When Frankie Facchineri signed his first professional contract as a 17-year-old centre back with the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer, he received a text from a respected mentor. “The work starts now”, it read.

At the time, he says, naive to both the business and inner workings of professional football he didn’t really understand what it meant. But he quickly found out that nothing in professional soccer is linear, and just because you get a foot in the door does not mean it will open for you.

After being let go by the Whitecaps after two seasons, and no first-team appearances, Facchineri returned to his hometown of Windsor, Ont., where he had to fight for another shot at the pro game. Through a season with the University of Windsor and Windsor City FC in League1 Ontario, it wasn’t always clear when or where that next chance would come.

That changed on Dec. 14, 2023, when Facchineri heard his name called by Canadian Premier League commissioner Mark Noonan as the ninth overall pick to Valour FC in the 2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft. This was the second chance that Facchineri had been looking for, and now he was armed with an understanding of what it takes to make this one count.

“It meant the world,” Facchineri told CanPL.ca. “It just meant another opportunity back in the pro game. Before that, I had kind of had a year-and-half to two years out of the [pro] game that I was dying for an opportunity to get back in.

“I was incredibly, incredibly excited and incredibly thankful when my name came up.”

It was a name that was not unfamiliar to the Canadian soccer community. As a teenager, Facchineri captained the Canadian U-17 national team, scoring the winning goal in a penalty shootout which qualified them for the 2019 U-17 World Cup. That, plus the Whitecaps signing him at such a young age made him one of the top prospects in the country.

Two years later, however, with no games played for the senior team and a few brief loan appearances with the CPL’s Atlético Ottawa and USL club San Diego Loyal, his contract was bought out.

“It was incredibly humbling,” said Facchineri. “It taught me quite a bit of introspection, and I had to learn how to look within myself and recognize what was necessary and what I had to do to get back into the pro game.”

It’s safe to say Facchineri is making the most of his second opportunity. In his debut CPL season, he appeared in 26 of 28 matches for Valour, finishing fifth in the league in clearances, with 92, and tied for fifth in blocks with 18.

Helping Facchineri was the fact that he didn’t walk into a completely unfamiliar situation. Facchineri had played in the league before, making his professional debut as a 18-year-old with Atlético Ottawa back in 2020 at the Canadian Premier League’s Island Games. He had also previously worked with Valour head coach Phil Dos Santos, who was an assistant coach with the Whitecaps when Facchineri broke through to the first team. That previous connection was a big reason why Valour took a chance on him.

Dos Santos, who remembers all the hype surrounding the young centre back in his Whitecaps days, discovered a player who had learned from those past experiences. Facchineri had put in the work both physically and mentally in his time away to ensure he was as prepared as possible for the ups and downs of the professional game.

“Some games you’re not going to play well, some games you’re going to play great, sometimes you’re not going to be in the squad selection,” said Facchineri. “So it’s not as cut and dry as things are at university, and the work that you put in at university, it needs to be doubled.”

A perfect example of this came on July 21 when Valour travelled to TD Place to take on then top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa. Facchineri and Valour were coming off a 3-1 loss to Halifax, a match in which the club had given away three penalty kicks, which he called collectively the club’s worst performance of the season. “That was a game this season that I’ve watched back 17 times, just didn’t think I did as well as I could have,” he said.

But an exhausted Valour team dug deep just three days, and one heavily delayed flight, later to grind out an impressive 2-2 draw in Ottawa. Facchineri scored his first professional goal on a header in the 67th minute.  That match was a turning point in Valour’s season. They lost just four games during their final 14 matches, and were still fighting for a playoff spot on the final day of the campaign.

When asked what advice he would give players selected in the 2025 edition of the CPL – U SPORTS, it all comes back to putting their heads down and doing the work necessary to fight for a spot on the team.

“Getting drafted is the beginning, the work starts the second you put your foot in the door, the second you get picked up at the airport, that’s when the work starts,” said Facchineri.

And from there, it doesn’t stop. Perhaps even more difficult than winning a spot on a pro club is the work it takes to keep it. But having opened the door to the professional game once again, Facchineri has no plans to leave anytime soon.

“I’m very fortunate that Valour gave me this opportunity, I’m very, very fortunate to be where I am now, and I’ll tell you for sure I’m not going to squander this opportunity.”