to start the first game at home, but it’s kinda nice to be away for the first one and kind of get your feet wet and get used to what you’re up against. And then to come home,” Sacramento said.

“I think Pacific dealt with it well (Sunday), just the jitters of having the home opener. A lot of local guys playing in front of friends and family. I think for us, it kind of helps to go away the first game and hopefully get some of the nerves out and for the home opener hopefully be more relaxed.”

What kind of first impression would Valour FC like to leave this week? Captain Jordan Murrell has an idea.

“It’s not about fitting in, it’s about being different. We want to be different on the pitch,” Murrell said.

“We want to be different as a club and we want to stand out. We will stand out on the pitch and we will fight and we will scrap and we will also play some beautiful football.”

One Soccer owns the CPL’s broadcast rights. You can catch all the league’s action, including Valour FC’s season opener, on their website at https://onesoccer.ca/ with a paid subscription.

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.

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