BY MARC WEBER
Goalkeeper Jay Nolly and defender Luca Bellisomo will return to the Whitecaps in 2010, coach Teitur Thordarson confirmed Monday.
Both have agreed to one-year deals but there's still paperwork to complete.
Nolly, 27, played every minute of every game last season, posting a 1.20 goals-against average with seven shutouts in 30 league contests. The Littleton, Colo., native spent three years in Major League Soccer -- with Real Salt Lake and D.C. United -- before signing with Vancouver for the 2008 season.
Bellisomo, a 23-year-old defender from Coquitlam, has also been with the club since 2008.
The Simon Fraser University graduate made for a great story in 2009, starting every playoff game in central defence after watching nine players get their shot at that position before him.
Georgian defender/midfielder Zourab Tsiskaridze, 22, has impressed enough to remain on trial this week. He played for Miami FC last season.
Orgill setback There is concern over the health of 19-year-old Jamaican forward Dever Orgill, a graduate of the Whitecaps residency program and expected to make an impact in 2010.
Orgill scored twice in 300 minutes last season before a meniscus injury in his left knee forced him into surgery. That was four months ago, and Orgill, back running, suffered a setback that's resulted in swelling. Another MRI scheduled for Dec. 9.
"That would be really upsetting, depressing," he said of the possibility of more surgery. "Hopefully everything is OK." Our music rocks! Canadian hip hop artist K'Naan (born in Somalia, raised in Toronto) has had a remixed version of his song "Wavin' Flag" selected as the anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
To quote the CBC piece: This is not the first time a Canadian musician's song has been feted by the soccer world. "Forca," off Grammy Award winner Nelly Furtado's 2003 album Folklore, was selected the official song of Euro 2004.
Our team can't qualify, but our musicians can! Rhinos to NASL The North American Soccer League, a breakaway from USL-1 that includes the Whitecaps, is now up to 10 teams.
The Rochester Rhinos announced Monday their commitment to the new league that is awaiting U.S. Soccer Federation approval.
© Copyright (c) The Province
