Whitecaps players return for training camp without a head coach or new owners

Question marks loom for the Vancouver Whitecaps as players filter back into the city before training camp.

During the off-season, the athletes heard from afar that head coach Vanni Sartini had been fired in mid-November. A month later came news that ownership was selling the Major League Soccer club.

“We did not expect any of that, with the coach and then especially ownership,” veteran defender Ranko Vesleinovic said Monday. “But we couldn’t do anything. Everything is out of our hands. So we just had to stay healthy, stay fit, train. That’s what’s up to us, and the rest is up to the club to figure out everything. And they are doing it.”

The team is now beginning its pre-season preparations, but a new coach has not yet been publicly named and the “for sale” sign remains.

Whitecaps captain Ryan Gauld said the pending business hasn’t been a distraction.

“Obviously, that’s a big thing going on at the club, but it doesn’t really affect us in our day to day,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“We’ve still got a big season ahead of us, and, speaking to all the guys good to see them all back the last couple of days, it’s not really come up in conversation between any of us. We’re all here just to be focused on the football and make sure that we do our job.”

The Whitecaps will travel to Spain on Tuesday and spend more than three weeks training in Marbella before returning to Vancouver for final tune-ups.

With less than 24 hours to go before the scheduled departure for Europe, the club had yet to unveil its new head coach on Monday.

Gauld said “it would have been nice” to have the new gaffer in, but a lengthy pre-season makes the issue less pressing.

“The first couple of weeks of pre-season season, anyway, is all about getting the fitness,” he said. “And we’re going to be in Marbella for quite awhile. So there’s a lot of time together to to get his ideas across. And also for him to get to know everyone on a personal level as well.”

The uncertainty follows a mediocre campaign, where Vancouver won its third-straight Canadian Championship title but struggled toward the end of the MLS season and finished with a 13-13-8 record.

The ‘Caps earned a spot in the playoffs by thumping their regional-rival Portland Timbers 5-0 in a play-in game and pushed Los Angeles FC to three games before ultimately losing their first-round series.

The post-season push showed what the team is capable of, Veselinovic said.

“That’s definitely a positive thing and we’re going with that in our mind,” he said.

“This is the season where we need to stick really together, when we need to show everybody that we’re not just going to be here for, I don’t know, just to participate. (We need) to go and try to win everything.”

Training camp will feature a lighter roster than the one the ‘Caps finished last season with.

Vancouver has parted ways with a number of players, including forward Fafa Piccault, who was third on the team in goals last season but did not see his option picked up. The 33-year-old Haitian international will play for Inter Miami this year.

The ‘Caps also announced Sunday that forward Deiber Caicedo has been transferred to Colombian Categoria Primera A side Junior FC.

Other departures include Canadian midfielder Ryan Raposo, Austrian midfielder Alessandro Schopf and American goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

“We lost a few boys who’ve been big players for us over the last year or two,” Gauld said.

“It’s not just losing them on the pitch, but they were good guys in the change room as well. … So I would say we just still need a bit more depth. And to bring an extra little bit to the change room as well.”

One player who feels he has the ability to make a bigger contribution this season is Sam Adekugbe. Injuries limited the 29-year-old Canadian left back to just 16 regular-season appearances in 2024.

“We all know, it was a hard season for me. I missed a lot of games with club football and international football,” Adekugbe said. ” I worked hard this off-season and I’m in the clear now. And I’m hoping that I can just be more of an important player, not just off the field, but on the field as well.”

The Whitecaps’ first game of 2024 will come on Feb. 20 when the team visits Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa to kick off a two-legged CONCACAF Champions League matchup. Vancouver will play its first MLS game of the year on Feb. 23 when it visits the Timbers before hosting Saprissa on Feb. 27. The ‘Caps will hold their home opener when the L.A. Galaxy visit on March 2.