Valour looks to build winning culture

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/12/2022 (1353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You can expect Valour FC to look a lot different when they take to the pitch in 2023.

The club’s core won’t look anything like last season’s group as several key names — goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, midfielder Sean Rea, forward Moses Dyer, midfielder Stefan Cebara and defender Brett Levis — won’t be back.

Sirois and Rea will return to MLS side CF Montreal, Levis recently signed with FC Tulsa of the USL Championship, and Dyer and Cebara are pursuing other opportunities.

With five of their best players leaving, Valour head coach/general manager Phillip Dos Santos will have to hit several home runs before league play begins in the spring if Winnipeg’s professional soccer team is going to reach the Canadian Premier League post-season for the first time in franchise history.

Valour finished 2022 at 10-7-11 which put them nine points back of Pacific FC for the fourth and final playoff spot.

“Today I’m not concerned. I’m actually very happy with where we are,” Dos Santos told the Free Press on Monday. “I think this is the game. Players gave a lot to this club. I take away nothing from a guy like Dyer, a guy like Cebara, and a guy like Brett. We came to respect and care for each other outside of football as well. I think I’ve created relationships that are going to last with those players, but it’s time for them to look for the next challenge and for us to look for the next challenge. That’s how sports work.”

As significant as the losses are, it might not be a bad thing for Valour to start fresh. Dyer, Cebara, and Levis played three seasons for Winnipeg (Rea and Sirois were in town on loan for the past two), and yes, the franchise showed flashes at times, but they never looked like a contender to win the league’s crown. Valour has added two players that know what it’s like to wear that crown as the club recently signed a pair of defenders from Pacific in Abdou Samake, who signed Monday, and Jordan Haynes who signed last week.

Both Samake and Haynes won the CPL championship in 2021 with their former club.

“They’re two league guys that have won with Pacific, bring leadership, bring experience, and bring a culture of winning. And there are going to be more players from the league that have played in the league. I think it’s important having players that understand how this league works,” said Dos Santos, who took over for Rob Gale midway through the 2021 season.

“And also, we’re making sure that when we start the pre-season, we have every single player here ready to start the pre-season. No waiting for visas, no waiting to sign players later in the year, no, I want to have the right roster ready to hit the ground running.”

Dos Santos is referring to three of his international players, Colombian midfielders Daniel Ascanio and Kevin Rendon, and Chilean forward Walter Ponce. None of them started the season with Valour as they all faced delays with their work visas. While waiting for them to arrive, Valour severely lacked depth.

Rendon and Ponce are expected back, and Ascanio, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, hasn’t ruled out a return, either.

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“Players that arrived late in the season, it took them a little bit of time and I don’t think they ever really got themselves going at full capacity. So, this year we’re learning from mistakes that were made and mistakes that were made on our part,” said Dos Santos.

Valour isn’t starting from scratch as defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste, midfielders Diego Gutiérrez and Raphael Ohin, defender/midfielder Andy Baquero, and forward Matteo de Brienne provide Dos Santos a solid foundation to build off. But one returnee to keep a close eye on is goalie Rayane Yesli. The 6-7 keeper from the University of Montreal was drafted third overall in the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft by Valour. He’s coming off a breakout season during which he registered four clean sheets and surrendered just eight goals in 10 appearances. With Sirois out of the picture, the 23-year-old Yesli is expected to take on the role of No. 1 netminder.

“There’s no doubt in my head that he has the potential and ability to be a No. 1 goalie in this league,” said Dos Santos. “But now it’s that second-year syndrome. How is he going to cope with the weight and pressure of being a No. 1 in the league? We think he’s going to do well. And we’ll bring someone in to bite his heels because I think that’s a good thing for him. But it’s his turn.”

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.