Sharp focus on Sunday's opener against Portland
Team sharply focused on Sunday's season opener at its Utah `home'
Pressure? It's just a word. It's perception. It changes depending on your perspective.
Externally, one would think the Vancouver Whitecaps should be feeling the heat as they sit on the cusp of their 11th MLS season.
They haven't made the playoffs in four years, the last three of those coming under coach Marc Dos Santos.
They have more losing seasons than playoff appearances. Nashville SC, an MLS club for exactly one season, has as many playoff wins and just one fewer post-season goal.
And in the past two years, the Caps have spent more money on the roster than at any point in team history.
Playoffs, if anything, should be the bare minimum.
But internally, the concept of pressure is an abstract one. The attention is sharply focused on the short term, and in this case, that's Sunday's regular-season “home”-opener against the Portland Timbers.
“Pressure is always the same. The pressure is always to make the playoffs, so don't think it's added pressure,” said Caps midfielder Russell Teibert. “You focus at the task at hand. And right now our job is this Sunday.
“We haven't even started the season yet. So like I said, let's take it game by game. And I think if we do that, if we stick to our game plan, if we stick to what we set out to do … and our identity, I think that'll put us in a good position to get to the playoffs.”
There is no way to truly assess this team, currently. COVID-19 quarantines and visa landmines have conspired to keep a large portion of the first team out of training camp. Right-back Bruno Gaspar is poised to train for the first time this weekend, and midfielder Caio Alexandre will be out of lockdown just in time to watch his new team play Sunday. Left-back Ali Adnan, the Iraqi international and one of two Whitecaps designated players, is seeing his visa process slow-rolled, most likely due to his nationality.
And then there have been a spate of injuries; centre-backs Erik Godoy and Derek Cornelius won't be available Sunday, and neither will midfielder Leo Owusu, who could potentially miss weeks after picking up an injury in the pre-season against Chicago.
And then there is the elusive No. 10, or attacking player of some kind, who has yet to be signed. The MLS transfer window runs until June 1, around a week longer than the European seasons, meaning that acquisition might have to wait until then.
Friday was roster compliance day in MLS, and the Caps sailed through the deadline without a care in the world. They have 11 internationals on the roster and will have to figure out their course of action to acquire another one to sign their new No. 10, but CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster says he's unbothered — even after seeing FC Cincinnati shell out a whopping US$225,000 in general allocation money (GAM) for one from Portland, Ore., on Friday.
“You're seeing a very relaxed sporting director Axel Schuster today. I'm following all the chatter on all the channels — email, Whatsapp, whatever — from clubs that obviously are not compliant, and asking for several deals, trades, whatever,” he said. “So we're sitting here, very relaxed, fully compliant, and we are not planning to do anything today as long as none of the clubs that maybe have some problems offer us a deal that is the biggest in the history of MLS.
“My strategy is to look at my remaining GAM and feel way comfortable with this situation. There are international spots available today and there are clubs asking for prices I'm not up to pay today, but I think the prices will go down after compliance day. And we have a huge portion of remaining GAM in our cap, so we are not in a situation where I'm getting afraid of not getting an international spot.”
He also acknowledged that loaning out a player to open up a spot could be another course of action, with MLS draftee and rookie rightback Javain Brown — currently third on the positional depth chart — a logical move. Centre-back Jasser Khmiri has already been loaned out to USL Championship side San Antonio FC, but neither the USL nor the Canadian Premier League have started play, so no moves are expected immediately.
The only immediate action that matters to the club is Sunday's game in Sandy, Utah against Portland.
“It's been months that we haven't got competitive games. The locker-room is craving it, I'm craving it,” said keeper Max Crepeau. “Because at the end of the day, that's what we live on — the adrenalin, game day, beating an opponent. That's the real adrenalin and the real hype around what we do. It's competing.”