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    Guest
    It's going to be tough to describe Vancouver's <a href= "http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2011/03/19/sp-mls-tor-van.html">first MLS game</a>, <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/Debut+couldn+have+been+scripted+better+Whitecaps+over+Toronto/4472373/story.html">a 4-2 victory</a> over Toronto FC. There was enough intensity and emotion in the stands, as well as plenty of spectacular moments on the pitch, to provide about 10 solid stories, so breaking all that down into one piece isn't the easiest thing in the world. Still, we'll try to provide some thoughts on some of the notable aspects of it, bullet-point style:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    — <b>The crowd:</b> I wasn't really sure what to expect from the crowd coming into this one. Obviously, the Southsiders and the rest of the hardcore fans that used to make it out to the Division II games at Swangard Stadium were going to be there in force, and the game was obviously going to be a hot ticket, but that very easily could have resulted in a crowd mostly composed of novice or non-soccer fans there just to see what the attraction was. <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=ab-bucholtz_whitecaps_crowd-031911">That didn't appear to be the case</a>. The people who showed up were knowledgeable, loud and passionate throughout, and as CEO Paul Barber (who knows a thing or two about good fan environments from his time in the EPL with Tottenham Hotspur) said afterwards, they created their own atmosphere, full of original chants, songs, and memorable moments:
    "We said from the start we wanted the atmosphere to be organic to Vancouver, and it was," Barber said. "We did our bit at the start and then the fans took over."
    — <b>The Southsiders:</b> On that front, I think the Southsiders deserve a lot of credit. Some supporters' groups of other teams in the past have tried to become too domineering in an attempt to get all other fans to fall in line, and I don't think that's the case here. The Southsiders have their own chants and ways, but they seemed accepting of the rest of the fans, and the two combined to make something special. That's good to see.
    — <b>Teitur Thordarson:</b> This was a very good day for the Icelandic manager. Most people in town, including myself, thought he was absolutely the right choice to be Vancouver's first MLS manager given his success with the Division II side, but there were some who raised questions about both his experience and the defensive style he tended to favour with the lower-division Whitecaps. One match won't entirely put an end to those questions, but his team scored four goals and had plenty of chances to add to that tally; the scoresheet had Vancouver with 18 shots (10 on goal) against Toronto's 11 and 8. This isn’t the old Whitecaps’ squad, and the scoreline was proof positive of that. That went over very well with the supporters on hand, and probably particularly resonated with those who used to sit out in the rain at Swangard, waiting and hoping for their team to notch a single goal. These new guys bring the defensive intensity that Thordarson has always emphasized, but they also have plenty of firepower, and that suggests that this year's Whitecaps may be highly entertaining as well as successful.
    [ATTACH]813[/ATTACH]
    — <b>Eric Hassli:</b> Speaking of people it was a good day for, Hassli (pictured above) would have to be near the top of the list. Many were skeptical about him as the Whitecaps' <a href="http://whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/eric-hassli-becomes-whitecaps-fcs-first-designated-player">first designated player</a>, and for legitimate reasons; success in Switzerland doesn't necessarily translate into success in MLS, and Hassli was an off-the-radar name. The French striker may have proved the doubters wrong with today's performance, though, notching two goals (including the franchise's first, in the 15th minute, which we eagerly anticipate as <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?127-24th-minute">a new blog name</a>). Both were solid goals, but the play between them was impressive as well; Hassli served as a consistent offensive threat and was one of Vancouver's primary attacking options. Thordarson said afterwards that Hassli fills several key roles for the Whitecaps:
    "Eric is a very important player," Thordarson said. "He helps us keep the ball up, but he's also dangerous around the box."
    Indeed he is, and he certainly looks like a shrewd signing at the moment.
    <b>Alain Rochat:</b> Speaking of foreign players, Rochat (who was actually born in Quebec, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Rochat">has played internationally for Switzerland</a>) had a pretty good day from this perspective. He made one early mistake at left back, but <b>Jay DeMerit</b> (who also had a great day) cleaned it up, and Rochat was impressive from there on out. He pressed forward into the attack when needed, but always got back in time and made some spectacular tackles.
    — <b>Don Garber:</b> It was nice to see the MLS commissioner on hand, and he carried himself very well in his halftime media scrum. He was impressed with the show the Whitecaps (and particularly the fans) put on, and he made some valuable comments about how Vancouver - Toronto is an important rivalry to preserve despite the distance involved (full quote: "Rivalries don't always have to be up and down the street. Now we have two teams across the country!"). However, there was one action of his I disagreed with, and that's donning a Whitecaps scarf and banging a drum in the opening ceremonies. I get that the commissioner wants to show the fans he supports them, but league officials should never associate themselves with any particular team in my mind. League bias is one of the most potentially damaging accusations that can be leveled, and even clearly ridiculous comments about it <a href="http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/cfl/blog/cfl_experts/post/East-vs-West-Riders-bias-and-the-state-of-the?urn=cfl-289571">draw a lot of attention</a>. Most logical people won't instantly turn Garber in a Whitecaps' scarf into "OMG MLS IS RIGGED", but there are some who will, and it's a situation that easily could have been avoided.
    — <b>Corporate interests:</b> I don't think anyone would dispute that sponsors have an important role in professional sports teams. In fact, in a way, their influence is largely positive; without the dollars for shirt logos and advertising boards, teams would likely have to jack up ticket prices substantially to break even, and that's not a good thing for fans. Sponsors clearly have their place. With that said, though, sponsors have to be careful how their message is portrayed; sideline ads and such are perfectly acceptable, but the "Wave your BMO card in the air!" promotion (even if it did net someone $50 in free food!) seemed a little excessive from this standpoint, and it certainly isn't going to make me switch to BMO.
    — <b>Overall:</b> This was a fantastic start for Vancouver, and the three points they grabbed here <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1380-Whitecaps-TFC-Preview-For-Vancouver-it-is-and-isn-t-any-other-game">may prove just as valuable</a> as creating a strong atmosphere in the long run. There were still issues, particularly in goal where <b>Jay Nolly</b> made some good saves but let in a relatively easy second shot, and this team's clearly still figuring out how to play together, but that's to be expected. From the Whitecaps' perspective, they got atmosphere, offence and three points in this one, and all should prove extremely beneficial down the road.
    Guest

    And the real winner is......

    By Guest, in Voyageurs,

    Soccer in Canada.
    Vancouver fans can certainly enjoy their day in the sun, but looking at the greater picture, this is an historic, positive day for Canadian soccer. A national broadcast of an all-Canadian match-up in the top flight of North American soccer has not happened at this level in at least 27 years. With a lot of attention brought to this game to those people that might not otherwise have paid attention (ie. regular viewers of TSN), a high-scoring affair to shut up the cynical, negative, nail-biting "soccer is boring because nobody scores" miserablists is the best thing that could have happened.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It will be interesting to see what the ratings are like. On the downside, the match was (partially) up against Hockey Night in Canada. However, TSN is generally a higher-profile network than Sportsnet (generally will get higher ratings) and for the first time there are two Canadian markets for an MLS match-up to draw the ratings from.
    And this is not just a case of two Canadian-based teams made up entirely of foreign players. A total of 7 Canucks eligible to represent Canada played in the match - De Rosario, Cann, Attakora, Zavarise, Makabuya, Dunfield and Teibert - and all still with some degree of a future in playing for Canada. This number will only likely increase in future match-ups between the two teams (and Montreal) as the academies begin to churn out more and more players (the number of Canadian youth coming out of TFC being a refreshingly positive sign). The next time Canada actually gets close to qualifying for a World Cup (never mind actually doing so), we may be able to point back to this game as another positive signpost in the road that led us there.
    Guest
    Just in the nick of time (sort of), MLS has finished whatever tinkering/negotiating it was doing in regards to its MatchDay Live web-streaming service, and Canadians are now able to sign up.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Saturday's Toronto-Vancouver match won't be available live -- since the game is being broadcast nationally by TSN -- but it will, hopefully, be archived for later viewing. As a reader notes below, the blackout period for such matches is 48 hours.
    But, the league has assured Canadian Soccer News that Whitecaps games that are on Rogers Sportsnet will be streamed live on MDL.
    Thus ends the MatchDay Live saga... for 2011, at least.
    A hat tip to reader Robert Phillips, who's been following these developments like a hawk, and alerted me to the fact that MDL was, once again, open for business north of the border.
    Guest
    From one standpoint, today's Vancouver Whitecaps - Toronto FC clash (3:30 p.m. Pacific, TSN) is a unique development. It's Vancouver's first match at the MLS level, and in that way, it's the culmination of years of planning from the franchise and anticipation from fans. It's also the first time two Canadian teams have ever played each other in MLS (of course, Toronto FC and the Whitecaps have faced off in the Voyageurs Cup before), and that's a significant step for soccer in this country. The atmosphere at Empire Field should be incredible, and it should be a fitting way to kick off a new era in Canadian socccer. Regardless of the on-pitch outcome, just the fact that this game is taking place is a victory for soccer fans in this country, both those clad in Vancouver's blue and white and those who wear Toronto's red.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    However, all the special circumstances don't mitigate the fact that this remains an MLS match like any other in the standings. Yes, it's only one of 34 for each club, and three points don't look all that large at this point in the year, but all points are worth the end in the final standings. Toronto fans certainly know about that after TFC's repeated close encounters with the playoffs, and Vancouver fans seem likely to also realize the value of each and every point, with many outlets picking the Whitecaps to finish <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/soccer/03/12/mls.predictions2011/">at or near</a> <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/steve_davis/03/13/2011.power.ranking/index.html">the bottom</a> of the league table this season. These are two clubs that are likely to need every point they can grab this year, and that adds a new level to this match that goes beyond mere pageantry.
    Neither side appears to have a significant on-pitch advantage from this perspective. Toronto certainly should be able to field a lineup with more MLS experience, and one that's probably superior on paper, but that might just be negated by the atmosphere and Vancouver's fans. Moreover, this is a special game for the Whitecaps' players, and there should be plenty of motivation to deliver a strong performance in their MLS debut. It also might help that there's so much potential flux in the Whitecaps' roster; as Ben Massey's <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1379-The-Traditional-Ten-Whitecaps-Questions-Ahead-of-Saturday-s-Debut">breakdown</a> shows, there are still a lot of questions about this team and where its players fit. That adds to the pressure on each of them, as any non-performers aren't likely to last long in the first team. When you add that all up, it should bode for an entertaining match that's likely to be close, and one that could stand on its own as a quality game without the particular circumstances around it. It's the debut atmosphere that should make this particularly special and memorable, but it's important to keep in mind that whatever eventual result is obtained may be just as important for these teams' seasons.
    Guest
    Tomorrow. It's really just tomorrow. Vancouver Whitecaps 2011: The Legend Continues. The Whitecaps stare down Toronto FC to kick off their 2011 season. The opponent is relatively mundane, given that we've fenced with the FCs six times in the past three years. But the day is anything but, as the Whitecaps take to their new stadium at Empire Field as part of their new league, Major League Soccer. Their new players will run out before their new fans, with only the same old die-hards chanting in the stands and the familiar, scowling face of our Icelandic supremo Teitur Thordarson reminding us of the past season.
    Shall I analyze the teams for you again? How about the matchups? Did you hear that Dwayne De Rosario wants more money, that Eric Hassli is expensive and French, that Jay DeMerit said something droll on Twitter? Nope. Come on, we've read all that stuff already. We've had months and months of frenzied conjecture and analysis and thinly-disguised guesswork. Right now, you probably know as much about the makeups of the Vancouver and Toronto teams as I do.
    No, I don't have any more answers. I just have questions. Ten questions about this Vancouver team, which seems to have been built so deliberately and yet which is really an almost entirely new bunch of unproven, untested, and unfamiliar players. Ten questions that I'm hoping will be answered, at least to some extent, by the blow of the final whistle.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <ol><li>How legitimate is Russell Teibert? We all know that the two-time Canadian U-17 player of the year is a promising player, but so far promise has turned into real, on-field performance far sooner than anyone predicted. In the preseason, he was one of the Whitecaps highlights and he's earned his recent MLS contract in spades. He'll probably get the start at left wing, to boot. But can he do it against Toronto FC's defense when the points actually matter, the tackles are hard, and the spikes are hard? Teibert's a little guy with no experience at this level. Is it going to show, or is he actually the chosen one?</li>
    <li>Jay Nolly or Joe Cannon? There's actually a goalkeeper controversy in Vancouver! Joe Cannon has the experience, but he had a rough 2010 with the San Jose Earthquakes that led to his exposure in the expansion draft. Nolly is a fan favourite, team MVP twice running, and is expected to get the start in goal over Cannon, nursing an ankle injury. There could be some debate over this, considering how equally the two performed in preseason. If Nolly comes out gangbusters against Toronto FC, former DC United backup Nolly might get a run of games while Cannon "recovers".</li>
    <li>How quickly is Michael Boxall going to be thrown into the deep end? The 22-year-old signed a contract with Vancouver in Thursday's batch, and as poised as he's looked in the exhibitions games he is just a rookie so little regarded that he fell to the Supplemental Draft. Yet both Jay DeMerit and Greg Janicki are facing minor injuries. On top of that, DeMerit has a callup to the American national team to consider, and the Whitecaps aren't exactly packed with depth at centre back. Young Boxall, who wasn't even a favourite to win a contract when he was drafted, might start his first MLS game before the leaves turn green.</li>
    <li>Terry Dunfield in League Two was a hard-nosed ruffian but not exactly a star: you could run him in your starting lineup and he'd strike the fear of God into the opposition but he wasn't going to win you any games. Terry Dunfield in USSF D2 was every bit as hard as advertised, but with a brilliant eye for playmaking and ability on free kicks which turned him into a match-winner. Which Dunfield will we get in MLS? When John Thorrington is healthy Dunfield won't have to carry as much of the playmaking load, but then John Thorrington usually isn't healthy. If Dunfield simply goes in with his usual defensive fortitude terrifying tackles, he'll be worthwhile, but he'll have to distribute the ball as magnificently as ever to keep the Vancouver attack going smoothly.</li>
    <li>To my eye, Jonathan Leathers was the Whitecaps' weak link on defense during the Cascadia Supporters Summit. Of course, those games didn't count and Leathers might have lifted his foot off the gas. On the other hand, it's not like Leathers was the picture of defensive responsibility with the Kansas City Wizards either. Which Leathers will we get? Will he be a weak point for this team, or will he be the reliable, hard-to-fool MLS journeyman we all hoped we were getting in the expansion draft. As much as the guy loves running, nobody's expecting too much brilliant transition play out of Leathers. It's in his own third where he'll make a difference one way or another.</li>
    <li>Who's going to seize the day in central midfield? I talked about Terry Dunfield above, but there's still another starting spot to win plus whoever comes off the bench. Alexandre Morfaw, Gershon Koffie, and John Thorrington are all scraping for that second starting place, with Koffie the favourite to start Saturday. Morfaw and Koffie are youngsters while Thorrington is an MLS veteran. Koffie and Thorrington are skilled players, primarily playmakers, while Morfaw is less talented but grittier and perhaps a superior all-rounder. Koffie has more ability and inclination to range forward on the attack, while Thorrington and Morfaw play it more conservatively. They're three very different players, but none of them is yet well ahead of the others. If somebody grabs the baton, then one of the youngsters could win a place in the starting eleven far sooner than expected.</li>
    <li>Is Atiba Harris really a forward? He's been moved up front after spending most of his MLS career as a winger. Teitur Thordarson loves his big target men and got a lot of success from Charles Gbeke in that role many moons ago. Harris is certainly big and has all the knowledge to get through MLS defenses. But he hasn't got a natural nose for goal, his first touch isn't the best, and he's not terribly quick. Meanwhile, Eric Hassli has arrived as a designated player to start in the position Harris otherwise would have taken. Thordarson has shown no inclination to move Harris back to the wing so far. Of course it's ridiculous to expect that Harris would adjust immediately to playing striker in MLS: it'll take time for him to adjust, just like everyone else in the world. But can he ever play that position to the standard the Whitecaps require?</li>
    <li>Is Nizar Khalfan really an anything? He was a midfielder until Thordarson moved him to forward last year because, well, who the hell else was going to do it? He looked okay but not great. Now Khalfan is back in the midfield, probably starting on right wing. He's looked, erm, okay. But not great. A step too slow sometimes, a day late, a dollar short. His bag of tricks was adequate for USSF D2 but is it deep enough for MLS? I'm not sold on Khalfan, but he's always been a slow starter and a quick learner. For the longest time in the second division, he looked utterly dire until he started to figure the level out. I'm willing to accord him some benefit of the doubt in MLS, particularly given the lack of choices on right wing. But I'm still worried about him. When Shea Salinas comes back from injury, Khalfan will probably be back to the bench. It might be sooner if Philippe Davies gets back into contention for a starting spot. Until then, it's all up to Nizar.</li>
    <li>Are we going to miss Luca Bellisomo? Bellisomo is an old favourite of mine and won my vote for team MVP last year. He was a young central player who could play both defense and midfield. His greatest strength, beyond his utter reliability, was his quick mind: he could read the situation and turn defense into offense better than any of his peers including Dunfield. Forget the obvious depth a player of Bellisomo's calibre could provide this hurting team: have we found anybody to replace his skillset? Alain Rochat can certainly play a great transition game, but he's out wide and his impact must be limited. Thorrington has the mind and the passing ability but doesn't track back far enough and, besides, he's hurt. Gershon Koffie might get there but isn't there yet. So many of this team's chances last season came on sudden, overwhelming counterattacks. That arrow may not be in the 2011 team's quiver.</li>
    <li>Finally, how are the international players going to adjust to MLS? Alain Rochat, Jay DeMerit, Davide Chiumiento, Eric Hassli, Camilo Sanvezzo... there are a lot of guys who'll be getting their first taste of professional North American soccer against the FCs on Saturday. They can't all be winners, surely. One of them is going to at least stumble out of the gate. It's a fact of life. Yet the Whitecaps will be heavily relying on almost all of them to make a quick, positive impression. If Hassli finds his service not what he's used to, or Rochat realizes that MLS is too rough for his blood and winds up exposed, this team might be in serious trouble. If they, somehow, all make the adjustment, if Tom Soehn and Teitur Thordarson found the right men, then all of a sudden we have a team more competitive than anyone would have guessed.</li></ol>
    Guest
    Like the popular snack mix, I'm going to break down these news hits into the flavoured Shreddie (the best part), the Cheerio (you never see it coming), the pretzel (you've got to acknowledge it, like it or not) and that cheese-stick thing (what the hell is it?).
    The Shreddie: Big Red moves up to #6
    Brightest news out of the day is that the Canada has achieved its highest placement ever in the FIFA Women's World Ranking: sixth. Seeing that the only nations we trail (USA, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Sweden) are all legit soccer powerhouses, this should help make up the minds of anyone still unsure about whether Canada has fully re-emerged as an elite competitor in the women's game.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Then again, after seeing this team play under Carolina Morace for the past 18 months, most fans in this country didn't need any convincing. In additional upbeat news, Gerry Dobson of Sportsnet is reporting that the squad will have an extended training camp in Rome from March 25 to April 19, and from early May till the start of the Women's World Cup in late June. That span will also include some friendlies. "Great preparation!" he says. I'll co-sign that.
    (Also... I know, I know, normally we deride the FIFA rankings as incomprehensible, arbitrary and meaningless. But really, that's just to soothe the sting of seeing the men's national team wallowing down in the 80-something range.)
    The Cheerio: Hutchinson keeps right on rollin'
    In a few circles, the Rangers-PSV Eindhoven showdown in the Europa League on Thursday was billed as a Gold Cup preview of sorts, with Maurice Edu coming up against Atiba Hutchinson. (You could also look at it as "a matchup of guys who've had legitimate goals in major international competitions disallowed due to incompetent/corrupt refereeing".) Well, score this round for the good guys (that's us, by the way), as Atiba and company rumbled on with a 1-0 second-leg victory, and will now face Benfica in the quarterfinals.
    (Much like the FIFA rankings, many people often dismiss the Europa League as inconsequential; but one way or another, it's admittedly kind of cool to see Canada's best player at the moment [with the possible exception of Josh Simpson] not just being on the roster of a major club, but playing a part in its ongoing success both domestically and in a continental competition.)
    The Pretzel: Hoilett, again. I know. I'm sorry.
    I'm tired, as are all of you, of musing about what direction David "Junior" Hoilett's international career may take. So I'll just pass along this video, uploaded to YouTube on March 14 and unearthed by one of our readers (forster01). You can decide how you feel about it.


    The Cheese Stick: The more things change...
    I came across an interesting article in the Milwaukee Journal that claims:
    "Canada is in the grip of the soccer fever. This year, clubs have sprung up in nearly every town and city.
    "Soccer is not a new game for Canada. ... But the big boom is on this year as never before."
    You've probably unraveled the comedic magic by now and figured out this isn't a recent article. It was, in fact, published on July 5, 1921, on the same page as an article headlined "Eat Eggs Without Salt to Avoid Cancer, Is Advice".
    Now, before you get discouraged, let me reassure you that some things have changed in the 90 years since this went to press. For instance, back in 1921, "soccer enthusiasts (hadn't) reached the pitch of excitement where they holler, 'Kill the referee!', 'Throw him out!', etc." But anyone sitting in our section for Canada v. Honduras back in 2008 can attest to the fact that these self-imposed constraints no longer apply.
    Hey, I didn't say the changes we'd made were positive ones.
    .
    Guest
    It wasn't until earlier this week that the men's national team's friendly against Belarus on March 29 was officially finalized, but it's taken the CSA mere days to produce the 18-man lineup for that encounter. Coach Stephen Hart intentionally went with a mostly European-based lineup for the last friendly (against Greece on February 9), and with Major League Soccer still not recognizing FIFA international dates, it'll be a similar situation when Canada takes on Belarus for the first time at the end of the month:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
    2- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC
    3- M- Mike Klukowski | TUR / MKE Ankaragücü
    4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln
    5- D- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
    6- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara
    7- D- Paul Stalteri | GER / Borussia Monchengladbach
    8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
    9- F- Rob Friend | GER / Hertha BSC
    10- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
    11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Vestel Manisaspor
    12- CB- Adam Straith | GER / FC Energie Cottbus
    13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
    14- D- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
    15- DF- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
    16- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timisoara
    17- M- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault | GER / SC Preußen Münster
    22- GK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Rad
    Quick notes:
    - Mike Klukowski is back! This is terrific news, as the fullback had been off international duty for a while, most recently attending to unspecified personal issues. But his reappearance on the senior roster is a great addition ahead of the Gold Cup
    - Paul Stalteri is, once again, back. You have to imagine he'll ride the bench (with Klukowski and Peters starting as fullbacks), but no doubt his selection will cause some controversy amongst Canadian fans.
    - Pedro Pacheco has, in about a year's time, gone from "who the hell is that?" to a regular (and expected) selection on the Canadian team. Hart has to get some credit there.
    - Good to see we're carrying a third keeper (Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault).
    - Interesting that Hainault got the call over Dejan Jakovic; though perhaps Houston was just more accommodating than D.C. United felt like being.
    What do you think? Is this the best squad Hart could have picked? Any glaring omissions?
    .
    Guest
    I know.
    I promised I would start things on a positive note, and there is much to be positive about. For the first time since the heady days of NASL, this weekend will see an all-Canadian top flight professional football derby: the Vancouver Whitecaps versus Toronto FC. Even a cursory glance at the little fragments on Canadian soccer history that exist on the web (*cough* AMSL *cough*) will tell you this is a momentous weekend in Canadian soccer history.
    And so, a Canadian sports media industry appalled at the NHL’s head-in-the-sand attitude on player injuries; bored with yet another upcoming session of sound-and-fury Spring training for the Jays (signifying nothing as usual); and not quite sure how to get out of covering the Raptors forever; would surely look to MLS for a respite from the depressing day-to-day grind of the North American sports machine. Right?
    Well, not really, no.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The noise you’ve heard out of Vancouver all week wasn’t the Southsiders preparing to trash visiting Toronto, or BC’s footy faithful thanking the sky their Whitecaps are once again in a top flight professional league. Nope, it was the terrible screeching sound of a made-up media controversy over a
    for the Whitecaps season opener featuring a woman in body paint.Perhaps it’s the wide-ranging cliché (thank you St. Pauli, Cesar Menotti, and Franklin Foer) that soccer is more politically progressive than its North American sister sports which led to the over-the-top reaction to the ad from some quarters, reaction that several major media outlets were more than willing to share with a world that may or may not care. The NFL may have filmed hours of scantily clad women to promote good old American gridiron, and the NHL’s beer sponsors think nothing of using buckets of sex to sling suds, but a two-minute YouTube ad with a painted model, well, that’s clearly more important than anything having to do with soccer.
    I’m not here to debate whether or not the ad is sexist (it doesn’t have much to do with football and is clearly an attention grabber, so it kind of sucks for those reasons alone). I also don’t want to rant and rave about overactive feminazis or some such nonsense. The chief offendee—prominent Vancouverite and Carol Shields offspring Anne Giardini—is perfectly entitled to her outrage. The question is, why were the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Vancouver Sun so eager to give her a microphone and headlines in their respective A sections all week ahead of the main event?
    Well, because faux-outrage over a whole lot of nothing is much easier to write about under deadline than, say, any other story more interesting and relevant to this weekend than this one. Obviously editors love this sort of story because it “sparks debate,” even if said debate goes absolutely nowhere before it even begins (“Didja see the ad with the painted girl for that soccer team? Man that was hot/sexist”) And webmasters love this sort of fluff because, oddly enough, any mention of offensive ads featuring nude models tends to generate a lot of web traffic.
    Meanwhile countless, albeit far less sexy stories, like for example fans of the Whitecaps planning to attend the home opener who were also there when Vancouver beat Tampa Bay to win the NASL Soccer Bowl in Rutherford, New Jersey in 1979 (there’s got to be at least one), went unreported and unrecorded this week (the Globe and Mail came in with the save as of publishing with a big sports section story today, to be fair). Which sounds like naive hogwash, I know.
    But here’s the thing.
    I remember speaking once to the preeminent North American soccer historian Colin Jose about the importance of newspapers. Jose understands like no other that if you’re planning on doing some serious research in Canadian soccer history, your best friend is the local library’s microfiche collection. The entire untold epic of Canadian soccer, her forgotten accomplishments and long-faded milestones, are all exclusively found in archived newspaper articles. It’s easy to say, “well, the Internet provides a much wider database of information, via blogs, independent news websites, and the rest. Newspapers are off the hook.” But this information is diffuse, subjective, unedited—in short, impermanent. The value newspapers once offered—maintaining an objective public record—is fast disappearing in the hype of insta-news and water-cooler trivia.
    With a few exceptions, that loss is telling ahead of this weekend’s milestone match. While it may seem trivial, the lack of serious, old fashioned print journalism on the main event leaves an important gap for future soccer fans interested in discovering the game's history. You can almost see it—a future researcher looking to get a sense of the anticipation of this game and its place in Canadian soccer history finds instead a lot of dead blog links and nothing of substance in the newspaper archives save a few once-sentence paragraphs mentioning the daughter of a novelist screaming about a two minute YouTube video of a painted model. We owe Canadian soccer history something better.
    Guest
    Only days before they’re set to open their MLS season against Toronto FC, the Whitecaps have <a href="http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/whitecaps-fc-sign-four-more-players-mls-side">added four more players to their MLS roster</a>. The new signings are midfielders Russell Teibert and Alexandre Morfaw, central defender Michael Boxall and striker Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo. All are 23 or younger, so they may not prove critical parts of the club this season, but they could be an important part of Vancouver’s future.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Teibert will be a familiar name to many fans of the blue and white, as he’s been in the team’s residency program since 2008. He’s the team’s fourth homegrown signing, after midfielders Philippe Davies and Nizar Khalfan and goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre. He’s also on a Generation Adidas contract. Teibert's only 18, but has already seen plenty of high-calibre action, suiting up for Vancouver in USSF-II play last year and playing for Canada at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels. Teibert is the youngest of the four players, but he certainly has plenty of potential as both a Whitecaps’ player and a Canadian international. He’s not the biggest guy (he’s listed at 5’7’’, 145 pounds), but has good touch and a considerable turn of speed. He may be kept to limited duty this year, though, thanks to his age.
    Morfaw is another name that many will remember. He’s a 23-year-old from Cameroon and has played for their U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams. He came up through the development system of FC Nantes in France, but has also played in the English Championship with Scunthorpe United and in Sweden with Bodens Bandyklubb. He joined the Whitecaps in August last year and made six Division II appearances for them. We’ll see if he can work his way into their midfield rotation.
    Boxall, 22, was selected by the Whitecaps with the top pick in the MLS supplemental draft in January. He’s a New Zealand native who played four years in the NCAA with the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos, and he’s already been capped by the Kiwis’ senior team (as well as playing for their junior teams). The Whitecaps do already have an experienced corps of central backs, including Jay DeMerit and Greg Janicki, so Boxall also may not see much time at first, but he’s definitely an intriguing prospect.
    The most interesting player may be da Silva Sanvezzo, though. He’s also 22 and just joined the Whitecaps after a successful trial. Born in Brazil, he’s played for Oeste Paulista Esporte Club and Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano there. He also had a great run with Malta’s Qormi FC in 2009-10, scoring 24 league goals and six cup goals for them (and leading the league in both categories). Most recently, he played for South Korea’s Gyeongnam FC, but only saw seven first-team appearances there. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for his chances of playing with Vancouver, but head coach Teitur Thordarson and the Whitecaps’ personnel staff must have seen something they liked from him in his trial. Vancouver’s lineup also might have plenty of room for rotation up front, so he could perhaps find some playing time.
    Guest
    The fortunes of Canadian footballers in the English Championship are illustrated by the divergent yet oddly similar paths being forged by Simeon Jackson and Iain Hume. The latter is playing and scoring, but doing so for a team rooted firmly at the bottom of the table. The former is struggling for minutes, and his few opportunities are squandered as he slowly plays himself out of a side looking likely to qualify for the Premier League.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Saturday, October 23, 2010. That date must have popped at least momentarily into Simeon Jackson’s head as he prepared for a rare start with Norwich against Bristol City on Tuesday. It's been almost five months since he scored in the Championship, in the 44th minute against Middlesbrough. But is it better for a slumping striker to get opportunities and miss them or to flutter around anonymously barely getting a kick in? In Jackson’s case it was the former. Depending on which match report you read, the Canadian striker missed between three and five decent chances to score, including one of the “my Grandma could’ve scored that” variety in the 35th minute.
    It’s all heading south for Canadians in the English Championship. Neither David Edgar nor Jaime Peters got off the bench in either match their clubs played on the weekend and midweek. Hume offered a spot of hope with his second goal in two matches on Tuesday and his seventh of the year for Preston North End against Scunthorpe United. However as mentioned, PNE are almost certain to begin next season in the third division.
    Neither Jackson nor Hume appear headed in the right direction, at least in terms of the English soccer hierarchy. While there’s a decent argument to be made that landing with different Championship sides next season would be the best thing for their development, it would be nice to see two of Canada’s striking linchpins advance up the club pyramid instead of down it.
    Other Canadians abroad:
    Milan Borjan grabbed his third clean sheet on the trot as Rad drew Sevojno 0-0 in the Serb top flight.
    Atiba Hutchinson went 90 minutes on the weekend in a 2-2 draw with NEC and then another 90 -- including his best Luis Suarez impersonation as he saved a goal with his hand (unpunished by the referee whether intentional or not) -- as PSV dumped Rangers out of the Europa League with a 1-0 win in Scotland.
    Remember Mike Klukowski? Canada’s best leftback who used to play for the national team all the time until last spring, when his absences started being brushed off with increasingly vague comments by Stephen Hart? Well, he played 90 minutes and got an assist as Ankaragücü topped Galatasaray 3-2 on the weekend.
    Speaking of players we don’t hear a lot from here at Long Balls, Issey Nakajima-Farran played 61 minutes as Horsens fell to Silkeborg 2-1. He’s sitting at three goals in 18 appearances for the Danish club this season.
    Pedro Miguel Salgadinho Pacheco de Melo plays 90 minutes for the first time all season as Santa Clara draw 0-0 with Belenenses in a Portuguese second division match that featured six yellow cards and one red.
    Will Johnson went 90 minutes as Real Salt Lake opened up a comfortable 2-0 at home in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League semifinals against Costa Rica’s Saprissa.
    Elsewhere in Concacaf this week:
    Several unsourced reports emerged from Argentina guaranteeing that Japan would pull out of the upcoming Copa America in the wake of last week’s massive earthquake. Several more unsourced reports immediately popped up identifying the U.S., Honduras or Costa Rica as possible replacements.
    The Japanese FA has since assured the world that the Asian country’s participation in the Copa is a go, ignoring the fact that South American supporters don't really give a shit whether it's an American or Japanese B-team their countries use as target practice for the knockout rounds.
    Speaking of poorly sourced reporting, goal.com says DC United wunderkid Andy Najar will finally choose to represent Honduras internationally, making himself available for that country’s upcoming U20 matches. For anyone loitering below my apartment window this afternoon, that loud expletive was Long Balls' immediate response to the news. The last thing Canada’s World Cup hopes need is one of the most talented youngsters in MLS opting to play for Honduras.
    Guest
    Two days before the season opener is as good a time as any to make a rash of player signings, right? But unlike last year, I doubt we'll be learning of any league veterans lacing up their cleats in the cab ride to the game (as the well-worn, possibly apocryphal Dan Gargan anecdote goes). No, instead, the five players signed by Toronto FC in the past 48 hours are all youngsters ready to (hopefully) show they've got what it makes to earn minutes with the big team.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Demitrius Omhproy, the club's first pick (second round, 26th overall) in this year's MLS SuperDraft, signed with the club on Wednesday. The 21-year-old is a good signing for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that he's an outgoing, apparently likable guy who is no stranger to connecting with fans -- he's an active tweeter and, as a member of the California Golden Bears, helped put together this viral hit:


    Drafts are an inexact science, so the fact that he was available in the second round shouldn't lead us to assume he has a low ceiling (for instance, Robbie Findley went in the second round in 2007, and he's played in a World Cup; meanwhile, the TFC faithful remember who went fourth overall in 2009). But if nothing else, he seems like someone that Toronto fans will have no problem getting behind -- which is good, considering the hit that Dwayne DeRosario (the ostensible "face of the franchise") has taken to his image since late last season.
    As for the other four signings, the team announced on Thursday that a quartet of Academy products are ready to make the jump: Ashtone Morgan, Oscar Cordon, Matt Stinson and Keith Makubuya. Morgan is 20, while the rest are 18. They join defender Doneil Henry and midfielder Nicholas Lindsay (who'll miss the season with an injury, though he remains on the roster) as graduates of the Junior Reds.
    The cynic would say this is a last-ditch effort to fill out the roster before the season begins. But the optimist would contend that the Aron Winter administration is serious about using the Academy as a pipeline for senior talent (as it's supposed to be, of course)... and that's a great thing, for several reasons.
    It means a bunch of new Canadian kids now have MLS contracts (with untold numbers more seeing that there is a realistic shot for them to make a pro team right here at home). Plus, it reflects very well on Jason Bent. The former Canadian international player spent three years as coach of the TFC Academy before being promoted to assistant coach with the senior team this year. We're now seeing the fruits of his labour, and at the tender age of 33, Bent's future in coaching looks very, very bright.
    Morgan, Cordon and Stinson all got brief sniffs with the senior team last year, appearing in Voyageurs Cup/CONCACAF Champions League matches. But with the reinstatement of the MLS Reserve Division this year, these guys (plus Makubuya and Omphroy) will get plenty of time to further develop their talents in competitive game situations. Of course, if they're ready to be regular contributors to the senior team, hey, bonus!
    With these signings, the median age of TFC's active roster is 24 years old; the average age about 24.3.
    Like some of the other pro teams in Toronto, it appears the brain trust at TFC is on board with allowing fans to emotionally invest in a crop of youngsters that can mature and grow before their eyes, rather than patchwork Band-Aid solutions that don't do any favours to the long-term health of the club. That approach is wise, in my eyes, since after four years of utter futility, that bond between the team and the fans is seriously frayed in Toronto.
    Another year of Gargan-in-the-cab stories just wasn't going to cut it.
    .
    Guest

    A lovely appetizer

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    I absolutely loved what I saw coming through my computer screen from Seattle last night.
    MLS First Kick, the home-town Sounders getting great fan support – but not quite enough finish – in a spirited 0-1 loss to the sharp, impressive Los Angeles Galaxy.
    Speed, ideas, passion, technical problems being set – and solved. It was a very enjoyable – and frequently thrilling – game of soccer. It’s the first MLS footie I’ve seen since last November’s MLS Cup, and this first game of oh-eleven was significantly more fun than that crowing moment of oh-ten.
    First I’ve seen? Allow me to explain:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Now that I’m in a joint blogging effort with some very hard-charging fellow journos, I decided to take a novel approach to the MLS pre-season.
    I ignored it.
    Not that I wasn’t working. There’s still lots going on behind the scenes in Canadian soccer governance, and that’s where my main focus has obviously been for awhile.
    But somewhere along the way it occurred to me that endless, capable minds were focused on analyzing each roster move, injury or setback, trying to get a definitive sense of what’s about to happen in Our Little League.
    And the more it went on, the less motivated I became.
    Take Toronto FC, for example. New Dutch general Aron Winter shows up with a world of experience and a shiny 4-3-3 formation, saying he wants to own the ball and press, press, press. Love it – but he’s inheriting a deeply flawed Mo Johnston roster, and a captain who – frankly – needs a real captain to tell him to cool it.
    Does Nick LaBrocca fit in? Apparently not. Dealt to Chivas for Alan Gordon. Is Gordon enough striker? We won’t know until the real games start.
    And that became the rub for me. Winter has a system and the roster certainly looks decent up the middle. Depth is an issue, but how big? At least one expert called Toronto to finish dead last in the east because of depth. But coaches and systems win in this league. If Winter’s 4-3-3 is righteous, depth may not be as desperate as it sometimes seems.
    I was utterly incapable, in other words, of forming a useful opinion of where Toronto stands. And the more I knew that, the less interested I became in the Carolina Cup or kick-arounds in Turkey.
    I want to see this team fresh, on opening night, and start forming my opinions then. So I let the previews go. At this exact moment, I likely know less about Your Revved-Up Reds than any other writer on this site.
    That won’t last. The curtain goes up Saturday, with the home opener a week after that. Then, you’ll get commentary based purely on how they look, and not so much on how we got here.
    It’s a subtle distinction, but it will be one a lot of TFC fans share. It will be interesting to see what an “outside insider’s” view looks like.
    It was certainly thrilling last night, when the Galaxy and Sounders ran hard at each other for most of the game.
    To me, this looks and feels significantly different from MLS seasons past. With new teams in Vancouver and Portland, the league has gained in significance. With more DPs, the marquee value is on the rise. At the core, though, it’s still the same careful, stingy league, where parity will still do its best to float all boats – even if the Chivas USA boat looks hopelessly holed below the waterline.
    What was really interesting for me last night was seeing David Beckham show up and work like he’s just another player. Not a lot of distractions for Lad Becks right now. He’s not in Europe, England isn’t up to anything, and he’s unlikely to be involved when they are. Well, he always was a footballer first, and here’s a game to play.
    Coupled with the huge, happy, excited, thrilling green-and-blue crowd and the pleasing overall pace of the match, there was real substance on the field last night.
    Evolution is a slow process. It’s hard to spot the exact moment one thing turns into another. But coming at MLS cold last night, after a few months completely off, I frankly loved what I saw. I see a league ready to be taken far more seriously – and not because of the new teams or gimmicks or whatever.
    I believe I’m seeing a league that actually belongs it the role it set for itself – the top level of professional men’s soccer north of Mexico. It feels like it’s aged a bit. Gotten more seasoned. The opening match felt like it was time for two well-known sides to challenge each other, as opposed to some soccer business deciding to stage a game in some city Stateside.
    This is the first time I’ve truly felt that Major League Soccer really belongs – that it has tradition enough of its own creation, that it’s really interesting to try to guess what happens next.
    Maybe I’m late to the party, but that wasn’t just another MLS game last night.
    The perfect palate-cleanser, if you will.
    And now – I’m ready for The Reds.
    Onward!
    Guest
    Some things about Toronto FC's season are easy to predict: Stefan Frei will keep the team in games they have no business winning, Dwayne DeRosario will have the ball at his feet an awful lot, and Dan Gargan will rip his shirt off if and when he scores a goal. But following the Great Annual Roster Purge (GARP), there are always plenty of personnel variables heading into a TFC season. With the Reds' opener looming, here are five players I'll be trying to keep an eye on in 2011:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Jacob Peterson: He became a well-worn punching bag for some TFC pundits (including a certain It's Called Football host) during his underwhelming first campaign with Toronto in 2010. But considering that he survived the GARP, Aron Winter and company must see value in him. Indeed, Peterson has said during the pre-season that he's feeling comfortable in the Dutchman's new system, which certainly bodes well (or is complete bullshit; we'll see). He scored Toronto's final league goal at home in 2010 (momentum, baby!) and could be valuable as a wide player.
    Besides, as your friend who keeps taking back their idiotic significant other despite multiple transgressions would tell you: Everyone deserves a second chance.
    Alan Gordon: I've never made a secret of my affection for that hard-working dope Chad Barrett. In a roundabout way, Gordon was "traded" for Barrett (yes, I know he was actually traded for Nick LaBrocca, but Barrett's now with the Galaxy, where Gordon spent most of his career... though TFC actually acquired him from Chivas USA... whatever, move on) and so I can't help but be fascinated by whether Gordon can fill the spot in my heart vacated by Barrett's departure. And by "the spot in my heart", I mean "a spot in the back of the opponent's net... with the ball... with greater frequency than Barrett."
    But his most prolific season in terms of goal-scoring was 2008 when he scored... five. Interestingly, though, he has 15 assists in 108 MLS games, and three of them (a full 20%) came in brief nine-game stint with Chivas at the end of last year. Perhaps a change in uniform brought out something in him? Or perhaps I'm over-analyzing a completely coincidental statistic? We'll soon find out.
    Oscar Cordon: This is the space that would have belonged to Nicholas Lindsay, had his affinity for off-season snowmobiling not 86ed his season. And this space could, ultimately, be taken over by the likes of Matt Stinson or Keith Makubuya. But I've picked Cordon as my talisman of the TFC Academy mostly because in my very limited viewing of the Academy in CSL play last season, I noticed a good connection between Cordon and the hero of Canada's run at the CONCACAF U17 tournament last month, Keven Aleman. So when I hear Cordon getting praised, I can't help but think his buddy Keven may not be far behind in ascending the Reds' ranks.
    And as a desperate, delusional Canadian fan, I've now pinned my hopes on the future of the senior program on Aleman, based on one nice goal he scored on some dusty pitch in Montego Bay. But hey, gotta cling to something.
    Nana Attakora: Odd choice, I know, considering we've had more time to keep an eye on him in a TFC uniform that anyone else in the history of the universe (true, y'know). But this will be a defining season for the 21-year-old centre-back's career. Given Adrian Cann's shenanigans (I mean, walkout? Seriously? Around here, it's "cheque-signing motion" or nothin', fella), I imagine young Nana (can we call him that anymore?) will be considered the linchpin of the defence by Winter and co.
    And if he's ever going to attract interest from a league beyond MLS (which overly-optimistic Canadian fans have been predicting for years) and establish himself with the senior national team (he's failed to wriggle his way in thus far, but he can always show a clip of Adam Straith's cock-up against Greece and say "hey, at least I didn't do that!"), 2011 will probably be the year in which he'll do it.
    Gianluca Zavarise: Yeah, homer pick here, so what. I'm Canadian, and it's good to see Canadians get a chance. You can say that too, y'know. No shame necessary, no apologies. After being one of Stephen Hart's "who?" call-ups to the men's national team last year (along with luminaries such as Massih Wassey), Zavarise found the back of the net for TFC this pre-season, and evidently impressed Winter enough to get a spot on the squad.
    I could lie and say I have some in-depth knowledge of how well he'll link up with current teammates, based on his performance in years past at AC Belluno 1905. But I won't. He's Canadian, he's a largely unknown quantity, and that's enough for me to be utterly fascinated by what he may have to offer to the team.
    But that's just my opinion. What do you think?
    Guest
    MLS 2011 kicks off tonight in Seattle with the Sounders hosting Supporters Shield holders LA Galaxy.
    Our live chat will be cross-posted at Match Fit USA, so hopefully we can get some cross-continental banter going on. The match kicks off at 9:30pm EDT, with the chat going live roughly 15 minutes beforehand.
    We'll also be discussing the Real Salt Lake vs. Saprissa CONCACAF Champions League match, which kicks off at 10pm EDT.
    Please join us!
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ff162ad52b/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ff162ad52b" >MLS First Kick 2011 - Seattle vs. L.A.</a></iframe>
    Guest
    <p>With four days to go until kicking off the 2011 MLS season, the Vancouver Whitecaps have signed four more of their young trialists. Bilal Duckett, Jeb Brovsky, and Brian Sylvestre have all agreed to MLS terms, and good for them. Duckett and Brovsky were both SuperDraft picks while Sylvestre had graduated from the Whitecaps Residency. But it still leaves the team with a remarkable eight players in camp but not under contract. Mouloud Akloul, Michael Boxall, Bedri Gashi, Kevin Harmse, Alexandre Morfaw, Cornelius Stewart, Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo, and Russell Teibert are still kicking around Empire Field with hope but without a contract.</p>
    <p>Not all of them are in the same situation, of course. Stewart has left Canada to be with his sick father and, according to Marc Weber, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ProvinceWeber/status/47389332574711809">will join the Whitecaps Residency</a> upon his return. Akloul has been fighting the same ankle injury for more than nine months and, while practicing, still shows no signs of being resolved. Sanvezzo is having visa problems getting his trial extended. But Boxall, Gashi, Harmse, Morfaw, and Teibert and still playing, still in training camp, and even though a few of them are winning core roles in the pre-season squad, all are still waiting for their MLS deals.</p>
    <p>What, in short, is their <em>deal</em>?</p>
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <p>Out of the remaining trialists, Bedri Gashi is probably the biggest mystery. It's even a mystery what country he was born in, since he's a native of Kosovo (though he grew up in Switzerland). Just eighteen years old, the tall, lanky Gashi could play with the Residency team if he failed to make the grade in MLS. And, let's face it, he probably will. While healthy and having been training with the big club, Gashi has barely gotten a glimpse of the pre-season matches, getting only a few minutes here and there and appearing in second-team matches. In terms of the depth chart, he's trying to overtake Russell Teibert and Blake Wagner on the left side. He's trying to overtake Nizar Khalfan, Wes Knight, and someday Michael Nanchoff on the right side. And, again, he's just eighteen. I think we can book Gashi for either the PDL team or his outright release, and I don't think this is going to be news to any of you, but it's nice sometimes to just remember Gashi's still around.</p>
    <p>Russell Teibert is also a teenage wide midfielder. That's where the similarities with Gashi end. Far from being a third-stringer who needs some seasoning, Teibert's stormed into a starting role on left wing with the Whitecaps in pre-season. He hasn't been a ninety-minute man, which is worrying given the injury and fitness problems he's encountered over the past season. But his skill, his enthusiasm, and his poise have been undeniable. In the minds of almost every observer, he has justly won a Major League Soccer contract. Even if he does struggle a little bit in his first season, Teibert is <em>eighteen</em>. You can afford to patiently nurture an eighteen-year-old two-time Canadian U-17 player of the year with bags of skill a little bit.</p>
    <p>What's the hold-up? He's Canadian; it's not like he needs a work permit. Everybody expects Teibert to sign, but nobody knows why he hasn't yet. Is Teibert taking advantage of his vastly-increased profile and asking for plenty of money? Remember that cash concerns sent the promising Kyle Porter out of town; might Teibert be in the same boat? Are the Whitecaps seriously considering sparing Teibert's youth and sending him back to the Residency? Or is it just that the team has been pre-occupied concluding more difficult negotiations with the likes of Hassli and Chiumiento, Teibert's in no hurry, and the eventual signing is just a formality with a couple wrinkles left to iron out? Who the hell knows; this is the Vancouver Whitecaps, they don't tell people things! I'm of course optimistic Teibert will eventually sign, but given the incredible promise he's shown can you blame me for thinking something must go wrong? You can't be a Canadian soccer fan without being a cynic.</p>
    <p>Speaking of Canadian soccer cynicism, Kevin Harmse! I think the Whitecaps really should sign Harmse if he's willing to take minimal money. In his occasional appearances since joining the team on trial, Harmse has looked reasonably fit despite his injury history. Moreover, the Whitecaps aren't chock-a-block with veteran MLS defenders. If Harmse signs, that'll bring the number of Whitecaps defenders to play more than ten MLS games up to... two. You'll doubtless recall my ranting about <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1342-developingdepth">the Whitecaps' lack of depth</a> on defense, and Harmse would be seriously helpful in that.</p>
    <p>I think the Whitecaps will sign Harmse if he looks fit. Actually, I think they'll sign most of these guys; they only have twenty-three players under MLS contracts so it's not like they haven't got the room. The fitness with Harmse is the question. Chivas traded him for borderline nothing and Houston released him for absolutely nothing, so some pretty decent MLS teams have been worried about him. Harmse is a limited player and probably isn't worth holding onto out of hope; keep him if he can contribute immediately and release him if he can't. I really hope he can, though. We need the help.</p>
    <p>Alexandre Morfaw is in an unfortunately position. The 22-year-old Morfaw is older than Gershon Koffie or Michael Nanchoff but a little less good. He's a nice, decent player but has no distinguishing skills that can get him into a lineup day in, day out. He's probably too old to stick with the USL PDL team. Morfaw has an attractive mean streak but, even if the Whitecaps do sign him, I can't imagine him sticking around too long. Barring the unforeseen, Morfaw might get a contract to make up the numbers but would really need to show something off if he were to make the 2012 team.</p>
    <p>Michael Boxall is another guy with quite a bit to prove, but in an entirely different sense. Remember, we picked this big, slow kid from New Zealand in the Supplementary Draft, and he may wind up single-handedly answering the question "why does MLS even bother with the Supplementary Draft?" First he was going to struggle to make the team and now he might start our first MLS game if the Jay DeMerit injury is as bad as everybody fears. I like Michael Boxall. I've <a href="http://www.eightysixforever.com/2011/1/22/1949685/the-whitecaps-many-many-additions-in-review-part-two-supplementary">always liked Michael Boxall</a> and I like him even more now. He's a big, solid, intelligent sort on the field who plays a no-nonsense style and could never possibly be an all-League defender but could be a serious contributor to a contending team for a long time.</p>
    <p>Will the Whitecaps spend a roster spot on Boxall? Almost certainly. And, indeed, they should. Without Boxall (or Harmse), the Whitecaps would be very thin at central defense. Unless you count Jeb Brovsky, and please don't, or unless Mouloud Akloul gets healthy, and I'm beginning to wonder if they accidentally replaced his ankle with chicken bones. Boxall is the sort of limited but useful player that MLS teams have gotten mileage out of for years. Heck, the Whitecaps have one starting at centre back in the form of Greg Janicki. I think Boxall will be fine.</p>
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