Valour Adds Former MLS Midfielder To Coaching Staff

When Canadian Premier League side Valour FC confirmed that head coach Phillip Dos Santos was returning for another year, the club simultaneously confirmed that assistant coach Jay Bhindi and conditioning coach Daniel Guerreiro had left the side.

Today, their replacements have been announced.

Joining Dos Santos and former captain Daryl Fordyce in the technical area is Jean Baptiste Pierazzi, who once had a stint in North American football through the San Jose Earthquakes. He made thirty-one appearances for the side between 2014-2015 and scored one sole goal.

Now 39, the former Gazelec Ajaccio captain – who spent the bulk of his playing career in his native France – will test himself as an assistant coach with Valour.

It was two years ago when his coaching career began as a chief analyst for Cypriot side Ethnikos Achnas, before he returned to Gazelec Ajaccio as an assistant coach and video analyst from July 2023 to December 2024.

Valour’s roster recruitment has leaned in on intra-league moves, with new strength and conditioning coach Ibrahim Soukary somewhat falling in this category: having most recently been the Head of Athletic Performance for Atletico Ottawa’s development program, he will now trade Ontario for Manitoba in coaching duties.

Soukary has previously worked throughout Canada with various members of the Canadian men’s national football team.

Dos Santos will lead his newly-shaped coaching staff through a training camp set to kick off tomorrow. The club’s seventh season will kick off just as its first did, with an away trip to Pacific, on April 5. Back in 2019, that ended with a 2-1 away win for Valour. Last season saw them open with a hefty 4-1 loss against Vancouver FC, so Dos Santos will be hoping for a more vintage performance out in British Columbia this time around.

Dos Santos took the head coach role from Rob Gale back in September 2021, with the Winnipeg-based side still seeking to secure its first-ever playoff position.

While a core chunk of the roster is returning (along with the return of big centre-back Rocco Romeo), the midfield contingent will feature plenty of Portuguese flair this season.