THUNDER BAY – Players like Tyler Attardo don’t come along very often.
It didn’t take Tony Colistro much convincing to snap him up earlier this spring, after FC Manitoba, the only other Canadian team in USL 2, left the league.
The Winnipeg-born striker scored five times for FC Manitoba in 2023, and later was named an OUA West first-team all-star playing for the York Lions.
He’s hoping to bring more of the same to Chapples Field this summer, for a Chill team that struggled to find the back of the net at times last summer.
“It’s exciting for sure,” Attardo said on Monday night, the Chill opening training camp at the home of the St. Ignatius Falcons.
“To be honest, after FC Manitoba got cancelled out this year, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Tony reached out and I was excited by the opportunity. How can’t you be? This team, just look what they did last season. They’ve been around a long time, consistent.”
The 21-year-old said scoring goals isn’t the only skill he brings to the Chill organization, though admitted it’s a large part of why he was brought on board.
“Hopefully more,” he said. “Obviously that’s my job as a striker, to put the ball in the back of the net. But I also like to think I bring some experience, some leadership to the squad. I’m looking to really help some of the younger guys and try to guide them up.”
As is the nature of the USL 2, Attardo is joining a revamped Thunder Bay Chill squad that is bringing plenty of new faces to the pitch.
Cameroon left back MacDonald Niba, Canadian midfielder Mamadou Ba, Brazilian left back Tulio Melo, Swiss midfielder Philipp Jauch, Canadian right winger Diego Reveco, American keeper Joshua Moya, Canadian defender Felix N’Sa, Italian midfielder Nicolo Lanari, Canadian midfielder Karim Bachir Bey, French midfielder Jules Peycelon, English attacker Sam Jordan and Spanish right back Jordi Navio Sanchez are a dozen of the other newcomers in camp.
Colistro said he was looking to build a deeper defensive squad, one that’s more aggressive than last year’s Chill team that made the USL 2 playoffs, but were bounced by Des Moines in the opening round.
“They’re taller, stronger, more aggressive players, and we’re a little bit deeper on the back end. But as well, we brought in some strikers, No. 9s, attackers who can score goals,” Colistro said. “We did a good job last year of keeping possession, but we struggled to find goals at the beginning of the season.
“We tried to really focus our recruiting on making sure we were deep in those areas.”
Another change in 2024 is the number of friendlies the Chill plan to play ahead of their May 31 home opener against Bavarian United.
“That’s the first time ever,” Colistro said. “We always wanted probably three, but this year it kind of worked out that we’re getting the five. I think that’s really going to help us establish what we want against Bavarian.”
Attardo said the Chill will use the preseason to get into game shape, but more importantly, get the players used to playing with each other and familiarize themselves with each other’s games, before the points start counting in the Deep North Division standings.
“When you have a bunch of guys coming in new together, they kind of take the experience together and it really helps to mold the team,” said Attardo, whose resume includes a residency academy stint with Chievo in Italy and another with Chile’s Rangers de Talca.
The Chill will host the Winnipeg Lions in friendlies on May 18 at 7 p.m. and May 19 at 1 p.m. They’ll take on the Thunder Bay All-Stars on May 22 at 7 p.m. and welcome Winnipeg Hellas SC to Chapples Field on May 25 and May 26.
