Vancouver turns over roster to kick off season vs. Montreal
Carl Robinson vowed to make changes -- and he did.
The Vancouver Whitecaps coach will have several new players to choose from Sunday as his club hosts the Montreal Impact in the 2018 Major League Soccer season opener for both teams at B.C. Place Stadium.
"(The squad is) totally different, I'll tell you that -- and you'll be able to see that," Robinson told reporters in Vancouver.
Robinson was disappointed after the Caps failed to score while being eliminated by the Seattle Sounders in a two-leg Western Conference semifinal series last fall. He sought to change the team's locker-room and on-field dynamics by bringing in a mixture of MLS veterans and newcomers.
"If you look at the roster from top to bottom, you'll see there are some senior players that have left -- some good senior players," said Robinson, whose team finished third in the West with a 15-12-7 mark in 2017. "There are some younger players that we decided to move on. But the freshness within the group is what excites me about it."
Prominent departures include striker Fredy Montero, goalkeeper David Ousted, center back Tim Parker, left back Jordan Harvey and midfielders Christian Bolanos and Mauro Rosales.
Among the key arrivals are strikers Kei Kamara, a consistent scorer in MLS, and Anthony Blondell, center backs Doneil Henry and Jose Aja and midfielder Jordon Mutch, who was brought in on loan from Crystal Palace of the English Premier League.
Meanwhile, Montreal's most significant arrival is new coach Rémi Garde, who previously guided teams in France's Ligue 1 and the English Premier League. Garde is tasked with improving a squad that missed the playoffs in 2017 while placing ninth in the Eastern Conference with an 11-17-6 mark.
His challenge became more difficult this week as French center back Zakaria Diallo, a key offseason signing, was sidelined five to six months with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in practice.
"It's unfortunate to lose what we know is an important piece to the team and the defense, but not a lot changes in our approach," defender Daniel Lovitz told reporters in Montreal.
Despite the loss of his back-line mate, Lovitz is enjoying the club's new atmosphere under Garde.
"There's definitely a new feeling about the team, and it's exciting," said Lovitz.
-- Field Level Media
