Issue #23 - Bitte
Discussing the "thrilling" Whitecaps FC match, the upcoming break, and encouraging reader participation for upcoming editions.
Hello!
How ‘bout that match on Saturday night, eh?! My goodness was the ending something else. Sure it came off of a VAR-induced PK. Sure the Whitecaps FC chose the defense-optional approach most of the night. Sure both PKs were suspect.
But… how ‘bout that match on Saturday night, eh?!
There’s also the matter of not Whitecaps FC action for a serious stretch of time, and me not entirely sure of what to write about.
So if there were ever a time you wanted to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to share something, these next few weeks will be it!
I think it would be cool to do a Reader’s Showcase. Or maybe you have a questions you’d like me to answer? Y’know, the questions where you get vibes over substance.
Whatever it might be, I encourage you to reach out - reply to this email or connect on social media!
The View
As any Vancouver sports fan knows, when a team you should easily beat rolls into town, your Vancouver team of choice will find a way to make it… uhh… interesting.
And boy oh boy did the Whitecaps FC do just that.
Going into the match, we knew the ‘Caps would be putting together a makeshift back line. With Ranko Veselinović out, Bjørn Inge Utvik back to Europe, newly-acquired Joedrick Pupe arriving in Vancouver injured, and newly-acquired Sebastian Schonlau not yet in match condition, options were few.
And I’m not so certain we should see the option selected… uh… selected again. Not that I have a solution to propose, but that’s a problem we can revisit in three weeks.
We also saw Thomas Müller not only get his first MLS start, but also his first match with the captain’s armband. The start itself not all that interesting, but the armband somewhat is - especially with Brian White wearing it in past matches AND being part of the Starting XI.
No real issue, just interesting. And again, there’s some history as a Vancouver sports fan that gives me a little PTSD.
But what about the match you ask? I honestly don’t know what to say, and I’ve been thinking about this since first-thing Sunday morning.
I think we can all agree the first half was rough. Sure there were glimpses of promise from Vancouver, but defensively the holes were aplenty. Sure we got a goal from Brian White on a PK, but the call was definitely generous and not all that indicative of a the team’s play to that point.
And beyond two set pieces (watch the lead up and you’ll see both Müller & Berhalter raise their hands above their head in a circle), Müller wasn’t too much of a factor. Short of directing traffic that is. He directed the hell out of traffic all match.
After Jesper shared his magic words at half, while the defending didn’t improve much, the Whitecaps seemed to understand that losing to St. Louis City SC would bring much shame and looked much brighter.
From Emmanuel Sabbi and Édier Ocampo constantly creating space for each other on the flank, Ali Ahmed coming in and getting involved straight away, and even Mathías Laborda choosing offense over defending (and somehow getting that match-decided PK), the Whitecaps did what they needed to do to manufacture the Daniel Rios goal off a set piece to tie and the “couldn’t be scripted better” goal from Müller to seal the deal.
Game. Set. Match.
Sure it couldn’t been better. Sure the Whitecaps FC could’ve dominated all match long. But I won’t get too upset at being the beneficiaries of some fortuitous officiating decisions and three points.
The Not So Good
The lack of Ranko Veselinović. The trickle-down impact of Ranko’s injury is having Tristan Blackmon play a role he isn’t comfortable with, Belal Halbouni playing a full match when he’s usually good for 15-20 minutes of clean up, and an over-reliance on the offense to work magic 1980s NHL style (score 1 more goal than the opposition does). Not sure how much of this I can take.
The Good
Daniel Rios scoring a goal. I still struggle to believe he did. Have to give him plaudits for that.
That Thomas Müller banger we heard post-match:
“Thomas Müller! Lala la la! Lala lalala! Thomas Müller! Lala la la! Lala lalala!”
Around the Pitch
There’s so much to talk about when it comes to scheduling in Major League Soccer.
Whether it’s the season that doesn’t align with the international football calendar, the match congestion through multiple competitions (imagine if the Whitecaps FC had Leagues Cup play too?!), and the general inconsistency with how the league chooses to reschedule for some teams and not others, complaints & concerns are plenty.
Yet as I write this, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC are going into a three-week break due to their next opponent, Orlando SC, progressing into the Leagues Cup semi-finals.
A three-week break.
Three weeks.
I actually don’t have much upset with this league-imposed hiatus, as it will help Ryan Gauld eventually transition back to the bench (couple of weeks, amirite!?) and will not punish the team when a bunch of players head off for international duty (including Tristan Blackmon off to the US).
But it simply reinforces the notion the league puts things together on a few napkins grabbed from a diner somewhere in the American Midwest.
Everything is malleable, nothing is consistent, and you simply accept what The League chooses to do.
So three weeks it will be.
Do you think Ryan Gauld will be back by the time the Whitecaps take the pitch for their next match?
It’s a week longer than a “couple of weeks” so I remain optimistic. 😆
From my seat to your browser!
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-Chris (@lyteforce.ca)