Alfredo Valente (born November 6, 1980) is a former Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who formerly played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

(USL-1). Valente played 11 seasons with the 86ers/Whitecaps organization, winning USL championships with the club in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. He also played

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

with the Edmonton Drillers of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) early in his professional career. Internationally, Valente has represented Canada with the under-18,

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

and under-23 national teams.

Early life

Growing up in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, a neighbouring city east of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Valente began playing

at the age of four years. He joined the local youth and amateur

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

Metro-Ford Soccer Club (CMFSC) program at 12 and debuted with the men's team in the

Vancouver Metro Soccer League The Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) is a soccer men's league operating in British Columbia, Canada primarily in the Lower Mainland area. History The league is an amateur league, and does not compete against or promote teams to the Canadian ...

's Premier division three years later. Valente attended and graduated from Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby, where he also played for the high school's soccer club, the Aztecs, leading them to a provincial championship.

Playing career

Valente was drafted by the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The G ...

(renamed to the Whitecaps in 2001) as the club's top pick in the 1998 A-League Player Draft. He made his professional debut with the 86ers at the age of 17 years in the

USISL A-League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and scored four goals in 14 games to be named Vancouver's top rookie that year in 1998. He recorded his best season with the 86ers in 2000, leading the team in scoring with 10 goals. In 2002, Valente led Vancouver in assists with 10, finishing tied for fifth overall in the

. Under the leadership of head coach Bob Lilley, hired in 2004, Valente's playing time began to decrease. He did not get off the bench in the 2005 playoffs. The next season, however, after scoring a goal and an assist in the regular season, he started the title game against the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

; Valente helped the Whitecaps to their first USL championship, defeating Rochester 3–0. Attempting to defend the Whitecaps' league title in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Valente appeared in 24 games, while starting in 14. Coming off the bench in the club's two playoff games, Valente and the Whitecaps were defeated in the quarterfinals. On February 7, 2008, the Whitecaps re-signed Valente for an 11th season. At the time of the signing, he ranked seventh in Vancouver's all-time combined playoff and regular season scoring list with 32 goals and 35 assists in 234 games. As Lilley was replaced by Icelandic

Teitur Thordarson Teitur Thordarson ( is, Teitur Þórðarson, born 14 January 1952) is an Icelandic football coach. He is the older brother of Ólafur Þórðarson. Playing career Club Íþróttabandalag Akraness Before coaching, Teitur playing as a striker fo ...

as head coach, Valente's playing time increased, becoming a regular starter. After finishing with the second best regular season record in

, the Whitecaps won their second USL championship in three years, defeating the

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

2–1 at

Swangard Stadium Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for soccer, rugby, football, and athletics, the stadium also used to be home to the Simon Fraser Clan football team and the Vancouver Whitec ...

on October 12, 2008. Valente was instrumental in the Whitecaps first goal in the 56th minute, directing a corner into the Islanders' box, where

Charles Gbeke Charles Gbeke (born March 15, 1978) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he made three appearances for the Canada national team. Gbeke began his career with brief stints with Seattle Sounders a ...

headed the ball in. Several months later, Valente was released by the Whitecaps, as the club chose against his

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

contract option, on December 8, 2008, along with fellow veterans Steve Kindel and Jeff Clarke. Club president

Bob Lenarduzzi Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC (born May 1, 1955) is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He ...

and coach Thordarson cited "philosophical differences" for the roster changes. Valente left the Whitecaps second all-time in franchise assists. At the end of the 2008 season, Valente, Kindel and Clarke, all long-time members of the club, had voiced their concerns over Thordarson's coaching style in separate one-on-one meetings with him. Following his release from the Whitecaps, Valente rejoined the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League's Premier Division in 2009. He has been involved with CMFSC, his old youth and amateur soccer club, since 2005 as youth coach and head coach of technical operations, as well.

International play

Valente has represented Canada with the under-18,

and Olympic under-23 national teams. He played with Canada's U-18s for a tournament in Italy in March 1998 and the U-20s several months later in August 1998. The following year, he was chosen to represent Canada at the 1999

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. In 2000, Valente went on tour with the Canadian Olympic team in Mexico as a 19-year-old.

Personal life

Alfredo is married to Kristen Valente and has a son, Noah, born on December 19, 2007.

Awards and accomplishments

*Named

Top Rookie in 1998. *Led Vancouver Whitecaps in goals (10) in 2000. *Led Vancouver Whitecaps in assists (10) in 2002. *Won a

championship in

and

Honors

Vancouver Whitecaps

Championship (2):

References

External links

USL profile of Alfredo ValenteEdmonton Drillers: Alfredo Valente
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valente, Alfredo 1980 births Canadian soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players Association football midfielders Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players Living people National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players People from Burnaby People from Coquitlam Soccer players from Vancouver USL First Division players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Pan American Games competitors for Canada Footballers at the 1999 Pan American Games