Whitecaps sign New Zealand goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic

Vancouver Whitecaps FC have signed goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic from the German 3rd division. Marinovic has made 100 league appearances in Germany, and has 19 international appearances for New Zealand.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC have made their first signing of the summer transfer window. The Whitecaps announced on Friday that New Zealand international goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic has joined the club.

Marinovic joins from SpVgg Unterhaching of the German 3. Liga. He has plenty of experience at the age of 25. He made 100 appearances over eight years in Germany, both in the 3. Liga and Regionalliga. Marinovic has also collected 19 caps at the senior level for New Zealand, including starting all of New Zealand’s matches in 2018 World Cup qualifying and the Confederations Cup.

https://twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/888537982654832640

So the biggest question is, where does Marinovic fit in for Vancouver? He addresses an immediate need the Whitecaps had for a goalkeeper, after Paolo Tornaghi was released earlier in the week.

Tornaghi’s departure to seek new opportunities in Italy was no surprise. He spent most of the season sitting on the bench watching David Ousted in goal, but Spencer Richey was preferred when Ousted was suspended, as well as in the Canadian Championship.

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Richey was on the bench in midweek as the Whitecaps defeated the LA Galaxy. However, he’s on a season-long loan to the Whitecaps FC2 in the USL, so can’t stick around. In any case, at this early stage in his career, regular playing time is far more valuable to Richey than bench time.

However, it’s unlikely that Marinovic, an experienced goalkeeper who is starting regularly for his national team, could have been wooed by Carl Robinson with the promise of being a back-up. The Whitecaps also just spent $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to acquire an international roster spot, which they are spending on Marinovic.

Conventional wisdom has it that you don’t waste a coveted international spot on a back-up goalkeeper. Which raises the inevitable question: what does the future hold in store for David Ousted?

Ousted off to Europe?

Ousted is one of the most important members of the Whitecaps team. Even if he hasn’t hit his 2015 peaks in the last two seasons, he still has a knack for pulling off seemingly impossible saves. Case in point: last Wednesday against the Galaxy.

At 32, Ousted is heading into his prime as a goalkeeper and was eyeing a move to Europe after his incredible 2015 season. He eventually signed a multi-year contract that year. Ousted’s base salary of $360,000 is the third-highest in MLS for a goalkeeper and fifth-highest on the Whitecaps. If he’s looking for a new big-money contract, he probably won’t get it on this side of the Atlantic.

There are other signs that point towards Ousted being unsettled, or Robinson preparing for life after the Great Dane. Most recently, in Kendall Waston’s absence, Tim Parker was handed the captain’s armband last Wednesday. That was despite Ousted previously getting the armband.

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David Ousted is hugely popular among Whitecaps fans, which would make his departure an emotional one. But it seems increasingly likely that next season Marinovic and Richey will be competing for the #1 spot.