CENTRE OF ATTENTION
SOCCER: Kendall Waston will be the man in the middle for the Whitecaps this season.
Among many other things, a soccer centre back needs to be fearless.
It takes a brave man to throw his unprotected body directly in the path of a rocket shot off the foot of a dangerous striker. And it takes courage to go up for a header in traffic when you’re just as likely to make contact with an opponent’s noggin as with the ball.
Size, strength, a hard head and the ability to quickly shake off the sting of ball to the thigh, the mid- section or, heaven forbid, the family jewels, is crucial.
Kendall Waston, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ towering Costa Rican, has all of those attributes. He also has a mouthful of metal (braces) that might invoke the fear of retaliation in Luis Suarez if Waston wasn’t so darn pleasant. With his 100watt smile and friendly countenance, he is the antithesis of Jaws, the steel-toothed, sevenfoot villain of two early James Bond films.
However, while Waston is fearless on the field, the sixfoot-five, 220-pounder does have an off-field phobia. The big man is afraid of heights.
So, a zip-line adventure on an off-season holiday in Mexico with his wife took some convincing. A 1,200-metre ride at 90 kilometres an hour over the Mayan jungle? Gulp.
“I’m scared of heights, but we went with four couples, so I couldn’t stay back,” he said, laughing at the memory. “And my wife, she is scared too, so I had to play, um, brave.”
He also swam in underground caves and went dolphin watching. And, of course, back in Costa Rica, where he spent most of December and the early part of January, he had to answer questions about that infamous playoff-game handball.
Waston was controversially whistled for what looked like an inadvertent handball in the box late in the Caps’ elimination-round game in Texas against FC Dallas. The penalty was converted and Vancouver lost 1-0.
“Oh yes, a few people asked me. But things happen. Hopefully, this year everything can be the opposite side.”
Waston, 27, joined the club in August and was a key back line presence as the club went 5-2-2 in his nine regular-season starts.
Now he’s one of just two centre back holdovers as head coach Carl Robinson, who has sought continuity just about everywhere else on the roster, has overhauled the middle of the back line going into the 2015 season.
Veterans Jay DeMerit and Andy O’Brien, both 33, were the starters in 2014 with Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron and third overall draft pick Christian Dean providing support. DeMerit retired in mid-season after sustaining a torn ankle ligament, O’Brien and the Caps couldn’t come to a contract agreement for 2015, Mitchell was released and Leveron is back in Honduras waiting to be traded.
Young Uruguayan Diego Rodriguez, acquired on loan, is the front-runner to line up to the left of Waston, but Dean and veteran signing Pa Modou Kah, a 34-year-old who spent the past two seasons in Portland, will also be in the mix, with 2015 first-round draft pick Tim Parker providing depth.
Waston developed quick chemistry with O’Brien in September. And with a full training camp and a half-dozen pre-season games, he doesn’t anticipate any problems creating a strong pairing with one of the newcomers.
“It’s always good to start from the beginning,” said Waston after a training session this week at UBC. “Since Day 1, everybody is working hard because this season we really want to make history at this club (by hosting a home playoff game).
“The competition is good for everybody. Pa is an awesome guy. He likes to make a lot of jokes, but when we have to work, he is a very professional guy.”
Veteran fullback Jordan Harvey says Waston obviously adapted to the MLS style of play very quickly last season.
“But I think it’ll help him having that part of a year in Vancouver, to have got his family settled. They’ll be here all season, whereas last season, there were a lot of visa issues to work through. He’ll be more comfortable, more comfortable with the guys.”
Harvey said the happy-golucky Waston and the gregarious Kah are cut from the same cloth.
“(Kah) got into the lockerroom and I feel like I’ve known him for years, just his personality, charismatic. I mean he was the one who was dumping water on me at the end there (it was Harvey’s 31st birthday Wednesday). He’s fitting right in.”
Dean, who struggled mentally with his limited role last season — he played 121 minutes of MLS action — has returned with a more positive outlook, forged in part because of eyeopening training stints with Rangers in Scotland and Liverpool of the English Premier League. He was also buoyed by his first call-up this month to the U.S. national team.
Dean saw what an all-consuming job soccer was in the U.K. and has a better grasp of what it takes to succeed, from work ethic to proper nutrition to mental commitment.
While the past week has been almost Arizona-like at UBC — sunshine and near-record temperatures for January — the Caps are still headed to Tuscon for 10 days of training and preseason games against New England, San Jose and Houston.
They then return home for a week before heading to Portland for another three-game pre-season tournament.
With 22 returning players, there are few starting spots up for grabs, but here’s a quick look at a few intriguing issues to be sorted out:
THE GOAL IS GOALS: The Caps had the lowest goal total (42) of the 10 teams to make the MLS playoffs. Is young Uruguayan striker Octavio Rivero, who looked dazzling in a YouTube highlight reel, the answer?
And if Robinson goes with a twin-striker lineup at times, instead of his preferred 4-2-31, who gets the minutes — Darren Mattocks, who somewhat surprisingly is still around, or Erik Hurtado, 10 pounds lighter than last season and eager to recapture his fourgoals-in-four-games magic of last June?
MANNEH UP: With Sebastian Fernandez gone, the leftwing spot would appear to be Kekuta Manneh’s for the taking. The Gambian speedster tantalized fans with bouts of brilliance in his first two seasons with the Caps — 10 goals in 49 games, but just 19 of them starts.
Consistency and confidence have been big issues.
But at 20, he’s come to camp in terrific shape and has a new mentor in Kah, also a Gambian native.
Robinson has said another signing, or two, could be in the offing, but a productive pre-season from Manneh may change the thinking.
Manneh missed part of the 2014 pre-season with a back injury, so he’s fired up to be feeling good as the club heads to Arizona.
“It’s pretty great. Pre-season counts for a lot. I was playing the catch-up game (last season) and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Being here for two years and knowing how everything is, I’m definitely looking for a big season ahead of me this year.”
TEIBERT TIME? Canadian midfielder Russell Teibert, now into his fifth season and just having turned 23, started 22 games last season, including the final 12 of the regularseason for the injured Gershon Koffie.
Robinson sees him as the Energizer bunny and future captain, but if Koffie and Matias Laba stay healthy, and with the crafty Mauro Rosales out on right wing, Teibert’s starts could be limited to Canadian championship and CONCACAF Champions League games. HOMEGROWN BUZZ: Robinson loves his young homegrown players and guys like midfielders Kianz Froese, Marco Bustos and Ben McKendry, striker and fullbacks Sam Adekugbe and Ethan Sampson figure to be mainstays on WFC2, the Caps’ new entry in USL Pro.
But will any of them push the veterans hard enough to win some first-team minutes?