Vancouver Whitecaps FC announce that they have acquired forward Charles Gbeke from Montreal Impact in exchange for midfielder Tony Donatelli and an undisclosed financial amount.
Gbeke, 30, joins the Whitecaps for his fourth stint with the club since first appearing in Vancouver in 1998 when the club was then known as the 86ers. The six-foot-two, 210-pound forward has appeared in 12 games this season for the Impact, earning seven starts and scoring one goal.
A native of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, who grew up in Montreal, Gbeke has previously played with the Whitecaps during the seasons of 1998, 2001, and 2003, although he has only appeared in three matches for the Vancouver-based club to date.
Gbeke has made numerous stops in the USL First Division, as well as in France and Brazil with a number of different clubs. Since first appearing in USL-1 with Vancouver in 1998, Gbeke has had spells in Montreal, Rochester, Seattle, and Toronto over a nine-year career in the league. The well-travelled striker was also with Troyes of the French First Division during the 1999-2000 season, and in Brazil with Second Division sides Comercil in 2000-01 and Matsubara in 2002-03. In 2004, Gbeke played with Toronto Lynx, scoring six goals and recording one assist. In 2005, the forward moved overseas again to Danish club Herfolge BK before returning back to Toronto later that year. Since then, Gbeke has appeared with Rochester during the 2006 USL-1 season and with Montreal during seasons 2007 and 2008. In all, Gbeke has appeared in 49 games over nine seasons in USL-1, having scored 22 goals and collected five assists.
Donatelli, meanwhile, played 61 games with Vancouver since joining the club in 2006. He scored six goals and added five assists during his two-and-a-half seasons with the Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps next match is on Canada Day – Tuesday July 1 – when they travel to southern Ontario to battle Toronto FC of Major League Soccer in the fourth match of the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Toronto won their first match of the tournament 1-0 over Montreal Impact and Vancouver has lost both of their matches 2-0 to Montreal. Tuesday’s tilt will kick off at 1:00 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live nationally on CBC.
The Whitecaps next home tilt at Swangard Stadium will take place on Wednesday, July 9, at 7:00 p.m. when they play their final game in the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship against Toronto. Call 604.669.WAVE (9283) for ticket information, or purchase online at ticketmaster.ca.
