COSTA RICAN CONTINUES TO CREATE CHANCES FOR CAPS
Bolaños happy to play whatever position coach Robinson needs him to
Christian Bolaños could have been at the Gold Cup.
Instead, he’ll lead the Whitecaps’ revived attack in Los Angeles tonight.
“That means something good about me,” he said with a chuckle over the phone, after the Caps landed in Los Angeles.
“I don’t have any stress about this. I have to fight for my club.”
Bolaños’ year started slowly, hampered by a knee problem. He missed all of the Major League Soccer pre-season and the season opener against Toronto. He worked his way back to form with a pair of substitute appearances, then made his first start April 2 against none other than the L.A. Galaxy.
He labelled the start of the year “a difficult time.”
Given how important he’s proven to be to the team’s offence this season, it’s probably no surprise the Caps won a thriller 4-2 that night on April 2.
Thriller isn’t a word we’ve used often with the Whitecaps this season, who have slowly built up a tight, workmanlike approach to the game.
Now that their injury bay is finally emptying, Bolaños sees bigger things to come.
Fredy Montero as the regular striker, the tendencies of Tony Tchani and Andrew Jacobson in central midfield, the new presence of Yordy Reyna plus the set-piece size offered by Kendall Waston, Tim Parker and Brek Shea — it’s all clicking into place for Bolaños.
“Everyone has a different style, everyone has different qualities,” he said. “I think we fit more.
“I understand the way they want to play, for me it’s very good to have this (depth). Everybody has more confidence. I think this year, we’ve prepared for every game better. That’s why we’ve had such good games against big teams.”
The team’s struggle with injury — Bolaños also spent time on the shelf in June, Reyna has only just been cleared to play, Bernie Ibini
had a hamstring problem when he signed in May and didn’t play for a month, Nico Mezquida was on the shelf with a bad ankle sprain — also meant the fight for places wasn’t really a thing.
Of course that also meant Bolaños was in the lineup week in, week out, but the winger again laughed about whether that was better than having a few rivals to brush off for playing time.
“It depends, but in my mind I just do my best, work hard every training, if I get the chance I try to do my best,” he said. “Football is easy, you don’t have to think too much about what is going on around you.
“It’s always important to have competition,” he added. “You always have to do your best. This year we have great players. Everyone is going to fight for his place.”
And now that he’s in his wise 30s, he’s also happy to try new positions. He’s been a winger most of his life, but has seen time this year as a playmaker, behind Montero, and he’s even had spells in central midfield.
Again, he’s just happy to play. “I said to (Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson) I would do everything to create more chances, wherever I am.”
Just like his Costa Rica future. He may be missing out on the Gold Cup, but there’s still three big World Cup qualifiers to play this fall. He knows there’s still plenty to come.
“I have a good relationship with the coach, they know me, I know them.”
THROW-INS: Backup keeper Paolo Tornaghi and the Whitecaps parted company Tuesday. The team said the 29-year-old stopper was off to pursue an opportunity in Italy and he’d been given his release.