Klazura brings Fighting spirit
Versatile Notre Dame fullback becomes 28th player on Vancouver roster
In the Vancouver Whitecaps’ brief history with MLS college drafts, their picks from the University of Notre Dame are certainly living up to the Fighting Irish name.
Caps coach Martin Rennie signed fullback Greg Klazura to an undisclosed deal on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old from Rockford, Ill., wasn’t the favourite to nail down a depth spot coming into training camp.
The Caps picked him 21st overall in the supplemental draft, which is the draft that follows the more-hyped Superdraft.
Rennie had used his second SuperDraft pick — coincidentally, 21st overall — on Indiana University fullback Chris Estridge.
But it was Klazura, a pre-med student at Notre Dame, who impressed more consistently over the past month, showing Rennie he can be the type of attacking fullback the coach is looking for to back up Young-pyo Lee on the right or Alain Rochat on the left.
Estridge was released late last week.
“He’s shown really well in training, he’s shown really well in the games that we’ve played, and he’s been responsible for at least two of the goals that we’ve scored, just by his pressure and his defending,” Rennie said of Klazura on the club’s website.
“He seems very eager to learn and willing to put in the work.”
The job of providing cover at rightback last season fell to Jeb Brovsky, another former Fighting Irish graduate.
It was Brovsky’s tenacity and desire in training camp that earned him a spot, and more minutes once Jonny Leathers was injured.
It wasn’t Brovsky’s natural position, though, and the right-back role in general was a big area of concern for Rennie and his staff heading into the offseason.
Rennie signed Lee, the former South Korean World Cup fullback, and the Montreal Impact picked the unprotected Brovsky off the Caps’ roster in the expansion draft.
Brovsky will have a chance to face his former squad Friday as the Canadian sides square off at the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Fla. (5 p.m. PT, streamed on Mlssoccer.com)
A third Fighting Irish defender remains in the mix for the Caps.
Bilal Duckett, a 23-year-old from Peachtree City, Ga., suffered what seemed to be a knockout blow in November when Rennie waived him.
But Duckett, who spent part of his offseason on a soccer evangelism trip to Haiti, speaking at orphanages and schools, was back on trial in January and he’s still hanging around.
“I’m just excited to have an opportunity back here because, in my heart, this is where I really want to be,” he said.
“I love the city, love the fans, and I’m excited about the future of this organization.”
The Caps picked Duckett 37th overall in the 2011 Superdraft, but the lanky defender with a gazelle’s pace at times looked out of his depth in four appearances.
His season ended in frustrating fashion as he came down on defender Greg Janicki’s foot and badly sprained his left ankle.
Rennie, though, has seen improvement and he likes the fact Duckett can play anywhere across the back four.
Klazura makes it 28 players signed to MLS deals. The roster maximum is 30.
Aside from Duckett, other players on trial in Orlando are residency boys Caleb Clarke, Callum Irving and Sean Melvin, while Maltese forward Etienne Barbara is with the team but out with an adductor injury.
Ghanaian centre back Nuru Suley is no longer on trial.
Following the game against Montreal, the Whitecaps will face the Houston Dynamo on Sunday and Sporting Kansas City on Feb. 29 at the Disney Classic.
The Philadelphia Union waived former Whitecaps’ winger Nizar Khalfan on Wednesday. Vancouver had waived the Tanzanian 22-yearold in November after one goal and four assists in nine starts, and he was picked up by the Union.