Better late than never for Whitecaps in acquiring Kamara

VANCOUVER — Kei Kamara turned up at the Columbus Crew’s practice facility in May 2016 convinced he was set to join the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Social media was buzzing with rumours the striker would be moved following an on-field spat and subsequent public comments directed at a teammate.

Kamara was right to believe a deal was in place, he just had the team wrong.

“I went into training thinking, ‘I just got traded to Vancouver,”’ Kamara recalled Monday. “They told me I was going to New England. I was like, ‘Oh, I thought it was going to be Vancouver from all the Twitter stuff.”

After that false alarm, Kamara finally became a member of the Whitecaps some 19 months later when the Major League Soccer club acquired him from New England for a pair of draft picks Sunday.

“I actually felt like (the 2016 trade) was closer than what just happened,” the 33-year-old said on a conference call Monday from his native Sierra Leone. “It’s a bit of a surprise.”

In snagging Kamara, Vancouver now has a powerful centre forward.

Kamara should fit into coach Carl Robinson’s setup that relies heavily on crosses and set pieces.

With 98 goals in 286 appearances over 11 MLS seasons, the Whitecaps will be the 6-foot-3 Kamara’s seventh stop in North America after also playing for Norwich City and Middlesbrough in England.

“It’s all about feeding the striker,” said Kamara, who has added five goals in 12 playoff games. “I want that pressure on me.”

The Whitecaps will be looking to build on a 2018 season that saw them reach the Western Conference semifinal before bowing out to the Seattle Sounders in a two-game aggregate series where Vancouver registered just one tepid shot on target.

Kamara had a career-high 22 goals for Columbus in 2015 to help the Crew reach the MLS Cup final, and has scored a dozen times each of the last two seasons.

Tenth all-time on the MLS goal list, Kamara also isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Apart from the run-in with Federico Higuain that led to his Columbus exit, he made it known this past season the Revolution weren’t the right fit for his skill set.

That fiery personality is something Vancouver can probably use, with Kamara’s demeanour more akin to that of Robinson — a nononsense midfielder during his playing days — than most of the current roster.

“He’s aggressive, he has the courage of his convictions,” said Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi. “Having someone like him who is prepared to be vocal is something we haven’t had.”

Active on social media with more than 60,000 Twitter followers, Kamara said that approach is about getting the most out of himself and the team.

“When I’m screaming at you, it’s not because I don’t like you,” he said. “It’s because I want all of us to be better.”

With both Kamara and recently acquired striker Anthony Blondell the two primary options up top for the Whitecaps, it seems like the door is closing on the potential return of Fredy Montero.

The Colombian scored 13 times last season while on loan from his Chinese club, but made US$1.8 million as a designated player.

Kamara was on the books for $800,000 in New England.

“We’re keeping all the doors open,” said Lenarduzzi. “It needs to be established what the Chinese club is looking to do, and what Fredy is looking to do.”

Whitecaps’ Davies named Canada’s player of the year

TORONTO — Alphonso Davies and Jordyn Huitema, who both made a splash after debuting for Canada in 2017, have been named Canadian U-17 soccer players of the year.

Davies, born in Ghana and raised in Edmonton, had a breakthrough year that saw him make his senior national team debut and win both the Golden Boot and Best Young Player awards with three goals in four matches at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Davies, who turned 17 on Nov. 2, also played in 26 games for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“It was a breakout year for Davies as the CONCACAF Gold Cup gave him the stage to showcase the range of his talents,” Canadian men’s coach Octavio Zambrano said in a statement. “He is a force with which to be reckoned as he is strong, he is fast, and he doesn’t flinch in front of goal.

“He is a player with all the tools and he has a good head on his shoulders.”

Davies also won the award last year.

Huitema, a native of Chilliwack, made her international debut at 15 at the Algarve Women’s Cup in March and became Canada’s second-youngest goal-scorer just a month after her 16th birthday when she scored a pair in a 6-0 home win over Costa Rica in June.

“To score two goals in front of over 20,000 fans after just turning 16 is something that every kid dreams to do,” said Canada women’s coach John Herdman. “She made her dreams come true in 2017. To score at every age group is a unique achievement for a unique player. She has an exciting future, but it is underpinned by an intense work ethic and that makes this young player special.”

Huitema, who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls REX, became the third-youngest player in women’s national team program history. She won seven senior caps in 2017.

Huitema also scored for the under-17 and under-20 teams in July, making her the first Canadian to score at three different international age groups in the same calendar year.