A fine place for a long journey’s end

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/04/2019 (2687 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When a professional athlete is labelled a “journeyman,” it usually isn’t a compliment.

It’s a word typically attached to players who aren’t necessarily stars and have bounced around several different teams in their careers.

But for Valour FC’s newest defender, Adam Mitter, a 26-year-old from Liverpool who’s played for 14 clubs in eight countries, a journeyman is exactly what he aspired to be.

“From when I left England, I always said to myself that I want to explore the world,” Mitter said after Tuesday’s practice at Investors Group Field.

“Football has enabled me to do that. Every time I’ve left a country, it’s been my decision, because I basically wanted to travel the world. Football has given me that gift to do that, but I’m 26 now and feel it’s time to settle down in one place and hopefully, Canada is going to be the place. It’s a beautiful country.”

Mitter joins the Canadian Premier League from Asia, where he spent last year with Global Cebu of the Philippine Premier League and Hougang United of the Singapore Premier League.

In his career, he’s also played for clubs in England, Scotland, Sweden, Australia and India. Mitter said he had offers to play in Australia and Norway this season, but after speaking with Valour FC head coach and general manager Rob Gale, he was convinced coming to Canada, despite having never been to the country, was the right move.

“The league is only going one way and that’s up,” Mitter said.

“If you can get in early, you can stay for a long time. I only see this place going higher and higher. The infrastructure they’ve got here, the way the league is set up already, the media coverage it’s got, it’s only going to get better every year.”

He may have the passport of a journeyman, but Mitter will likely have a bigger effect on the team than a typical journeyman would.

Mitter has captained three of the past five clubs he’s played for.

“That tells a lot about my character and my personality,” Mitter said.

“I’m also very technical and good on the ball. I like to organize, make sure everything is solid, don’t concede a lot of goals and hopefully, we win a lot of games.”

Gale said Mitter will have some catching up to do before the season opener on May 1 against Pacific FC in Victoria, as the defender only arrived in Winnipeg on Saturday.

But Gale believes if Mitter looks the part, he would have no problem inserting the veteran into the lineup.

“He’s got a lot of experience. He’s got good physical size and stature,” Gale said.

“Above all, he’s got a winning mentality and he’s got a defend-first mentality, which is important with the group we have, as we have a lot of technical ballplayers.”

Despite playing for teams around the globe, Mitter said this week is likely the first time he’s played alongside Canadians.

So far, he’s been very impressed with what he’s seen from players from the Great White North.

“I was speaking to John Peacock (Valour’s technical consultant) yesterday and the standard is really good. The lads can play,” Mitter said.

“I didn’t think the standard would be as good as it is, but in the last two days, it’s been sharp. The lads are really technical and a lot of the boys got real ability.”

Even though he’s been in similar situations before, Mitter said joining a team this late into training camp is never easy.

It’s too soon to know how he’ll fit in the lineup, especially with Valour already featuring several strong defenders such as Canadians and former Syracuse University teammates Skylar Thomas and Jordan Murrell, as well as experienced Uruguayan defender Martin Arguiñarena.

But wherever Mitter finds himself on the depth chart, he said his main focus is doing whatever he can to help Valour FC keep the ball out of their own net.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

“Hopefully, just to organize, keep the lads in shape, make sure everything is done right during a game and hopefully, win games,” Mitter said.

“If I’m brought in to win games and keep clean sheets and I don’t do that, I’m not doing my job properly.”

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.