Valour FC hopes new direction takes team into playoffs

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This article was published 08/04/2024 (895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Raphael Ohin is sick and tired of Valour FC being near the bottom of the table.

It’s a feeling the 28-year-old from Winnipeg knows all too well as he’s the only player who’s been with the city’s professional soccer club since the Canadian Premier League began play in 2019.

Valour, who kick off the upcoming season on the road Sunday against Vancouver FC, have never qualified for the playoffs and were a league-worst 6-8-14 in 2023.

“We’ve been in a drought. Obviously, we’ve wanted to win, make this city proud, and put a smile on the faces of the fans,” said Ohin after Monday’s training session at Winnipeg Soccer Federation South.

“All I can say it’s coming, and it’s going to be a wonderful story… I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Valour supporters have heard these types of comments for years without seeing any meaningful progress on the field. The team, however, is hopeful that its new look will lead them into a new direction after waving goodbye to 16 players this off-season.

Last month Valour travelled to Portugal for a 10-day preseason camp that included several exhibition matches.

“I look at the boys around me and I can tell the mentality is right. Everything starts in the locker room. If your locker room isn’t good, then don’t expect to have a good season. But so far, you can feel it, you feel that winning spirit, you feel that we’re a band of brothers,” said Ohin, who has played only two games since 2022 due to injury.

If this is going to be their year, they desperately need to be better offensively as they scored just 25 goals in 28 outings last season.

Head coach/general manager Phillip Dos Santos is trusting forward Shaan Hundal — who had a brief stint with Valour in 2020 — is someone that can help with that.

Hundal, a 24-year-old from Brampton, Ont., returns after scoring six times in 28 appearances with Vancouver FC. He also notched 17 goals in 48 matches with Inter Miami CF II of the MLS Next Pro circuit in 2021-22.

“Guys are excited for the challenge. We we want to make the playoffs and be the first team to make the playoffs for Valour. I think a lot of players came here because first and foremost the coach, and secondly, the challenge to make history,” said Hundal.

“Since the last time I’ve been here, I think I’ve improved a lot in and around the box. Last year, Valour had a lot of touches in the box but they just couldn’t get that final touch over the line. I think me coming here I can bring some calm, cool, collective focus and I think I can bring a lot of goals that way.”

Fellow Brampton product Jordan Faria is another offensive weapon Valour will rely on. The 23-year-old midfielder was called up by MLS side Toronto FC for a match last year. He spent majority of 2023 with their minor league affiliate where he scored four times in 23 appearances.

There’s also Australian forward Jordan Swibel, a 24-year-old who scored 16 goals in 28 games in the Australian second division.

“If there’s an area I feel we improved a lot, it’s the one that matters the most. You need to have a group of players that in any given game, you believe they can get you a goal or two and I believe we did that,” said Dos Santos.

Some other key additions include goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi and defenders Roberto Alarcón and Tass Mourdoukoutas.

Viscosi is the front-runner to start in net on Sunday as the 33-year-old from Ottawa has more a decade of pro experience and has spent the last few years playing in Finland and Sweden. Last year’s starting keeper Rayane Yesli was acquired by Atletico Ottawa via transfer.

Alarcón, a 25-year-old from Spain, helped Cavalry FC win the 2023 regular season title. Mourdoukoutas, a 25-year-old Australian, spent the past two years with York United.

“Other teams in this league have gone from last to first. As drastic as that sounds, it’s very possible. We’re a fresh group of guys with fresh ideas,” said Mourdoukoutas, who is currently day-to-day with a minor lower body injury. “I felt a belief from who I think is one of the best coaches in the league, and a trust in him to put together a good squad with strong ideas in a way he wants to play, and that enticed me a lot to sign here this season.”

Valour’s home opener is June 2 against Vancouver. Their first seven matches will be played on the road as the turf at Princess Auto Stadium is being replaced.

“(Our team) is all guys that want to win and feel they have something to prove. For me, that’s important because that’s where we are as a club today,’ said Dos Santos.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it together because we’re all here for the same thing.”

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New signing from up north

Valour signed Canadian forward Joe Hanson on Monday — the first Yukoner to play pro soccer.

The 20-year-old arrives in Winnipeg after two seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 team in MLS Next Pro where he had three goals in 37 appearances.

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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.