Whitecaps slowly adapt to new identity
New coach trying out system that puts a lot of pressure on the backline and goalkeeper
The hoary boxing cliché is that “styles make fights.” It’s an aphorism because it’s true.
Take the Rumble in the Jungle. It was an epic confrontation between Muhammad Ali — an “out-boxer” — and the powerful “slugger” in George Foreman. The erstwhile grill master had relied on power; the former, speed and intelligence. The resulting rope-adope upset between the differing styles has resonated through the ages.
The same principle can be applied to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
On one hand, we have the Carl Robinson-era Major League Soccer team that could be compared to, loosely, a “counter-puncher” such as Evander Holyfield — a big, strong, defensively competent fighter.
The fledgling Marc Dos Santos-era Caps are trying to establish a style akin to a Mike Tyson; small, compact and powerful. A “swarmer” who would probe with a few jabs before getting inside and overwhelming an opponent with a flurry of punches and pressure.
It has been a quick period of adaptation for the players held over to this year’s team, trying to change from a longball quick-strike to a more possession and buildup style, but the Whitecaps feel like they’ve made quick progress in a system that is simple, yet complex.
It’s a new system that puts a lot of pressure on the backline and goalkeeper to be able to distribute the balls under pressure and quickly transition between offence and defence.
“To be honest, I kind of like it,” right back Jake Nerwinski said. “I like that (Dos Santos) has a lot of confidence in us. I like how he wants us to be involved in the attack. He’s helping us a lot with our positional (play), showing video, he’s going over film every day.
“It’s been a lot of help; it’s been a lot to get used to, but once we kind of get it, it seems like it’s not going to be too difficult. The one thing we discussed was that, no matter what happens in a game, or what the other team is doing, we have to stick to our tactics.
“There’s going to be different teams, different (opponents) doing different things, but as long as we stay within our tactics, and what we’re learning to do, we’re going to be fine.”
The two pre-season games against V. Varen and Iwaki FC provided the perfect anvil for the team to forge its new identity. Both Japanese sides were months into their pre-season, and Iwaki’s philosophy — they subscribed to the 90-minutes-of-hell four-man press in the vein of Red Bull Leipzig — put immense pressure on the backline, forcing a sizable amount of errant passes and turnovers.
The goalkeepers, who will be relied on to function as part of that back-third passing web, coughed up some balls as well, but both Zac MacMath and Maxime Crepeau said they left Hawaii feeling more comfortable having to play the ball so much.
“I’m not the one who can do dribbles through strikers four, five times in a row … but I’m comfortable doing the simple passes and the ones that are a little longer and a little more difficult to get on target for a counterattack,” Crepeausaid.
“We have to see (this) as a brand new team. … We’re building from scratch. We did a lot of tactical and video sessions. We know our principles, so we have to stick with them to see the progression and succeed. But in the lower third part of the field, we know what to do. It’s coming.
“You can see it in training; we’re not losing any stupid balls only for one or two exceptions. It was good in Hawaii to see how we reacted to a good opponent. At the end of the day … we did quite well coming out of the back, even if we lost a two or three balls. It was the time to do it, because when it’s time that it counts, we’ll be able to get out of it.”
Where last season you would see goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic bomb kicks deep to one of the tall targets on the team, the Dos Santos’ Caps split their wing backs wide, play short balls to just outside the 18-yard box, and try to transition through their deep No. 6 midfielder.
“I’m comfortable playing with the ball. I’d rather have it than chase it for 90 minutes, to start with,” centreback Doneil Henry said. “It’s a lot easier when you have players in front of you that want to get on the ball and make things happen.
“For the backline, especially in how aggressive we’re playing, in possession we’re pretty tight, and playing the ball pretty well. (In Hawaii) we wanted to get into games and understand the principles, and do it freely. Training is great, but we wanted to put that into a game situation.
“Games present you sometimes with different situations, situations where you’re uncomfortable, it was good to see how we varied and where we still need to go. It worked sometimes, sometimes it didn’t. Credit to the guys for having the balls to really play and do things properly.”
Both pre-season games resulted in losses — 3-1 to Varen and 1-0 to Iwaki — and featured plenty of turnovers by the Whitecaps, but the bones of what they were trying to accomplish were laid.
The level of competition increases this weekend as the Caps head south for the next leg of their pre-season, facing the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday, Liga MX side Club Tijuana on Wednesday and LAFC on Feb. 23. Fans can tune into a livestream of Saturday’s game at whitecapsfc.com.
“All the new ideas that Marc is introducing, not just to the new players, but to a group on the whole, figuring out exactly what (Dos Santos) wants … is going to be a tough battle for us going forward in the next few months, but something we’re all looking forward to,” MacMath said.