Vanessa Gilles & fellow Louis-Riel grad Jonathan David earn 2024 Canadian soccer player of the year awards
By Dan Plouffe
Head coach Joé Fournier couldn’t have asked for a better early Christmas gift for his Louis-Riel high school soccer program than what he received on Dec. 20, when its two most famous alumni were chosen as Canada Soccer’s players of the year.
Vanessa Gilles was named the top Canadian women’s player of 2024 and Jonathan David was tops for the men, as voted by Canadian coaches and sports media based on their performances for Team Canada and their respective professional French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and LOSC Lille.
“It’s mind-blowing – I don’t know what else to say,” Fournier told the Ottawa Sports Pages in between his last training of the year with Louis-Riel’s soccer academy and evening session for university/pro players returning home during the holidays.
“When I heard the news, I was excited. It gave me goosebumps, to be honest,” Fournier recounted. “I was on the field, and one of my friends sent me a text, and he’s like, ‘Imagine these two were actually here in the dome a few years ago, in a small program in Ottawa, and now both are national team players of the year.’”
Fournier was doubly excited when Canada Soccer highlighted the players’ association with Louis-Riel in its announcement and tagged Louis-Riel soccer on social media. Gilles and David played for different clubs locally – Gilles with FC Capital United (now Ottawa TFC) and David with the Gloucester Dragons/Hornets and Ottawa Internationals – but Louis-Riel was the common connection.
“The fact that Canada Soccer recognized the work that everyone involved in the program has been doing in the past few years was a big sign of respect that we felt from our national association,” Fournier signalled. “It was surreal.”
A French league champ with Lyon, Gilles anchored the Canadian women’s national team’s defence in 2024, and rose as a key offensive weapon too, scoring four goals in 14 appearances (all starts), including a pair of mammoth markers at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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“I’m incredibly honoured,” 28-year-old Gilles said in Canada Soccer’s announcement. “It’s been a heck of a year filled with many highs and lows, but getting to represent this country has always been one of my greatest joys. As we move forward in a new cycle, I’m incredibly excited for what the future holds for this team.
“Thank you to my teammates, friends, and staff who helped us all get through such an interesting year!”
At the Olympics, Gilles scored the deciding goal in a must-win game for Team Canada against host France, and then delivered an unforgettable post-game interview on CBC.
In the face of their staff’s betrayal, a disheartened fanbase and a six-point penalty, Gilles reminded Canada of the players who were impacted most by the drone scandal that engulfed the program, and rallied the nation with her emotional, passionate and heartfelt words.
Read More: OATO Day 2: Vanessa Gilles saves the day for Canada in a must-win soccer match against France
“It was a time for everyone in the country – I mean, everyone on the planet, but especially everyone in the country – to see the real mindset that Vanessa’s had over her career,” reflected Fournier.
“A lot of people don’t know her story and how hard she had to work to get where she’s at, how much of an amazing athlete, and even more importantly, an amazing person, she is. For me, that was the best way for people to understand the type of person she is.”
One heroic game winner at the Olympics was not enough for Gilles, who reprised her role in the next match when she hammered home a header to break a scoreless tie against Colombia. Canada advanced to the playoff round against all odds before falling to Germany in penalty-kicks in the quarter-finals.
A former provincial tennis player, Gilles first took up soccer at age 15 at Louis-Riel. Although she had some catching up to do on soccer tactics and technical skills, Gilles’s work ethic was always evident, Fournier indicated.
To see Gilles step up and provide leadership at the most pivotal time “wasn’t a surprise for me,” Fournier added. “The way she acted and the way she reacted – that’s how I remember Vanessa from the start.”
A key performer in Canada’s debut run to the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa América, David retook the lead as the Canadian men’s national team’s all-time leading scorer with his fifth goal of the year and 31st of his career.
David was also Ligue 1’s top scorer and hit a milestone 100 goals for Lille before the year was complete.
Read More: HIGH ACHIEVERS: Jonathan David reaches century-goal mark, ranks 2nd all-time for Lille
“I’m truly honoured to be named Canada Soccer’s Men’s Player of the Year,” David said in the Canada Soccer announcement. “Representing this country is a privilege, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.
“With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, I’m excited for what’s ahead. Thank you to my teammates, coaches, and everyone who has supported me on this journey.”
Big year for LR soccer at home too
With city titles for each of the school’s girls’, junior boys’ and senior boys’ teams, 2024 had already been a big year for Louis-Riel soccer, and Fournier is looking forward to a big 2025 as well.
The Rebelles boys’ soccer teams repeated their feat from 2022 when they won both the junior and senior city titles in the fall. The senior teams have a little added prestige since they get to compete at the OFSAA provincial championships, but Fournier noted that the junior title is perhaps the more difficult one to win since there is no division of schools of different sizes.
“I told them if you’re not the best junior team we’ve ever had, you’re definitely one of the most dominant teams I’ve ever seen,” signalled Fournier, whose junior squad went 10-0 and outscored opponents by a combined 64-6 margin this season.
The Rebelles senior boys were also unbeaten with a tie and seven wins in the fall. After losing to Paul-Desmarais in last season’s city final, Louis-Riel topped the same squad 3-0 to win the 2024 crown.
“We have a big group of Grade 11s that were on the team last year, and now they’re in Grade 12,” Fournier noted. “I think the city final from last year did leave a bitter taste, but I think the one that hurt the most was that they lost to the eventual provincial champions in penalty kicks (in the OFSAA quarter-finals). They wanted to have another shot.”
With neighbouring Gisèle-Lalonde set to host the OFSAA ‘AA’ Boys’ Soccer Championships from June 5-7 in Orleans, the Rebelles will get the chance to chase a provincial title at home come late spring.
“It’ll be nice for the boys to experience that,” Fournier said. “We experienced it with the girls in 2009 when OFSAA was also in Ottawa, and the girls ended up winning that. So hopefully history can repeat itself again, but there’s still a lot of work to be put in before that happens.”
