When Steven Vitoria signed with Benfica in the summer of 2013, he called it the most important and the happiest day of his life.
But despite all of those positive vibes, the center back failed to log any significant time with the Portugal powerhouse, leading to his one-year loan to the Philadelphia Union this week.
And with the new destination comes a chance now to get his career back on track.
“I wish I had the answer for you,” Vitoria said in a conference call with reporters when asked about his lack of playing time over the past year-and-a-half. “Benfica is a very big club in Europe. It was a good experience being a part of it, and I learned a lot. It was a coach’s decision, and I didn’t get that many minutes. It’s all part of it, and you have to be prepared for that. It comes with the job.”
Jim Curtin certainly didn’t fault the center back for failing to crack the Benfica lineup, saying “it’s no slight on him” because there were “multi-million dollar players” in front of him, referring to Luisão and Ezequel Garay.
And the Union head coach immediately dropped Vitoria into the starting lineup for his first preseason game Tuesday, partnering him with Ethan White at center back with Maurice Edu playing as a defensive midfielder.
Earlier in the offseason, Curtin said he preferred Edu as a center back, but it looks like he’s now prepared to hand the keys to the backline to the team’s newest acquisition while playing Edu in the midfield.
“It’s a work in progress, but I would say [Vitoria] and Ethan looked good together with Mo playing in front of him,” the Union coach said. “We had a lot of the ball. We were organized. … I like the communication [Vitoria] brought. Guys seemed to play well around him.”
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Whoever he partners with on the backline, Vitoria is eager to get started in MLS, a league he knows a fair bit about having grown up in Canada. But the league is also much different than what he remembers when he moved to Portugal to begin his professional career nearly a decade ago.
“It’s a very attractive league that’s getting more competitive, you can tell,” Vitoria said. “I’m very happy to be here and part of the Union. It’s a very successful league, and it’s going to keep growing and growing.”
And the 6-foot-5 Canadian hopes to grow along with it and lead the Union, just as he led the Portuguese side Estoril from 2010 to 2013 before moving to Benfica.
“The project that they presented me was very attractive,” Vitoria said. “It didn’t take much [to come here]. It’s a winning project, and I’m very happy and excited to be a part of that.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
