Small stature, big impact
URUGUAYAN: While Cristian Techera’s signing has been downplayed, 5-foot-2 winger has skills club covets
He may be short, but new Whitecap Cristian Techera’s first few practices have shown he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in MLS
Tiny Cristian Techera shook off one tackle in the box, then a second, and wriggled out of trouble.
And when the ball came back to him a couple of seconds later, he got everyone to bite on a shot fake, took a touch inside on his favoured left foot, and stroked the ball inside the far post.
Sitting in a golf cart on the track at UBC’s Dhillon Field, Whitecaps president Bobby Lenarduzzi had a look that said “We’ve got another gem.”
That was Monday afternoon, Techera’s first practice with his new team after joining them in Salt Lake on Saturday morning.
Granted, he’ll face stiffer defending in MLS than he has through two days of practice. But Techera’s skill set was on full display — speed, slipperiness, feints, finishing, and a toughness on the ball that belies his size — 5-foot-2 and 150 pounds.
“If you play in the Uruguayan league, it doesn’t matter how big you are,” said Caps coach Carl Robinson. “It’s a very physical, strong league. The quality he’s got I think is there for everyone to see.”
Robinson, as he’s done with all his signings, tried to tone down expectations. It’ll take Techera time to settle. He’s got to fight for his place. And so on.
“I’m not going to rush him,” he said.
Techera, though, wanted to play 10 minutes in Salt Lake on Saturday. And that was after he’d travelled almost 15 hours from Montevideo, via Buenos Aires and Dallas.
“I really want to play, but I can’t,” he said Saturday night, through Caps midfielder-turned-interpreter Kianz Froese.
“My goals are to help the team however I can.” Surely, he won’t have to wait long. The league-leading Caps (5-2-1) host D.C. United (3-1-2) on Saturday at B.C. Place (7:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN 1410) and the thoughts of Techera subbing on to stretch a lead, or to turn the tide, are equally appealing.
It seems unlikely that Robinson would start him right away, but an already-deep Caps team just got a little deeper, and more dynamic.
Robinson’s been after a pure winger for some time.
In Techera, he has one with goalscoring ability — nine tallies in 20 games for River Plate Montevideo this past season — and one with a left foot who should help them on set pieces.
And like Techera’s three Uruguayan teammates on the Caps, he comes across as a good sort — a humble family man with a hunger for team success. His thoughts on the Caps’ 1-0 win at Salt Lake on Saturday?
“You can tell the team is united and they’re willing to fight for results,” he said.
Techera, who’ll be 23 in a month, is married with two young daughters.
They’ll join him in Vancouver in a month or so.
His first impressions of the city are that “It’s very beautiful and very different. “It’s a big change for me,” he said. “I’m really excited to experience it all and see how everything turns out.”
The second-oldest of five kids, he grew up in the small town of Quebracho near the Uruguay River, which borders Argentina. Quebracho had 3,000 people and one soccer team.
At 14, he moved 45 minutes south, to Paysandú, where he played with Caps winger Nicolás Mezquida on a regional team.
Later, they’d play against each other in Uruguay’s top league, Techera competing for River Plate, where he spent six seasons.
He came to Robinson’s attention last year but the deal was held up because Toronto also had him on their discovery list, one of those MLS quirks Techera was completely unaware of.
“He was always very fast and a very good technical player,” said Mezquida. “I know he’ll bring a lot to help our team. Maybe we needed a player like him. I hope he shows what he’s all about.”
Techera’s dad, a baker, was the first to give him the nickname El Bicho — The Bug. Techera’s always been the smallest kid on the team. And he’s always found ways to overcome bigger, stronger opponents. “Everybody has virtues,” he said. “And I have good virtues, and I have to take advantage of what I have.”
As he learns English, it’s comforting for him to be among countrymen — Mezquida, Octavio Rivero and Diego Rodriguez. Also comforting to see them succeed in MLS.
It gives him confidence he can do the same.
“The soccer here is a lot nicer and prettier and it suits my qualities as a player,” he said.
Qualities, no doubt, that fans here can’t wait to see.
Everyone loves a little guy.
“I know he’ll bring a lot to help our team. Maybe we needed a player like him. I hope he shows what he’s all about.” — Nicolás Mezquida