Red Bulls’ Valot, a former Rider standout, won’t let injury derail career
LAWRENCEVILLE » Florian Valot has had enough chances to walk away from soccer the he’s not going to let a season-ending injury derail what’s now a promising career with the Red Bulls.
After all, he was ready to quit following his senior year at Rider University before the Red Bulls gave him a chance with their USL squad, an opportunity Valot used as a springboard to break into the first team.
“I was kind of tired and I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” Valot said on Friday night. “I’m glad I (stuck) with it and I’m enjoying everything.”
Valot and teammate Tyler Adams were in town for the first of two Red Bulls Nights being hosted by the Rider men’s soccer team. Valot played two seasons for coach Charlie Inverso’s Broncs, scoring 13 goals and assisting on six others in 34 appearances.
Valot broke into the Red Bulls’ first team at the beginning of the season, but suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during training on July 5.
“I’m just sad every time I watch my team play, but the only thing I can do is just work my own way back, be positive and I’ll be fine,” said Valot, a midfielder with three goals and five assists in 14 appearances for the Red Bulls. “It was bad timing, but at the same time it wasn’t the worst because I was playing and I was able to showcase my skills and show everybody what I was capable of doing. In a way, it was good, but of course I wanted to finish the season with the guys.”
A native of Pau, France, Valot spent time in the youth setups at both Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco before jumping across the pond for two years of college ball. He said the U.S. university route is one other players who aren’t ready to be professionals as a teenager can take, but cautioned that it won’t be easy.
“They shouldn’t come here thinking it’s super easy to get into MLS (because) it’s not,” Valot said. “The journey is hard. It’s not like, ‘Oh you’re a European and you’re going to come here and play.’ It doesn’t work like that. Most players in Europe kind of quit school while they are playing in the academy, so that’s another major problem for some of them.”
The 22-year-old had to grind with Red Bulls II, the USL club that plays in the second division, to earn an opportunity with the first team. Valot caught the attention of then-manager Jesse Marsch — Marsch has since left the club and took an assistant job with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and was replaced by Chris Armas — by scoring 10 goals and adding seven assists in 32 games during the 2017 campaign.
“It clicked last year when I started playing really well the second half of the season with the USL,” Valot said. “I knew I was capable of doing good things and I was going to end up somewhere where I was going to play. When they offered me MLS, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to stay because it was only semi-guaranteed and they could have cut me at any time. I had that chance to play (Concacaf) Champions League and since then it’s been a dream.”
Despite his recent injury setback, Valot continues to look forward. He’s not quitting now.
“I just went out there and had fun and was like ‘do what you do,’” Valot said. “Since then I’ve never looked back.”