Barring a work stoppage, the start of 2015 Major League Soccer is right around the corner. Can’t remember back to October? No worries as the ‘plex has got you covered with previews of all 20 MLS teams. Today it’s the Vancouver Whitecaps!
2014 At a Glance
“Remarkably unremarkable”
50 points, 12-8-14
Top scorer: Pedro Morales, 10 goals
Top playmaker: Pedro Morales, 12 assist
Greatest moment in 2014: That’s easy. Despite Timbers owner Merritt Paulson’s permission slip to cheer for the Sounders, the Whitecaps went into Seattle and walked away with a stunning 1-0 defeat denting both Cascadia rivals respective playoff ambitions.
Key players this season:
Pedro Morales– It all stops and ends with the Chilean. Hence that’s why the Caps star is the the seventh highest earner in the league. The deep lying, attacking midfielder orchestrates the attack with his pinpoint passing to the Caps stable of thoroughbreds. When’s he’s off his game, the offense stutters not able to find a spark.
Kendall Waston– The story of a great performance in the World Cup leading to a lucrative contract is nothing new. Finding that player who actually outperforms his deal? Now that is groundbreaking. Waston has had a full offseason to get accustomed to this team and the early returns are promising.
Oct 10, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson raises the Cascadia Cup following a 1-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Mauro Rosales- No longer a DP, the Argentinean showed flashes of brilliance last year despite being under-utilized at Chivas USA and only logging a handful of games with the Caps following the late season trade. Signed to a club-friendly deal, Rosales is healthier than he’s been probably in his entire MLS career.
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Darren Mattocks
– Oceans of talent. That’s never been the questions with Mattocks. His maturity and work-ethic were called into question in 2013. He responded, somewhat. Mattocks showed positive signs. Still, for all the chances he created, his finishing was poor. Now that he’s no longer the face of the franchise, 2014 might be Mattocks’s last (but best) chance to change the perception that he’s both an athlete and soccer player.
Key departures: Injuries have forced Jay DeMerit toward retirement. The team played better when DeMerit was in the lineup but that loss can be assuaged by the emergence of Waston. For a team with some pretty big whiffs on big signings, DeMerit was a great use of the allocation order.
Big question for 2015: Is the team really one player away?
Sep 27, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Russell Teibert (31) congratulates midfielder Pedro Morales (77) for his goal against Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Jeff Attinella (24) (not pictured) during the second half at BC Place. The Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
The Whitecaps made the playoffs last year and gave FC Dallas all they could handle before a controversial call ended their season.
The team has regrouped this year keeping the bulk of it’s squad really only upgrading one position inserting in Uruguayan striker Octavio Rivero.
According to coach Carl Robinson, Rivero gives the team what it needs. “Watching Octavio, he’s what you want in a modern day forward. You want someone who’s mobile, someone who can hold the ball up, someone who can run in behind and someone who can score goals and he fits into that category very well.”
Outlook: In the Whitecaps, there is a veritable quandary of unbridled athleticism, wily veterans, and international flair. How these can combine will be a test for Robinson in his first year with the club got the team it’s first ever win in Portland in it’s MLS career.
Robinson is a capable manager whose tactical acumen is astute but it’s his understanding of player psychology that truly makes him special.
Vancouver is not the biggest club in Cascadia. That would be Seattle. The Caps aren’t the biggest club in Canada. That would be Toronto. Yet the team punches above it’s weight despite the significant gap in resources between the Caps and it’s rival clubs.