Vancouver Whitecaps (USL)

"For information about the original NASL team, see Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL)."

Football club infobox
clubname = Vancouver Whitecaps F.C.


fullname = Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club
nickname = 'Caps
founded = 1986
ground = Swangard Stadium
capacity = 5,288
chairman = flagicon|Canada Bob Lenarduzzi
manager = flagicon|Iceland Teitur Þórðarson
league = USL First Division
season = 2008
position = 2

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rightarm1=FFFFFF
shorts1=FFFFFF
socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=
pattern_b2=_whitehorizontal
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Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team, founded in 1986. The team is a member of the USL First Division, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

They currently play at the Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia, 7 miles east of downtown Vancouver. The team is currently coached by Teitur Þórðarson. The team's colors are blue and white.

The team was originally known as the Vancouver 86ers of both the A-League and, prior to that, the Canadian Soccer League (CSL). In addition to its men's side the Whitecaps also field a women's team, Vancouver Whitecaps Women, in the USL W-League, and two developmental teams: Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, in the USL Premier Development League, and the Whitecaps FC Prospects, in the Pacific Coast Soccer League.

Along the developmental lines, the club has also added three Super Y-League teams. Coastal WFC, Mountain WFC and Surrey WFC. This league operates U13, U14, U15, U16 and U17 divisions for both boys and girls. [http://www.whitecapsfc.com/youth/teams/super_y_affiliates/]

Current squad

"As of August 18, 2008"

Transfers 2008/2009

"In"
* from Kedah FA
* from Kedah FA
*
*
* from Haut-Richelieu Celtix
* from TFC Academy
* from Southwest United
* from TFC Academy

"Out:"
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

History

Vancouver 86ers

In 1986, a professional soccer team was again launched in Vancouver, the Vancouver 86ers -- so named because of both the year of the team's founding and to commemorate the year Vancouver was founded (1886). The 86ers played in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) winning 4 straight CSL Championships (1988-1991) and the inaugural North American Club Championship (1990) until that league too folded, at which point the team joined the American Professional Soccer League (A-League), later renamed the USL.

In 1988–1989, the team, coached by Bob Lenarduzzi, set a North American professional sports record by playing 46 consecutive games without a loss. [http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?team_id=44&searchall=1]

Vancouver Whitecaps (USL)

In 2001, the team reverted back to the old Vancouver Whitecaps moniker (signifying both the 'white caps' of the nearby mountains, and the waves of the Pacific Ocean). The Whitecaps currently practise on the new turf field at Simon Fraser University.

In 2003 the name was again changed, albeit only slightly, to Whitecaps F.C. which encompasses the men's, women's, and youth development teams within the organization. At this time, the Whitecaps logo changed slightly in colour (the light teal-green was replaced with a brighter blue) and the word "Vancouver" was dropped from the image.

In 2006, the Whitecaps organization won an unprecedented double-championship, claiming both the USL Division 1 men's trophy and winning the W-League women's trophy. The men's team also won the Nation's Cup, a new tournament established by their club as a way to feature the Whitecaps playing against international competition. The 2006 Nation's Cup tournament featured the Chinese and Indian U-20 National teams and Championship Welsh club Cardiff City F.C. (the "Bluebirds").

The following season, the Whitecaps signed a deal to play an exhibition match against the L.A. Galaxy, now featuring international superstar David Beckham, and promoted Director of Soccer Operations Bob Lenarduzzi to team president.

Over the past several seasons, the club have gradually reverted back to the name "Vancouver Whitecaps F.C.", adding the "Vancouver" back into their name.

The Whitecaps and Major League Soccer

MLS commissioner Don Garber says Vancouver is a potential market for expansion but wants more information on renovations to BC Place Stadium. On May 16, 2008, the provincial government announced that B.C. Place is getting a facelift that includes a retractable roof. The move affords the Whitecaps the opportunity to bid for a Major League Soccer franchise. "There is no doubt the market for professional soccer exists in Vancouver, as we saw last November when nearly 50,000 fans attended the exhibition match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Whitecaps, " Garber said. [http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?16&content_id=158409&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp] According to the Vancouver Sun newspaper, Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi confirmed on June 24, 2008 that Steve Nash has been in discussions with owner Greg Kerfoot about the two-time NBA MVP's involvement in helping Vancouver secure a Major League Soccer expansion team. [ [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=4db98ca7-6e50-4d30-bf4a-200c02fb0f3f Native son shines on bid for MLS Franchise ] ]

On July 24, 2008, the MLS announced they were seeking to add two expansion franchises for the 2011 season. [ [http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080724&content_id=175344&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp Major League Soccer: News: Article ] ] One day later, the Whitecaps officially announced that they were pursuing one of the two expansion slots. The Whitecaps also announced that local sports icon, Steve Nash, will join the Whitecaps ownership team. [ [http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature07250801.aspx 'Caps pursue franchise in MLS ] ]

Rival clubs

The Vancouver Whitecaps have two bitter rivals, the Pacific Northwest Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders. These three teams compete in the yearly Cascadia Cup.

The Whitecaps also compete on a yearly basis with the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC for the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The winner of this series advances to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Fans

The two biggest supporters' groups are the "Southsiders" (so named for the south end of the field where they congregate), and the "Blue and White Brigade" (who congregate in the grandstand), both of whom often chant and sing. The Southsiders are something of a tradition at Swangard Stadium and are easily the most vocal and loyal component of the Whitecaps' support base.

New Stadium

The City of Vancouver is currently considering a proposal for Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium, a new stadium to be built over the railway tracks east of Waterfront Station on Burrard Inlet. This 16,000 seat stadium would replace Swangard Stadium as the home field for the USL's Vancouver Whitecaps. There is a fair degree of controversy with regards to this location; a Vancouver council session to debate the issue was extended to four nights to allow public input. Detractors view the proposed stadium as an incongruous addition to nearby historic Gastown that would block waterfront access and promote piecemeal development of the area. Proponents of the development feel that the stadium will attract new business to the downtown and Gastown areas, particularly since the soccer team tends to attract a family-oriented audience.

On July 11, 2006, Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to proceed with the stadium project, so long as the Whitecaps could meet certain conditions regarding land use.

On 22 January 2007, the Whitecaps filed a new proposal shifting the proposed site for the stadium project to the current location of the SeaBus terminal, a short distance northwest of the previous site.

Notable Former Players

"Vancouver Whitecaps"
*Tony Caig
*Adrian Cann
*Carlo Corazzin
*Nick Dasovic
*Chris Franks
*Willis Forko
*Charles Gbeke
*Joey Gjertsen
*Richard Goddard
*Josh Hansen
*Kevin Harmse
*Lars Hirschfeld
*Kevin Holness
*Marty Johnston
*Steve Klein
*Nigel Marples
*Sita-Taty Matondo
*Josue Mayard
*Jason McLaughlin
*Alen Marcina
*Jared Montz
*Dave Morris
*Matt Nelson
*Anthony Noreiga
*Lutz Pfannenstiel
*Ryan Suarez
*Johnny Sulentic
*David Testo
*Justin Thompson
*Niall Thompson
*Rick Titus
*Davide Xausa

"Vancouver 86ers"
*Carlo Corazzin
*Nick Dasovic
*Kevin Holness
*Martin Nash
*Bob Lenarduzzi
*Shaun Lowther
*Dale Mitchell
*David Norman
*Rick Titus
*Niall Thompson
*Carl Valentine

Honours

* CSL Champions - 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 (runners-up in 1992)
* CSL Regular Season Champions – 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
* North American Club Champions – 1990
* APSL Regular Season Champions - 1993
* A-League Western Conference Champions - 2001
* Cascadia Cup Champions - 2004, 2005, 2008
* Nations Cup Champions - 2006
* USL First Division Champions - 2006

Year-by-Year

References

External links

* [http://www.whitecapsfc.com Vancouver Whitecaps Official Site]
* [http://www.vancouversouthsiders.com Vancouver Southsiders Official Site]