Valour midfielder’s status in limbo

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2021 (1384 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian Premier League is for, well, Canadians.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for veteran imports.

The CPL has a rule stating each club can only have three import players over the age of 23 on the roster. Owing to the pandemic, the league didn’t enforce it the past two seasons, but the current plan is to lay down the law in 2022.

Last season, Winnipeg’s Valour FC had five players from outside the country that were more than 23 years old: midfielders José Galán and Rafael Galhardo, as well as defenders Andy Baquero, Arnold Bouka Moutou, and Andrew Jean-Baptiste.

CPL teams can have seven imports on the roster, but clubs such as Valour will have some challenging decisions to make this offseason when it comes to the older outsiders.

Galan, a 35-year-old Spaniard who’s been a fan favourite since joining Valour in its inaugural season in 2019, doesn’t understand why the league is making it difficult for players like him to put down roots.

“There’s a lot of young talented players that I think I can help. From (Marco) Bustos to (Federico) Pena, they come to me and say ‘Whoah, you’ve helped me a lot.’ … Some of the very good players I played with in Spain in La Liga, they taught me when I was young. Now I want to do the same, especially in this country that doesn’t have the same football culture,” Galán said.

“I try to share my experience in a way with them on the field and off the field… I think I can (help) the players on Valour and the generation that will play for Valour in the future.”

Galán backs up his words. He’s played in a dozen countries in his professional career, but he and his wife Paloma have settled in Winnipeg. Their first child, daughter Celia, was born in the Manitoba capital in May 2020 and the couple is expecting another baby girl at the end of next month. Galán is also keeping busy this winter by offering weekly training sessions for local players aged 19 and under.

“It’s a good option for me to use my experience to help others. They’re sponges at those ages,” Galán said.

“I was lucky to have really good coaches in my career and now I can try to help the next generation in my new home in Winnipeg. It’s a really good feeling… Nothing can beat that.”

There aren’t many professional soccer players walking the streets of Winnipeg, or any Canadian city for that matter, so to have an individual like Galán share his tricks of the trade with the community can go a long way. But Galán might find himself working with youngsters in a different area in the near future if Valour doesn’t bring him back.

Valour head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos said they’d sign Galán in a heartbeat if he can get his permanent residency and count as a domestic player. Even though Galán lives here year-round and has started his family in Winnipeg, it’s still a slow process to get a PR card. He applied at the beginning of 2021 and still has nothing to show for it. Galán isn’t one to stir the pot to generate headlines, but he believes this is an issue when players like him are doing everything in their power to become a domestic talent and they still don’t count as one. There are some leagues that make exceptions when paperwork is stalling and Galán thinks the CPL should take a similar approach. “The league said any player must request a PR before January 2021 to play as a domestic and I did that. But now the government, because of COVID, usually takes one year but now it’s taking longer to get the card. The club has to wait until I have that document, so, I don’t know. Right now, I don’t have answers. It’s something I can’t control,” said Galán

“ …Sometimes leagues have different criteria for different players to play as a domestic. In my case, having two Canadian daughters, spending three years of my life here in Canada, it’s kind of frustrating for me because all that I want is to play football here.”

Despite his age, Galán believes he still has a lot left in the tank. The 2021 campaign didn’t go his way as he missed the first 16 games due to a ruptured plantar plate. Some doctors told him his season was over, but he worked his tail off to come back and finish the year with 12 appearances in the team’s final 13 matches. Galán has offers to play in India and Tunisia, but his heart’s in Winnipeg.

“I’m gonna play,” he said. “I want to play here, but if I have to, I’ll go somewhere else.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31