Midfielder Laba is all Vancouver’s now
Promising young Argentine comes from Toronto FC in exchange for future considerations
Adeal between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC for Argentine midfielder Matias Laba morphed from a loan into a trade on Wednesday.
The Caps announced late Wednesday that they’d acquired the young designated player from their Canadian rival for future considerations.
The Province reported on Tuesday that a one-year loan deal had been struck with an option to purchase Laba, 22, after the loan period.
“He’s a tough-tackling, hard-nosed central midfield player,” Caps coach Carl Robinson said after Vancouver topped the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in their pen ultimate pre-season game at the Rose City Invitational.
“He does a lot of his work in areas just in front of the back four, he’s a link between the back four and the forward players, and he’s different to what we’ve got.
“Bringing in a player of his quality in a trade is fantastic to the club. It adds to our already-talented pool of young players. We look forward to having him. I’ve spoken to him and he’s excited to come and we can’t wait to get him integrated into the group.”
Laba will join the Caps in Portland later this week.
Vancouver faces the host Portland Timbers on Saturday (5 p.m., TEAM 1410, whitecapsfc.com) at Providence Park, then opens the MLS season at home to the New York Red Bulls on March 8.
It’s a crowded house in central midfield for the Caps.
Robinson started Nigel Reo-Coker and Russell Teibert together in a 4-23-1 formation on Sunday. Against San Jose, it was Gershon Koffie and Bryce Alderson trying to make an impression — though neither stood out.
Veteran Mehdi Ballouchy is rehabilitating after knee surgery, but he can play anywhere in midfield, too.
“The mentality of the group has been fantastic,” Robinson said to the internal reaction of the Laba news. “I want competition for places. The way we’re going to move this club forward is if we bring in a mentality and a competition all over the park. The strong will come through, and the weak will probably drop out.”
Toronto was forced to shop Laba after signing England international Jermain Defoe and U.S. international Michael Bradley in an off-season splash. Toronto also has Brazilian striker Gilberto on the books as a designated player and the MLS maximum is three DPs.
Miller’s speedy recovery
It was a mind-numbing first half on Wednesday but Kenny Miller managed to get something out of it.
The Caps’ Scottish forward scored and played 45 minutes as he attempts to crack the opening-day lineup after a pre-season on the sidelines.
Miller’s been recovering from a quadriceps injury. He played his first 20 minutes of pre-season in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Jamaica’s Portmore United here, and at this rate could be ready to give the Caps an hour on March 8.
Robinson said a week ago that Miller wouldn’t be ready in time. Smart coaching, perhaps. Miller was back in full practice the next day.
Young and restless
Darren Mattocks scored the Caps’ second goal on Wednesday, from the penalty spot, and it was well worth noting that a brighter second half for the team coincided with a lineup whose average age was 22.
It actually dipped below 22 when Robinson brought on the sultans of speed: Mattocks, Kekuta Manneh and Erik Hurtado. The future’s sure fun to watch. Marco Bustos, a 17-year-old residency playmaker, replaced Miller in the No. 10 role at halftime, and Bustos and the speed burners were a handful every time they picked up the ball, surging forward with speed and ideas.
Who wants to face that in transition? If they work hard defensively, too, they could be a collective nightmare for opponents.
Sam Adekugbe, signed last summer out of the residency program, started on left wing, not in his usual left-back spot, and the 19-year-old set up Miller’s goal with a smart run and pass.
National-team duty
Mattocks and left-back Steven Beitashour have been called up to their respective national teams.
Beitashour, the 27-year-old rightback acquired through a trade with San Jose this off-season, will represent Iran in home games against Kuwait on March 3 and Guinea on March 5. The Kuwait match is qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup.
Beitashour is an American-Iranian who debuted for his parents’ homeland last October. He’s hoping to be part of Iran’s World Cup squad in Brazil this summer.
Mattocks, 23, joins Jamaica for friendlies against Barbados on March 2 and St. Lucia on March 5.
Both players will rejoin the Caps ahead of their MLS season-opener.
Kobayashi gone
Another sign that the Whitecaps are close to signing an experienced attacking midfielder: they traded Daigo Kobayashi’s rights to the New England Revolution on Wednesday. In exchange, the Caps get a fourthround pick in 2016. Kobayashi, 31, had returned to the Caps on trial this pre-season, after the club declined the option on his contract.