Caps acclimatize to Florida heat as MLS tourney loses second side
Nashville SC is now out of the MLS is Back Tournament after nine players tested positive for novel coronavirus. They are where they need to be. As is Marc Dos Santos.
“In life … we’re always where we have to be, regardless,” the Vancouver Whitecaps coach said from Orlando, where he is prepping his Major League Soccer team for its game against the San Jose Earthquakes next week.
“Right now, I have to be here. My family feels the same thing. I have to be here to support people, to support my players and I’m at peace with that 100 per cent.
“This is a tournament that is important, but it’s not life or death. It’s important that everyone who is here, feels good about being here.”
Nashville is the second team to withdraw from the tournament being held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. FC Dallas was pulled from competition on Tuesday with 10 positive tests for COVID-19.
The move has an up side, as the removal of two teams balances out the groups. Group A previously had six teams, but with Nashville’s exit, moving the Chicago Fire into the berth vacated by Dallas in Group B now gives each group four teams.
The Whitecaps play their first two games against San Jose and Seattle at 7:30 p.m. PT, but will then turn around for a 6 a.m. start against the Fire in their groupstage finale.
Vancouver was originally scheduled to play Thursday (July 9), but the Toros’ struggles had pushed back that match. The Whitecaps have had an advantage of sorts by virtue of being based in B.C., where they were allowed to resume training much sooner than most other clubs. The Caps having been training individually at UBC since May and have had full team practices since the start of June.
Having arrived in Orlando on Monday, the Caps will have 10 days to get acclimatized to the heat, humidity and lockdown routine in Florida.
“This is an advantage. The faster you (get back) to training, the better it is,” said Dos Santos. “They’re looking good, it’s intense the sessions ... that’s a very positive thing.”
The three games count toward the regular-season standings, but with the massive numbers of COVID-19 spiking across the United States, it’s becoming increasingly likely the MLS season will be cancelled. Toronto FCII, the team’s USL side, has already pulled out of play this season because of the border regulations — the 14-day self-isolation each time the border is crossed — making it unfeasible to play.
But that doesn’t mean the Caps are lacking in motivation.
“It doesn’t hurt the integrity. It’s still an important tournament,” Dos Santos said, pointing to the CONCACAF Champions League berth that awaits the winner. “It maybe takes a little bit of truth away from the tournament when you don’t have every team playing at their potential.”
Nashville won’t get to be part of that truth, with their exit from the tournament just the latest blow for the expansion side.
“In what has been a challenging year, and in an uncharted environment created by the (March 2) tornado that devastated our city, and COVID-19, this is another big disappointing outcome for Nashville SC and its supporters,” Nashville CEO Ian Ayre said.
The team will likely remain in quarantine, as Dallas has, until it is cleared for travel. Toros coach Luchi Gonzalez is looking forward to being able to leave the confines of the team’s floor at the Swan and Dolphin Resort.
“It’s about little steps: Getting a breath of fresh air eventually. Having a team walk,” Gonzalez told reporters via Zoom this week. “I don’t know if we’ll have a team meal here, I don’t know if it’s safe enough, but one day we’re going to have a team meal.
“Zoom has helped us stay connected. It’s hard because when you’re in person, there’s energy. I’m a hugger. I haven’t been able to hug any of these players for five months and that hurts me as a leader. But I’m going to hug them in a different way. I have to improve my other senses. If you lose a sense, you still have your heart, you still have your head. You need to super-compensate that because of that loss of the sense.
“We’re super-compensating right now with just love and belief and support that we’re going to be stronger after all of this. Soccer is the last thing on our minds.”