With five players — including three key forwards — not joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in Orlando due to a combination of medical precautions and family obligations, the team will have vastly different look for their MLS is Back Tournament opener Wednesday (9 pm ET | TUDN, Twitter, TSN, TVAS) against the San Jose Earthquakes.
By default, the ‘Caps will likely be significantly younger — and less experienced — with numerous promising players getting the chance to impress coach Marc dos Santos throughout the tournament.
“It’s very clear in my head we’re going to be a young team on the field and young players are going to get opportunities in this tournament,” dos Santos said in a media call Monday.
But dos Santos said it's important to temper expectations for any of his younger players who might impress in Orlando.
“If we put a guy in, and it’s a midfielder, we can’t start treating him like he’s the next [Andrea] Pirlo,” dos Santos said. “He’s a young player that comes in and needs to grow and go from there.”
Because of that, dos Santos didn’t want to single any young player out in the club’s training sessions leading up to their delayed Group B opener. However, Damiano Pecile, Simon Colyn, Patrick Metcalfe, Derek Cornelius and Ranko Veselinovic could all possibly get minutes.
“You’re talking about players U-21 here,” dos Santos said. “Are they all going to play? It’s not sure, but I think if there’s an opportunity to play [with the first team], it’s in this tournament. It’s all going to depend on how the team recovers, everything is going to depend on how the team is going to shift from one game to the other.”
Tempered expectations also apply to Ryan Raposo, the 21-year-old attacker who was selected No. 4 overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft and picked up an assist in his MLS debut — a 1-0 win over the LA Galaxy in Carson in Week 2.
“Even a kid like Ryan Raposo shows incredible qualities, he’s exciting to watch, a player that can grow a lot,” dos Santos said. “But he’s still a player that has to gain his ground slowly and slowly and then get his opportunities, especially when you don’t have a second team.”
However, just because the ‘Caps will be younger, the team’s overall expectation — and mentality — in the MLS is Back Tournament doesn’t change.
“For us, our game plan stays the same,” veteran midfielder Russell Teibert said. “We’ve come down here with a job to do. There are nine league points in the group stage up for grabs and we’re going to do our best to maximize as much points as we can.”
