By Ottawa Sports Pages, for OSU Force Academy
Jonathan Viscosi is back in Canada, and the Valour FC goalkeeper could not be more excited on the eve of his first Canadian Premier League season, set to kick off on Saturday, April 13.
Now a professional player of over a decade, the 33-year-old Ottawa South United product’s soccer journey is the kind of inspiring tale that can motivate young players who might not be the biggest stars from the beginning.
Viscosi got his start in pro soccer in the rough-and-tumble lower tiers of English professional football, where “fans want to see goals, skill, and blood” as he once described it, regardless of circumstance or quality of the pitches.
“It wasn’t glamorous. I was staying in hostels and training with one club in the day and then going to play for another team at night to get my wage,” recounts Viscosi, who was initially shell-shocked after becoming accustomed to top-notch environments with the NCAA’s Buffalo Bulls and earlier with the OSU Force Academy.
“I had to change my mentality completely and just learn to embrace it and enjoy it,” he explains. “That was an amazing experience actually. I loved it. And in a way, I almost had to experience that journey.”
Viscosi started playing in the bottom semi-pro ranks, but he worked his way up from the eighth tier to the full-time pro fifth tier in England, and later earned higher-level opportunities in Finland and Sweden. Throughout, he gathered lessons on the process of continuously progressing forward.
“It was about refining what needs to be improved, retaining what goes well, and then just kind of continuing that cycle, trying to maximize the rises and minimize the dips,” reflects the member of the 2013 Canadian FISU world student games team. “My career really did go in a gradual way. I’ve never actually played in the same league two seasons in a row. Every single year, I tried to take a step forward.”
One of his favourite memories from his run in Europe from 2014 to 2023 was earning promotion to the top Finnish division with his TPS Turku club.
Played in front of an over-capacity crowd, his team needed a draw in the final game to advance, while their opponents could overtake them with a win.
“That game was unbelievable,” recalls Viscosi, whose team trailed 1-0 until they got the equalizer in the 87th minute and then held on to get the point they needed. “It was so intense, I was so nervous, but I performed well, it was one of my best games that I’ve ever played, and it was just such an incredible feeling to help this club with such a rich history and so much support get back to where they belong.”
That was also the year he met his future wife, who he’s stuck with throughout his soccer path that’s brought him to several other destinations.
After making 59 appearances for TPS and playing against future Champions League participants Malmö, Viscosi joined Sirius in the top Swedish league, following a quick detour to San Antonio.
“Sweden was a league that I set my sights on. I’d seen it on TV and it looked like the Bundesliga. That’s how I dreamt of playing as a professional – that atmosphere in the stadiums with these fans, this intensity, and this culture that’s focused on football,” details Viscosi, who played in five games for Sirius. “I’m very proud of that because it was an incredibly challenging level. I felt like if I can play consistently in the top league in Sweden, then I’d really maximized my capabilities.”
Viscosi spent another two seasons in Sweden with Dalkurd, making 45 appearances, and then went back to Finland with VPS Vasaa last year, which was a “tough season personally” due to injury, but an “incredible” season for the team, which finished with a bronze medal and a berth in the UEFA Conference League.
He felt like that was a good end to his adventures in Europe and the right time to return to home soil.
“It was always my intention to come back and finish my playing career in Canada, to set myself up for my next career and my family life,” states Viscosi. “I left home at 18 and it was always about getting to Europe and living in Europe. I just wanted to familiarize myself with that type of lifestyle, that culture and that mentality. It was always very attractive to me, and I found exactly what I was looking for.
“But what surprised me was actually how much I came to appreciate where I’m from, growing up in Ottawa, and just the culture we have here in Canada. That’s kind of been what was always pulling me back – the community, the people, the relationships.”
Viscosi was in Ottawa for a month this winter and trained with his old goalkeeper coach, OSU’s Dave Bellemare, during that time.
He would have liked to be home longer, but he’d been busy overseas finishing up his psychology masters thesis on the emotion/performance relationship in all levels of competitive sports. Though it wasn’t in the cards with his short stay this time, Viscosi is eager to reconnect with the soccer community and share some of his learnings and experiences in the future.
“Sports psychology has always been my passion. Being a goalkeeper, it was such a big part of the game. I read my first book about it when I was playing under-14 OYSL and I just loved it and I always knew that’s what I wanted to go into,” signals the past Ontario Cup semi-finalist who was part of the early generation of local teams that began to hold their own against Toronto-area rivals.
“What I’d love to do is try to bring some of the sports psychology principles that I’ve worked with to these type of environments, to help the youth levels and hopefully have an effect to help more players go on to play at their full potential at a high, high level.”
Local players permeate CPL
Viscosi has enjoyed watching a rising number of local players emerge as soccer pros. He believes a big reason behind that is an increased spotlight on Ottawa soccer – spurred by regular provincial championships won by the likes of OSU’s U14 boys in 2023, video recording of games and training, and established relationships with recruiters at the next levels of the game.
“I think there was always the talent in Ottawa and there’s always been great coaches – I had so many good coaches growing up, with different backgrounds from Europe who came to Ottawa and were coaching in clubs – so I think it was always there, and it was just a matter of visibility and exposure,” highlights Viscosi, who’s also been impressed to see the continued development of coaches and training centres in the region.
There will be a solid Ottawa flavour within the Canadian Premier League this season.
OSU alum Ronan Kratt, who played last year with York United, is one player who may not be a part of that this season, having joined the reserve team of Bundesliga club SV Werder Bremen on loan.
But OSU products Kris Twardek and Matteo de Brienne are set to make their debuts with Atlético Ottawa, and while Viscosi will be on a rival side with Valour, he still had several Ottawa faces to greet him in Winnipeg, including midfielder Zach Sukunda and a pair of fellow former OSU Force – defender Abdou Samaké and assistant coach Jay Bhindi.
“Obviously the first idea was to look at Ottawa, but the goalkeeper that they have, we kind of have a similar profile – we’re close in age and similar in experience level, so it didn’t seem like a natural fit,” he outlines. “I’m glad it was Valour in the end. From the initial discussions we had, I realized this is almost a project with my name on it.”
Valour FC finished last in 2023 with six wins and eight draws in 28 games, which led to the departure of 16 players in the offseason.
“It’s very similar to some of the clubs that I’ve joined – there’s a foundation, there’s potential, there’s ambition, but they were missing something and it’s up to the new players to try and bring what’s missing,” Viscosi notes. “Those are the things that I find exciting. I love the progression, the steps and the journey up the ladder.”
As a veteran presence, Viscosi wants to apply his experience to perform at his best and help his team be its best this season. There are a few highlights he’s especially looking forward to.
One will be taking on his very good friend and fellow goalkeeper Yann Fillion, who also wore OSU colours at the end of his youth career. Fillion reached out to Viscosi once upon a time for advice on how to get himself started as a pro in Europe, and the 28-year-old has now established himself as one of the CPL’s best keepers with the Halifax Wanderers.
“That’s going to be a fun matchup,” smiles Viscosi. “With our type of relationship, it’s up to me to show who the master is.”
And then of course there will be Viscosi’s homecoming. He’ll be in town for a May 1 contest that’s part of the Canadian championship, followed by a May 5 CPL league game against Atlético Ottawa.
“That’s gonna be a special week. I’m really looking forward to it,” underlines the All Saints Catholic High School grad. “It’s such a great opportunity to play in Canada where my friends and family can actually see me play.
“It’s a chance for them to see why I kind of sacrificed all those years away, and it puts a little bit of positive pressure on me to rise to my top level and show them that it was worth it and this is what I was able to do.”
Learn more about Ottawa South United Soccer and sign up for soccer this summer at OSU.ca.
