By Farhan Devji/whitecapsfc.com
In the second installment of 'Caps Coaches - a three-part series on the Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coaches since the team's first season in 1974 - club correspondent Farhan Devji speaks to Vancouver's most decorated professional sports coach of all time, Bob Lenarduzzi. CLICK HERE for Part One.
After a two-year hiatus, professional soccer returned to Vancouver just in time for the inaugural season of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) in 1987, as the Vancouver 86ers were born.
Led by player/head coach Bob Lenarduzzi, the 86ers were victorious in their inaugural CSL match, defeating Edmonton Brick Men 4-2 in front of 7,646 fans at Swangard Stadium on June 7, 1987. "It was the rebirth of the professional game in Vancouver after the Whitecaps had folded," Lenarduzzi told whitecapsfc.com. "Carl Valentine scored a great goal in that first match. It's funny because in warm-up I said to him, 'listen, if you happen to score, can you make a point of running to the crowd and celebrating with them, running towards the grandstand.' Sure enough, after 20 minutes, he rocketed one into the top corner and ran to the crowd. That kind of cemented the relationship he, and we as a club, had with the fans."
The 86ers went on to finish second in the CSL Western Division that season before surrendering defeat to the eventual league champions Calgary Kickers in the playoff semifinals.
Despite an encouraging first season at the helm, Lenarduzzi admits he struggled in his unique role as player/head coach. "It was tough, because I don’t think I separated playing from coaching," said Lenarduzzi. "When I went out to play, I was actually not playing, but coaching. As a result, my performance suffered. Pretty much the whole season, I don't think I played particularly well."
The following season, Lenarduzzi says he finally came to the grips with the player/head coach role, allowing his assistant Alan Errington "to do whatever he felt needed to be done from a coaching perspective" when Lenarduzzi was on the pitch. "It worked much better," added Lenarduzzi.
It sure did. In 1988, the 86ers went 21W-1L-6D, winning their first of four-straight CSL championship titles. Yet, Lenarduzzi still singles out the 1988 championship as his fondest memory during his seven years as 86ers head coach. Before formally hanging up his boots and focusing solely on coaching, Lenarduzzi was able to enjoy the team's 4-1 victory over Hamilton Steelers in the CSL championship final that year, as both a player and head coach.
Another impressive feat in which Lenarduzzi is very proud of is the team’s unprecedented 46-match unbeaten streak during the 1988 and 1989 CSL seasons, with the streak setting a North American professional sports team record in the process. "It was great," said Lenarduzzi in reminiscence. "The only negative was the fact that as we got a long way into the streak, I felt that all of a sudden we were playing not to lose, as opposed to doing what we had done previously, which was going out and going for goals. I think it affected the way we were playing, our style of play, so although it was a great run, it was a little bit frustrating towards the end of that streak."
As illustrated by his comments, Lenarduzzi had clearly embraced the fulltime head-coaching gig by that point in time.
Before turning his attention towards the Canadian men's national team in 1993, Lenarduzzi posted an impressive record of 96W-24L-28D as head coach of the 86ers, making him the winningest coach in Vancouver professional sports history.
Former Whitecaps, 86ers, and Canadian international Carl Valentine succeeded Lenarduzzi as head coach of the 86ers in 1994, with the club competing at that stage in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). Though Valentine led the 86ers to playoff appearances in four of his six seasons in charge - the final three seasons being in the A-League - he was unable to bring a championship back to the city.
The turn of the millennium saw another former member of the 86ers and Whitecaps become the club’s third head coach, as Dale Mitchell took over the reins from Valentine. A former Canadian national team striker, Mitchell led the 86ers to a playoff semifinal appearance in 2000 before the 86ers were reborn as the Whitecaps the following season.
