I spotted Amorim's furious reaction - he knew what was coming from Man Utd
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Whitecaps: A season starts with a hunt for unicorns and a trip through the Timbers
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The Whitecaps had until Friday to declare their roster model â Designated Player heavy or U22 players â and chose the youth path. Now they just have to find the players, the magical and elusive affordable and impactful players, to fit the system.
Get the latest from J.J. Adams straight to your inboxPublished Feb 22, 2025  â˘Â 5 minute read
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Edier Ocampo is one of two U22 players on Vancouver Whitecaps roster. But there will be two more added, after the team chose the youth development model for the 2025 season. Photo by Jon Hair/Whitecaps /PNGReviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
The Vancouver Whitecaps were heartbeats away from a tie â which would actually have been a win â when they lost, but the loss was still a partial victory. You follow?
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Their 95th-minute lapse against Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Thursday was costly, giving the Costa Rican home side the 2-1 victory, but Ryan Gauldâs away goal at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa AymĂĄ gives them a better shot at the return leg next Thursday at B.C. Place.
It was a disappointing but not dispiriting loss, and provides some motivational fodder heading into their Major League Soccer season opener Sunday in Portland (1 p.m. PT, Apple TV, TSN).
More impactful on the teamâs long-term fate was Fridayâs roster compliance date, including a new wrinkle for 2025 â the construction model. The Caps had to choose between a Designated Player structure (Three DPs, two U22 players) or U22 (Two DPS, four U22 players plus $2 million general allocation money). The former is a star-based model that big-market teams like L.A. and Miami will follow; the latter, a more flexible, younger version that rewards player development and depth.
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The Whitecaps opted for the latter, meaning two more U22 players can be added to the roster, though it doesnât mean they will end up spending less. A hypothetical $2.7 million DP salary can now be spread across two $1.5 million U22 players, along with the extra GAM.
âIt gives us all the flexibility to bring in a player that is a DP-like player, without giving him the tag of a DP,â said sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster. âA DP tag also doesnât make you automatically a very good player â we have a lot of bad examples in the league. In our club, we have some very good examples for non-DP players that are very good. Brian White is a very good example. So we think this gives us the maximum flexibility if we feel the need to add two, I would say right away, impactful players that we also can do this within this model.â
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The Whitecaps currently have two DPs in AndrĂŠs Cubas and Gauld, and two U22 players in Ădier Ocampo (21) and Pedro Vite (22). A U22 player must be 22 years old or younger in the first year he is eligible to play in an MLS game, though Vite and Ocampo could conceivably hold the tag with Vancouver until the season they turn 25, as both signed their first MLS contracts as a U22.
Vancouver had planned to go the DP route this season, but the shock defection of midfielder Stuart Armstrong last month to Sheffield threw their plans into flux. Schuster had vacillated between the two models before settling on the U22 path.
It could change in the summer window, provided they havenât spent more than $1 million in the GAM and have two U22 players, but Schuster doesnât foresee that happening. The primary window closes on April 23, and he hopes to have the new signings before then.
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Schusterâs biggest challenge is finding these unicorn players. Talented attackers who are affordable and impactful are hard to find, and when they are, theyâre sure to have many options as to their destinations. Plus they have to be willing to come to MLS and have a team willing to part with them.
Enter Schuster, the door-to-door salesman.
âIf it would be easy to find them, everyone would identify them and find them. And I would in general say that our scouting and analytical group is doing a good job,â he said. âIf you want to go for this impactful player, you have to accept that you get a lot of nos. You have to be like the guy who wants to sell something at the door. You have to go from door to door to door, and wait until one door finally opens.
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âWe will not sign somebody who is just a helpful player. We will continue to knock at doors of all those players where we say they will be right away, an impactful player.â
The decision isnât surprising considering itâs consistent with the youth philosophy theyâve held for the past few seasons. In 2022, they averaged 24 years and 45 days, jumped to 26 years and 307 days last season, and are now sitting at 25 years and 210 days.
There are just three 30-year olds on the team in Sam Adekugbe (30), Daniel RĂos (30) and Damir Kreilach (35), balanced by two teenagers in Jeevan Badwal and Tate Johnson, part of a group of 11 players 23 or younger.
Part of the attraction of Jesper Sørensenâs background was his time with the Danish national youth program, as manager of the U21 team. He understands how greener players need to be coached.
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âWhat is important for younger players is that they are not complete yet,â said the Whitecaps coach, hired just last month
âOften we see them as talents, as prospects, and we have to nurture their talents as well and work with them becoming the players they eventually are going to be. Itâs very important that they have the feeling theyâre not too far away from the team, because they need valuable minutes also to develop.
â(You still set) the same amount of demands for them as we also do to some players that may have been playing in the league for 10 years, because they have to know theyâre not just in for the free ride. They have qualified for the team when they play, and thatâs very important. ⌠They also have to deliver â and they can. We believe they can, and we trust they can. Thatâs why theyâre in the team.
âItâs very important that they also know that as a coach, there will be bigger variants for younger players, because theyâve not grown fully into the decision making that you learn over a lot of years and when you play at the highest level. ⌠That will stabilize over time, but if they never get the time because youâre afraid of that variance, then theyâll never get to play.â
jadams@postmedia.com
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NEXT GAME
Vancouver Whitecaps at Portland Timbers
Regular Season Opener
Sunday, 1 p.m., Providence Park
TV: TSN/Apple
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