Midfielder Kianz Froese returns to his Manitoba roots, signs with Valour FC
After nine years in Germany, Kianz Froese was working on the family's coffee plantation/farm in Cuba when he got a call from Josh Carabatsakis, Valour FC's director of football operations.
The message was simple.
'(He) told me I should come play,' Froese recalled. 'And then presented me the opportunity to come home and play.'
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder said yes, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canadian Premier League side, plus a club option for 2026.
It's a homecoming for Froese, who was born in Cuba but came to Manitoba with his family when he was one.
'It feels good,' he said. 'It's been a while since I've been back in Winnipeg. So (I'm) happy about it.'
A former Canadian youth international at the under-17 and under-20 ranks, Froese was 19 when he won senior caps for Canada against Ghana in October 2015 and the U.S. in February 2016
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Froese was born to a Cuban mother and Canadian father. They met in Cuba, where his father was involved in a project bringing solar ovens to Cuba.
His mother returned to Cuba after Froese's father died.
Froese joined the Whitecaps residency in September 2011 after a training stint with FC Edmonton, making the move from his hometown of Brunkild, Man.
He was named the Whitecaps' Most Promising Player for 2015, after a productive year that saw him make his MLS debut, score his first MLS goal and make his senior international debut.
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He left for Germany and the second division club Fortuna Duesseldorf in early 2017. He had the option of staying in Vancouver, but wanted to experience playing in Europe.
In December 2017, he was promoted to the Duesseldorf first team. In July 2019, he switched to FC Saarbruecken before moving to TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which he helped gain promotion to the German second division before leaving in July 2024.
Froese set a record in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for assists by a lower-division club while with Saarbruecken, which was promoted to the German third-tier while he was there.
Froese, who also won promotion to the second tier while playing in Germany, says after the first few years, life in Germany started becoming normal.
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'And now I'm maybe more German than Canadian,' he said with a laugh.
Froese didn't speak any German before arriving. That has changed, especially with a German girlfriend.
She will be joining him 'for a bit' in Winnipeg before she heads to China to study
He wasn't sure about his football future after Germany, saying he was 'looking but passively' for a new club.
'Some things did come up, opportunities, but I decided not to take them,' he said.
Time went by, and he began to think about a return to soccer. He chose Winnipeg over several other offers from Europe.
'I made a decision more for the soul … I wanted to do something different,' he explained. 'Come back home and experience being back here.'
Valour is delighted to land Froese, who will wear No. 80
'This is a big moment for our club,' Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos said in a statement. 'Kianz adds quality and versatility to our group of attackers with a high level of experience. He's a local guy with ties to the community who brings a competitive edge to compete and win for this city.'
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Also Wednesday, Valour announced that midfielder Dante Campbell has been placed on the inactive list with a season-ending knee injury. The CPL club will receive cap relief on the compensation owed to Campbell for the remainder of the year.
Valour (2-6-2) currently stands seventh in the eight-team CPL, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling Vancouver FC.
After a 0-4-1 start to the season, Valour has gone 2-2-1, losing 3-0 at league-leading Atletico Ottawa last time out. Valour has conceded a league-worst 21 goals while scoring only nine, tied for second-worst. Only Pacific FC, with eight goals, has scored fewer.
Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-0-5) on Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium.
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