Whitecaps seeking win vs. visiting New England
Vancouver in midst of 4-game winless streak entering today’s home game
VANCOUVER — While Marcel de Jong has Canadian roots, his experience with hockey involved grass and a ball.
The Vancouver Whitecaps’ left back was born in Newmarket, Ont., but at the age of four his family returned to their native Netherlands.
“In Holland we grew up with soccer and field hockey,” de Jong said after a Whitecaps’ practice this week. “That (field hockey) is a big sport in Holland.”
De Jong’s focus will be on soccer today when the Whitecaps (4-5-4) look to end a four-game winless stretch as they host the New England Revolution (5-4-2) in a Major League Soccer match at BC Place Stadium.
The Whitecaps have just one win in their last eight games (1-4-3) and have needed second-half goals in their last three matches to salvage 2-2 draws.
Last week against FC Dallas, striker Kei Kamara scored the equalizer in the 100th minute — tying an MLS record for the latest goal in a match.
A pessimist would argue the Whitecaps are trending in the wrong direction. De Jong prefers the optimist’s view as Vancouver continues to collect points.
“We should have won at least two of those games,” said the 31-year-old who has started nine of Vancouver’s 13 games this year. “We showed we can come back from behind and work hard until the last minute.
“We’re a team that never gives up. I think it shows character.”
The New England game will also be the last match for Whitecaps’ captain Kendall Waston before he joins the Costa Rican national team for the FIFA World Cup. Waston will miss at least three MLS games.
De Jong began playing soccer in Holland when he was five and signed his first professional contract with Helmond Sport in 2004. He re-established his connection with the Maple Leaf when his mother contacted the Canadian Soccer Association to tell them her Canadian-born son was playing for the Dutch Club PSV Eindhoven’s academy. The CSA scouted him and asked the 16-year-old de Jong to join the Canadian U-17 team in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“I didn’t speak a word of English,” said de Jong. “I flew all by myself the first time. It was a weird experience . . . . “I never regretted it.” Since then, de Jong has earned more than 40 senior international caps for Canada. He’s also made over 250 appearances for club teams in Germany and the Netherlands, plus played 13 games with Sporting Kansas City of MLS before joining the Whitecaps in July 2016.
Last year, de Jong made 13 appearances and by the end of the season he had worked his way into the starting 11. The departure of veteran Jordan Harvey to join Los Angeles Football Club solidified de Jong’s place on the back line.
Harvey played seven years in Vancouver. He was a fan favourite and leads the franchise in minutes played and games started.
Head coach Carl Robinson is pleased with de Jong’s performance but believes the defender still has more to give.
“What I need him to do a little bit more is believe in himself,” said Robinson. “I still want that five per cent from him which makes him a top left back in this league.”