Carleton Ravens men’s soccer forward Matteo de Brienne signed a professional contract with Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) on Jan. 28, taking the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East rookie of the year from Ottawa to Winnipeg.
Many uncertainties remain for de Brienne ahead of the upcoming season, ranging from his position to how Carleton will make up for his loss.
How Valour snagged de Brienne just before the CPL draft
De Brienne planned to enter the 2022 CPL-U Sports draft along with 13 other Carleton players until Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos called de Brienne’s agent to strike up contract negotiations.
Valour had been tracking de Brienne’s progress since 2021 and watched him throughout the OUA season, Dos Santos said. De Brienne impressed Valour coaches at a trial last year, even before the arrival of Dos Santos, who joined Valour in September 2021.
According to Dos Santos, the 2022 CPL season will see an increase in the U-21 minutes threshold from 1,500 minutes to 2,000 minutes, meaning every club will have to give more playing time to domestic players under the age of 21.
Dos Santos was keen on having quality young players to meet the new threshold and said de Brienne fit the need perfectly.
“It just made sense,” Dos Santos said. “If we believe that Matteo is our first choice in the draft, do we wanna take the risk that someone in the top three will get him before us? … Securing him by offering him a contract made more sense.”
Negotiations between Valour and de Brienne did not take long. Dos Santos said it took 48 hours—Valour acted aggressively to complete the signing and submit the paperwork to the CPL before the draft eligibility list was released.
Dos Santos said the speed of the contract negotiations showed how much mutual interest there was in a deal.
Where de Brienne will play
When Valour announced the signing, they listed de Brienne as a left back, even though he operated as part of Carleton’s forward line and led the team in goals scored in 2021.
De Brienne has trained for several years at the left fullback position, particularly during his four-year tenure at the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program. As a player who has a natural desire to go forward, De Brienne said his preferred position lies out on the flanks of the field rather than the striker position.
“I’m a very defensive player as well. I’m eager to win the ball back,” de Brienne said. “As a winger, I feel like I’m playing a wing back position which [requires] me to defend and transition into the attack.”
De Brienne’s eagerness to win the ball back is a constant theme of the Carleton men’s soccer program. While Carleton head coach Kwesi Loney knew de Brienne as a defender when he first joined the Ravens, he chose to play him as part of the attacking line because of that eagerness.
“Matteo’s always a guy that says, ‘What can I do to help the team?’” Loney said. “It really allowed me the flexibility to play him where we needed him … Because of his level of energy, intensity in games [and] his drive to make an impact, we wanted to make sure he was in an offensive-minded position for us.”
Dos Santos said he envisions de Brienne playing somewhere along the left side of the field.
“We like that versatility,” Dos Santos said. “It helps the team and it puts him in a position to obtain minutes and play.”
Despite the trend in modern football for fullbacks to have attacking capabilities, Loney said he never expected de Brienne to play directly up top at the number nine spot. Instead, it happened naturally and paid off for Carleton, with de Brienne leading the team’s offence.
How does Carleton replace its star rookie?
The departure of de Brienne leaves Loney with the significant hurdle of replacing Carleton’s star rookie. Loney said he’s unsure how he’ll do so.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” Loney said. “I have my big roster chart and list of recruits on my wall at home and I just sit back and stare at it and say, ‘What do I need?’”
Loney said he doesn’t want to search for a like-for-like replacement for de Brienne. Instead, he’ll asses his roster and what type of player will fill Carleton’s needs, whether similar to de Brienne or not.
At the moment, Carleton’s roster is in flux. Some players have graduated, others are graduating and still others are considering playing out their final year of eligibility. This uncertainty poses a challenge for the Ravens coaching staff, but Loney said he is still preparing.
Finding players who fit the Carleton identity is key, Loney said. When recruiting, many potential newcomers will watch the Ravens play and watch and partake in team training. Recruits are analyzed based on how they impact the environment—players with a positive impact are rewarded with a place on the team while players with a negative impact are usually re-evaluated.
“Kids are attracted to the environment and the environment [is] the people,” Loney said. “Regardless of how big their impact may be on game days, it’s about the environment. The environment is what breeds success and [builds] the level of this program.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
