Caps packed with Canadian content
Roster now includes top-quality options, but that hasn’t always been the case
There was a time when being forced to play Canadians might have been a problem for the Whitecaps.
In the past, Canada Soccer putting in a three-Canadians-must start quota system for all Canadian Championship games, might have strained the quality of the starting XI.
But Caps coach Carl Robinson says the rule doesn’t worry him, since he’s pulling from a squad he regularly expresses confidence in.
“We’re here to win the game, make no doubt about it,” he said Monday after practice.
Russell Teibert is an easy choice to start tonight against the Montreal Impact at B.C. Place. You figure Marcel de Jong will be another. The third? Take your pick of midfielders Marco Bustos or Ben McKendry.
Liberia-born Alphonso Davies has spent most of his life in Canada, but he doesn’t count under the quota, at least not yet: he’s still just a permanent resident.
All four options have been MLS starters this year; but Canadians being viable any-game choices to start the Whitecaps hasn’t always been the case.
When the Whitecaps first joined MLS in 2011, Teibert and Terry Dunfield were the only Canadians who played in the Canadian Championship. Both were regular features in the early MLS lineups, so their selection was hardly a stretch.
The next year, Martin Rennie’s first, is the beginning of a great black hole for Canadians and the Whitecaps. Teibert barely played that year and didn’t play at all in the Canadian Championships.
In 2013, Teibert was back in the overall selection mix and he suited up in all four Canadian Championship matches, but he was the only Canadian to feature under Rennie’s watch.
Carl Robinson’s first season in charge, 2014, was a turning point. The new manager chose to play the kids: in both semifinal legs against Toronto, he picked Teibert as a starter, along with teenage keeper Marco Carducci and midfielder Bryce Alderson. Midfielders Kianz Froese and Marco Bustos both started the opening leg.
In 2015, Robinson backed off the youth movement and doubt came back over the Whitecaps’ commitment to Canadians. Teibert played three of four games, but Kianz Froese appeared only twice and Sam Adekugbe just once.
But last year, the wave of Canadians solidified. Adekugbe was back in the mix and was joined by Fraser Aird and Ben McKendry as three-game players. Davies was involved in four games, as was Teibert. Kianz Froese and Marco Bustos started in the first game against Ottawa.
This year, the three-Canadian rule doesn’t seem an imposition,
especially given that timing dictates Robinson use his depth players anyway. With an MLS game last Saturday (a 2-0 win versus Sporting Kansas City) and another this coming Saturday (D.C. United are in town), Robinson acknowledged the inevitable.
“I’ll rest some guys, there’s no secret there,’’ Robinson said. “Players will get opportunities to play because we’ve got five games (over two weeks).”
Normal third-string keeper Spencer Richey looks set to start. Tim Parker will bring experience to centre back, and will likely be partnered by sophomore Cole Seiler, who did well in limited appearances in his rookie season.
Rookie Jake Nerwinski has appeared four times this season, who hasn’t played since the Snow Bowl in Salt Lake will start at right back. The veteran De Jong will be at left back.
Teibert seems a lock for midfield. So does Matias Laba, who wouldn’t probably be in the mix but for his late yellow card last Saturday, which has him automatically suspended for the D.C. game (it was his fifth yellow on the year). Robinson said after Saturday’s game it was most likely he’d start the Argentine as a result. Again, there’s the question of either Bustos or McKendry starting as the third Canadian.
Nico Mezquida, who’s been used almost exclusively as a sub, looks deserving of a start too. Davies could start on the wing. Mauro Rosales, who’s only played twice as a sub, could be in for time as well. Tony Tchani and Cristian Techera are listed, but given the key roles they’ve been playing it’s hard to see them not being rested for the weekend.
Brek Shea seems the likely starter at striker, though both Kyle Greig and Fredy Montero are listed as eligible.
Robinson also called up six players from the WFC2 development squad, some of whom might see time off the bench: keeper Sean Melvin, defenders Sem de Wit and Deklan Wynne, midfielders Matthew Baldisimo and David Norman Jr. and striker Gloire Amanda.