WINNIPEG – You will come across two very different versions of Ali Musse, depending on where you find him.

Off the field, the soft spoken 23-year-old Valour FC winger will talk all day about his teammates, coaches or his return to the town he calls ‘home’ – but he isn’t all that comfortable being the star of the conversation. It turns out, he’s just saving that confidence for later.

“I just play and don’t really think about it,” Musse said after a training session at Investors Group Field.

On the field, Musse is a presence. The left-footed Winnipeg native stands out at every training session. How much so? When asked about his play early in training camp, Valour FC head coach Rob Gale beamed and then gave a loud “Ali the Mooooooooose!” It seems a nickname has evolved.

A moose, come to think of it, is a perfect fit. Strong, but calm, the moose is known as a peaceful animal, but aggressive when threatened. Good luck stopping a moose in its tracks when it charges forward. And good luck stopping Ali Musse in his tracks when he has the ball at his feet.

The imaginary ‘on’ switch Musse is able to engage once the game begins? That first caught the eye of Gale at a Canadian youth national team camp.

“I think we said afterwards we need one ball for Ali and one for everybody else,” Gale said, back when Musse was introduced as Valour FC’s newest signing. “I think he scored two, set up two, won a penalty and just had all of the attributes of a young, attacking player.”

Even before the stint with Canada, Musse was a prodigy that had to deal with the high expectations on his shoulders. At 17, he scored 6 goals in 14 games for WSA Winnipeg of the then Premier Development League. Most of Musse’s peers were as much as 6 years older than him.

“That’s just my game,” Musse said. “I’ve always been the type of player to try things, just be myself and be confident.”

Ask anyone who got to see him play before moving out of Manitoba, and they know all about the confident teenager that could take over a game whenever he felt like it.

“He’s had help along the way, but Ali Musse is most successful because of Ali Musse,” said Eduardo Badescu, Musse’s coach with WSA Winnipeg. “He plays the way he does because he truly believes he can beat anyone he goes up against, you can’t teach that.”

The confidence led to Musse being known as a ‘big game’ player when he joined the Calgary Foothills in 2017. He scored 12 times over two seasons, including five game-winners. The two biggest came in the 2018 PDL championship game, when he scored twice in extra time.

“It’s just a feeling I get (in big games) when the team needs a goal, I want to make a difference.”

When Valour FC plays its home opener on May 4th, it may be somewhat awkward for Musse. His family now lives in Edmonton while Musse has flipped between the Alberta capital and Calgary. CPL teams in both cities also inquired about his services for the upcoming season. For Musse, it’s all in the past and he is just happy to be back in Winnipeg.

“It feels good even though I’ve been gone for a while, but it doesn’t really change, people here are amazing and it’s cool to share ‘home’ with my new teammates,” he said. “I just have full trust in Rob and what he’s building out here.”

Like fellow Winnipeggers signed to their hometown team, it was hard to ignore history. When he was first introduced, Musse said he wanted to score Valour FC’s first ever goal.

“Oh yeah for sure, it’s definitely something I have dreamt about.”

So far in training camp Musse looks poised to get that very opportunity. He has been a fixture in the left-wing position along Valour’s forward line. As Gale went from former coach to current coach of the star Manitoban, he sees a player that is still developing, and enters this season with the potential to be more dangerous than ever before.

“Now he’s older and has grown into his body so you see him use that size, drop the shoulder on a guy and keep possession,” said Gale.

Adding that physical element was something Musse saw as a key to making the jump to the pro level. He had the speed, the skill, and the flair but doesn’t want anything to slow him down.

“I had to get bigger and stronger,” Musse said. “I had to pay attention to my body and places that needed extra attention as well so I can prevent injury.”

With all of that in mind, could the May 1st season opener at Pacific FC be a coming out party for ‘Ali the Moose’?

“Yeah, and I am going to take (this) very seriously.”