Whitecapsfc.com catches up with former ‘Caps defender Andy O’Brien, who returns to BC Place on Saturday as part of the club’s charity alumni match. Tickets are available for purchase for $5.
VANCOUVER, BC – Andy O’Brien was almost never a Vancouver Whitecaps FC player.
What a shame it would have been.
When the opportunity of crossing the pond to join Whitecaps FC first came up in 2012, O’Brien turned down the offer. At least at first. Vancouver is nearly 5,000 miles away from O’Brien’s hometown of Harrogate, England. And at that point, he had never even stepped foot in the city.
So when the ‘Caps brass needed an answer, he wasn’t ready to give one.
But when the club offered him an extension, as well as an opportunity to come to Vancouver for a visit, the decision became an easy one.
“I looked around the city and was blown away with it,” O’Brien told whitecapsfc.com. “It was absolutely fantastic, the stadium was brilliant, and there was all the infrastructure in terms of how they were going to develop the training ground and things like that, which has all proven to be the case. The decision to come was made up within half a day.”
O’Brien went on to make 50 MLS regular season appearances with Whitecaps FC over two and a half seasons, helping the club reach the playoffs for the first time in 2012 and then again in 2014.
“Looking back, it was exactly what I needed in terms of a fresh start leaving the UK,” said O’Brien, who spoke openly about his battle with depression before his time in Vancouver. “And I really enjoyed my football. I wasn’t there for a holiday or to retire. I had the bit between my teeth.”
He sure did.
Just ask Robbie Keane and Steven Lenhart, who O’Brien often mixed it up with.
He quickly became a fan-favourite among the supporters, who even sang a “Don’t Sell O’Brien” chant. They loved his hard-nosed, honest, and no-nonsense style of play.
It was hard not to.
“I remember speaking to Bob after one of the games, I felt comfortable in terms of talking about the depression and things like that. I think people just appreciated that,” O’Brien said. “And I think the Canadian ethos is that they’ll accept if you make mistakes or somebody is better than you, as long as you give 100 per cent and you’re honest. I’d like to think I gave 100 per cent, they appreciated that, and the feeling was mutual in terms of how I felt.”
O’Brien and the ‘Caps eventually parted ways at the end of the 2014 season, failing to come to an agreement on a new deal. The dual British-Irish citizen, who made over 300 appearances in the English Premier League and was a part of the Republic of Ireland’s 2002 FIFA World Cup side, has remained in the soccer world, however.
Currently, he is working with Liverpool FC as a scout.
O’Brien, now 37, is based in Harrogate, but spends a lot of the time travelling to watch different teams and players. He’s primarily responsible for the UK region, but he also tracks MLS and travels elsewhere as needed. Last year, for example, he attended the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
“It’s interesting to see how the other part of the game works now,” O’Brien said. “It’s different and very competitive. The majority of the top players are courted by a lot of the top clubs. Trying to find a needle in a haystack or a diamond is not the easiest thing to do these days.”
O’Brien said the life of a scout is essentially a 24-hour job.
Not only is he watching as many games as possible, he’s always filing reports, talking to agents, and conducting research to learn as much about the prospective player as possible.
“There are never enough games to watch,” he said. “You’re continually keeping up to date with players you may be interested in or you’ve been advised to watch, conversing with agents, looking at this player, that player. It’s never-ending.”
Still, he finds the time to follow Vancouver’s progress.
O’Brien said the first thing he does every Sunday morning is check how Whitecaps FC fared the night before – watching West Coast games live is tough with the time difference.
He also still keeps in touch with a few of his old teammates, including Kekuta Manneh, Christian Dean, and Sam Adekugbe, and is looking forward to catching up with a few more as he returns to Vancouver for Saturday’s alumni match.
He’s a little “nervous” for the game itself, however, not having played since 2014.
“The only playing I do is kicking the ball in the garden for the dog to run after and fetch,” he joked.
On Saturday, O’Brien will be joined by the likes of Jay DeMerit and Young Pyo-Lee, who he played with during his first two seasons, reuniting what O’Brien referred to as “an aging back line.”
“I’m looking forward to the whole thing,” he said. “Vancouver’s like a second home. In a way, my partner and I never really said goodbye to the city.”
“The support that I got from the fans and my teammates was humbling,” he added. “I hope I offered them a fraction of what they offered me because I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.”
Saturday’s alumni match will take place from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. PT. at BC Place – prior to the MLS match against Colorado Rapids set to kick off at 4 p.m. PT. Tickets are available for purchase for $5, with all proceeds donated to BC Children’s Hospital. To purchase a ticket for the alumni match, fans must also have or purchase a ticket for the MLS match. Season ticket members and fans who already have a ticket for the MLS match can purchase tickets online HERE. Fans who do not yet have a ticket for the MLS match and would like to attend both matches can purchase tickets online HERE.
