Whitecaps Acquire FC Zurich Striker

There has been one thing constantly talked about since preseason camp began in Arizona for the Whitecaps.  Who is going to score the goals?  The panic felt by the fans and discussed by the media doesn’t seem to worry the Whitecaps organization or at least they don’t show it.  As reported on the weekend, Director of Operations Tom Sohen was in Switzerland looking for help at the forward position.  It took only a few days but the Whitecaps have found their man in Eric Hassili, a striker from the Swiss Super League

A teammate with Alain Rochat at FC Zurich, Eric Hassli is a 29 year old French forward who comes to the Caps as the proven goalscorer fans were looking for.  The team is second in the Axpo Super League but Hassli is probably fourth on depth chart as the team is going with younger strikers and Hassli is coming off a serious leg injury.  He is a known for his strength as he is a 6’4” forward with good technical skills and has scored the spectacular goal on occasion as you can see in the video below.  He is by no means slow on the field as his blend of speed and size is what the Whitecaps are looking for in a striker.

Whitecaps End First Trip With Win

The Vancouver Whitecaps completed their first preseason trip to Arizona as a MLS club with another victory over a club still alive in the CCL.  They defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 with tallies from Atiba Harris and 1^st pick Omar Salgado and missed making it a two goal victory when Davide Chiumiento’s missed penalty.  They opened the trip with a 2-1 decision against Real Salt Lake who will be the Crew’s opponent in the CCL quarterfinal.  Sandwiched between those victories was a competitive 1-0 loss to Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders.

New Quota Is Not A Problem For Whitecaps

After much negotiation with the CSA, the MLS announced that there would be a Canadian player quota for the Whitecaps and TFC in 2011.  Overall it was reduced from eight players that TFC required last year to each team needing to have three Canadians under contract.  Both teams already have the quota filled on their roster as the Whitecaps have three signed for 2011 and Toronto have five on their roster.  There may be even more Canadians signed by each team as they a number of players on trial during the preseason.

Rochat Returns Home.....Sort Of

Six days into the winter transfer window there finally was a tweet from the Whitecaps organization that a new player signing would be announced on Friday.  Was this the striker that every fan in the lower mainland was hoping for or at least a midfielder with a scorer’s touch?  Hopes were dashed a few hours later when Marc Weber of The Province reported the signing was of a player that the majority of Whitecaps fans knew was a lock for the 2011 roster last summer.

Post Draft Whitecaps Roster Analysis: Part I

The 2011 MLS season is less than 60 days away and after 2 separate drafts the Whitecaps roster is starting to take shape.  With the drafting concluded, the team have 14 players signed and an additional 18 in camp attempting to earn MLS contracts.  The transfer window opened last weekend and while there are no signings to report and only one player, Robbie Savage, linked to the team, the Whitecaps are expected to bring in another 4 to 6 players to compete for spots in the starting eleven.