Good Friday morning Caps fans. I hope you are all mentally prepared for at least one more weekend of games and hopefully more if things go well.
Excitement reigns as the Caps head to Minnesota United, where victory over a floundering Loons team would see them enter the MLS Cup playoffs in dramatic fashion two years in a row. The Cardiac Caps strike again.
Off the pitch, things were a bit mixed. The club announced it had signed Axel Schuster to a four-year extension, an exciting if expected move and a seemingly fitting reward for someone who has led a fairly competent player scouting and recruiting effort over the past two years.
That news was somewhat clouded by the fact that both Lenarduzzi remain with the organization, just in a slightly different capacity. A disappointing decision to keep some, but not all, of the executives who have sparked the scandals for reasons that remain unclear (other than the nebulous need for connections and continuity).
#VWFC Axel Schuster satisfied with the new 4-year contract as first reported by @HarJournalist Schuster confirms that Greg Anderson has left the Caps, while Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi remain with the organization as liaisons. He also says that a decision on Cavallini’s status is still pending.
— JAY JANOWER (@JayJanower) October 4, 2022
For this to happen the week of a report revealing that sexual assault and harassment were much more widespread in women’s football than previously thought only amplifies the “what were they thinking?” and underlines the future need to clean the house.
It also had the effect of taking the wind out of the sails of what would have otherwise been an exciting revelation: Stephanie Labbé, a Canadian soccer legend who retired in January, will take over as general manager of women’s soccer.
The play is definitely good. Labbé adds legitimacy to efforts to keep the women’s program relevant, surely why the club wanted her on board. I have no doubt that her leadership will be of great help to one of Canada’s best development programs and potentially to an NWSL or other professional team coming to Vancouver.
Labbé spoke eloquently about her passion for creating a positive culture, protecting victims and pushing players in women’s football to do better.
“I am going to be a voice to continue advocating for athletes to have safe spaces to talk about these issues, because abuse has no place in our sport or any other sport in Canada.” – @stephlabbe1women’s soccer GM pic.twitter.com/2XIgWAcptF
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 6, 2022
But this week showed how far to go in that effort. And while she would rather see moves like this take place to help bring about improvements and chart a new course for women’s football, the timing makes it all feel bad and really detracts from it.
The Caps need more internal action to show the organization has changed, not bring in a Canadian soccer superstar to try and pass the ball. Hopefully, we get to see a lot of good things from Labbé, and the remaining front office bosses will get their act together or think twice about his future with the club.
the best of the rest
More on Labbé’s arrival in Vancouver
Caps co-owner Greg Kerfoot has seen his foundation lose charity status due to a serious breach.
The Canadian men’s team has slowly climbed to 41st place in the FIFA rankings. The women, meanwhile, beat Argentina 2-0 in a friendly on Thursday. Good times.
We already know the format of the extended Leagues Cup, which will start next season