COMING UP THIS BIG
With the Whitecaps’ midfield in ‘crisis,’ Teibert has been nothing short of super coming off the bench
The flare has gone up, the Bat Signal is shining on the clouds.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have put out the call for help and Russell Teibert has — as always — “caped up” for his Major League Soccer team.
With a midfield suddenly thinner than Manute Bol — coach Carl Robinson called the situation a “crisis” — the Caps will be relying on their pass-happy centre-mid to ride to the rescue by continuing his strong run of recent play.
“I don’t feel like a superhero; I just feel like I’ve been doing the same thing since the season started. Just continue to work hard and whenever I get my chance try to make the most of it,” said Teibert, now in his eighth season with the Whitecaps.
“I love this club through and through. I’m willing to bleed for this club.”
He’s also been willing to endure splinters and fight off the lassitude that comes with being stapled to the pine, sometimes for weeks on end. Before last Saturday’s game against Minnesota, Teibert had a stretch where he’d recorded a DNP in four of seven games and played just 39 minutes as a substitute in the other three.
Despite that, this Saturday’s match against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium (5 p.m., TSN 2, TSN 1410 AM) will see him set a new high-water mark for starts (nine) and minutes over the last three seasons.
Robinson’s meritocratic philosophy when it comes to playing time hasn’t always panned out as Teibert has mostly played second fiddle to the team’s higher-priced options, his $140,000 salary hit far lower than Felipe ($425,000), Aly Ghazal ($575,000) and Efrain Juarez ($525,000).
But the Niagara Falls, Ont., native has been the team’s most accurate passer this season, completing 88.9 per cent of his attempts, and the Caps are 5-1-2 when he starts.
His last MLS start, coming on the heels of two stellar Canadian Championship performances that saw him over 89 per cent in passing accuracy, makes it tough to keep him out — though with injuries to Ghazal and Jordon Mutch and Juarez suspended that wasn’t happening this weekend anyways.
In the 4-2 win over the Loons, the 25-year-old completed 91.3 per cent of his 46 pass attempts, hit on three of four long balls, had six interceptions, two clearances and one key pass.
“He’s been terrific the past two games,” said Robinson. “My challenge for him is to get that level of performance for every game. On Wednesday (against Montreal) he was terrific and on Saturday he stepped up a level again. If he plays like that, he plays every week, I’ve told him.
“Rusty is a connector. He’s a player who likes to get on the ball and make things happen, short or long. He just continues to get better and better and that’s what I want from him.”
The homegrown player, who has been with the organization since joining as a residency player in 2008, has never known another professional club. He doesn’t want to, either, even if it means having to watch other players start over him.
“It’s always tough when you go through spells of not playing,” said Teibert, who re-signed for another three years last December.
“But the easy decision is to find a way out, to give up, but that’s not what I’m about. I made it clear that I only want to play here, I only want to play for this club. I’m not walking away.”
And always quick to pull out a pop-culture reference, he added: “To be honest, I do feel loyalty and I do feel this club has always had my back through thick and thin. It’s only right that I have this club’s back.
“It’s a big word, loyalty. Like (rapper) Kendrick (Lamar) says, loyalty is in your DNA. But it is; it’s something that is in my DNA. And I’ll never lose that with this club.”
Reminded the hip-hop icon also advises one to “sit down … be humble,” Teibert laughed and added: “Yeah, that’s right. You have to humble yourself if the coach doesn’t call your number, if it’s not your day. It’s humility.”
It seems like his story resurfaces every few months each season as he gets called into action, produces as asked, then is returned to substitute purgatory. He’s three seasons removed from a three-year span that saw him make 57 starts. He’s made 24 since the start of 2016 and never more than eight in a season.
While his 5-foot-8, 160pound frame isn’t the prototypical size for a No. 6 or 8, Teibert is constantly in the gym working on his strength, while his buzzing, relentless, honey badger defensive play can be just as disruptive as the 6-foot-2 Ghazal’s lanky legs or the 6-foot Juarez’s bruising tackles.
And he’s unfailingly positive. With the Caps looking at a spate of five games in two weeks, Teibert’s take was he is the perfect solution.
“I’ve had a lot of time on the bench, so if anyone feels fresh, it’s me,” he said with a laugh.