Newest Caps seeking redemption
Giro, Sutter hope fresh start in Vancouver will help erase memories of lost season in Orlando
Victor Giro and Scott Sutter know all about paper tigers. Bright-eyed Orlando City SC came into 2018 full of hope and enthusiasm, stocked with a reshaped roster that boasted some top-flight talent.
Apart from a minor stumble at the start of the season — a tie and two losses — the Lions embarked on a sixgame win streak that put them among the best clubs in Major League Soccer. Only Atlanta and New York City FC enjoyed better records.
And then … Shaka, When The Walls Fell.
A six-game losing streak — including a 5-2 setback to Vancouver — cost coach Jason Kreis his job. Interim boss Bobby Murphy and then new hire James O’Connor presided over another three straight defeats, and the team won just two of its final 16 games.
The Lions finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, boasting the league’s worst defensive record — 74 goals conceded and a minus31 goal differential.
The pre-season positivity evaporated, and with that record besmirching his resume, Victor (PC) Giro was a bit surprised when the Whitecaps came a-callin.’
“The team wasn’t good,” said the Brazilian fullback/ midfielder, acquired by Vancouver in December with its natural third-round pick, 59th overall, in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.
“It will be hard for players to find teams because, when you don’t do a good job, it’s hard. So I was surprised for me, but it’s good to be here in Vancouver, it’s a good team, and to work with Marc, Felipe and everyone here,” said Giro, who played several games at left back for Orlando in 2018, and has seen his share of time in the same spot at training this past week.
“My agent started (the process), and then I talked with Marc (new manager Dos Santos), and explained everything that happened in Orlando. Marc believed me, and believed my work, and agreed to bring me to Vancouver.
“Nobody can explain what happened (in Orlando). We had a lot of good players. It just didn’t work, and I don’t know why. If you put it on paper, it’s a good team.”
He was followed to UBC this week by former teammate Scott Sutter, a 32-yearold right back who was one of the few bright spots for Orlando last season. A smart, ball-playing defender and fan favourite who was only carded once in two years with the Lions, his only question mark was durability. He missed 10 games with a knee injury, then missed another four contests with lingering issues after returning too quickly.
The longtime Swiss Super League regular was also baffled by Orlando’s inability to defend — or win — but the move to Vancouver was a welcome one.
“There were a lot of high hopes. We had a good off-season,” said the London-born Sutter, who has friends in nearby Victoria.
“We started the season well, and then after we had a lot of injuries … We went on kind of a record-breaking losing streak. … You can’t really put your finger on what was the problem. It was one of those things where you could win six in a row, then lose five, six in a row, and then you lose that belief and confidence.
“Everything goes against you. And it happened many times last season, which was just tough to take, but that’s just the way it is. When I first learned that Vancouver was interested, it was one of ‘the’ places in the MLS that I would have loved to have gone to.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about not just the city, but the club, and also Marc, as well. I know a couple players who have played under him before and they all rave about him.”
The Lions, who went through about 20 different back-line combinations, gave up goals in just about every way last year, from bad turnovers to bad goalkeeping to bad defending. It was a refrain similar to the one heard in Vancouver, where the team surrendered a team-record 67 goals — second only to Orlando and San Jose, the two last-place teams in their respective conferences.
The acquisition of Sutter bolsters one area the Caps were already stable in, as Jake Nerwinski settled down after a erratic start to become a competent incumbent starter over Sean Franklin.
But with the condensed schedule the Caps will play this year, plus the Canadian Championship games, and the fitness demands an aggressive 4-3-3 formation puts on players over the duration of a season, Dos Santos needed to make sure he had depth.
“We believe a lot in Jake,” Dos Santos said. “And even before we brought Scott in, I had a conversation with Jake that I’ve been very, very happy with him.
“Actually I had, maybe being on another bench last season, my vision of Jake was very superficial. I had an opinion, like I had of every player, but now working with Jake for these days, I realize there’s a lot of potential. He could even become a better player.
“So with that being said, we needed somebody, in such a long season, with the more condensed schedule, the Canadian Championship. We need players to back up every position. Scott has an incredible experience, not only in MLS but in Switzerland also. He’s a player who’s coming here to try to fight and get minutes and get the spot and everybody understands that.”
The Whitecaps, like the 2018 Lions, are steaming into the season full of enthusiasm and confidence. The players brought in — Friday’s announcement of Tunisian centre back Jasser Khmiri makes it 11 — also fit the Dos Santos playing style and philosophy.
They’re also all very young. The team’s average age is one of the lowest in its MLS history.
“On one side it’s nice, on the other side, it’s heartbreaking. I used to be one of the youngest ones,” said a smiling Sutter.
“When there was first interest expressed, I looked at the team and saw how young it was, and how much turnover there has been. There’s been a lot of new players coming in, myself included, and now I think I might actually be the oldest one here,” added the Swiss-English national, who played close to 350 games in the Swiss Super League, UEFA Champions League and Europa League with Berner SC Young Boys, Grasshopper Club Zürich and FC Zürich.
“But it’s a challenge that I really look forward to. I love working with younger, eager players and help them improve any way I can.”