VANCOUVER – After a long day of travel, new Whitecaps FC centre back Diego Rodriguez arrived in Vancouver at around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night. And he found Kendall Waston, Matias Laba, and Nicolas Mezquida waiting for him at the airport.
Rodriguez knew Mezquida from back home in Uruguay, but had never met Waston or Laba before.
“We decided to pick him up because we speak Spanish and we want all the new players to feel comfortable here,” Waston told whitecapsfc.com. “He was very thankful.”
- WATCH: Octavio Rivero media scrum
- WATCH: Diego Rodriguez media scrum
- WATCH: Pa-Modou Kah media scrum
The four players then made their way to the hotel, where they helped Rodriguez settle in and met up with fellow Uruguayan newcomer Octavio Rivero, before going out to eat together.
“It’s better if we are together so we thought we could help them enjoy everything here,” Laba added.
A 'Caps front office staff member was also at the hotel helping out Rivero. And when he saw the other players arrive, the staffer told them that these kinds of gestures are what the club's all about, in reference to Whitecaps FC's: "Our all. Our honour" motto.
Laba responded: “And we would have done it for a North American too!”
The next morning (today), Rodriguez, Rivero and fellow newcomer Pa-Modou Kah were officially unveiled to both the ‘Caps front office staff and media at the Whitecaps FC headquarters in Gastown.
See below for some snippets of the day (click here to watch their media scrums).
If you’d like to get your hands on a signed Rivero jersey, drop by the Whitecaps FC Official Store in Gastown in the next week and make a purchase to get your name entered into a draw.
Participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver! The 2015 Whitecaps FC season kicks off on March 7 versus Toronto FC at BC Place. Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are now on sale. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, Student Half-Season Tickets, and a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket. For more information on 2015 Season Tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
