Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson spoke to media via conference call on Wednesday and addressed a number of topics, including the signing of Diego Rodriguez, the future of Andy O’Brien and Johnny Leveron, and Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.
See below for a summary of the call.
On the signing of Diego Rodriguez:
“Excellent signing for us. He’s got experience in Europe. He was over there for two years at Malaga. Manuel Pellegrini had recruited him. On my South American trip, I obviously identified him and we’re delighted to have him on board. He’s left-sided, he’s 6 foot 2, he’s a good talker and obviously he’s got a good presence about him as well. His footwork is excellent, his positioning, his stepping, his dropping … he’s a defender. He loves clearing balls and putting himself in situations to block the ball. It’s one of the hardest positions to find and he has a huge upside with being young as well … it’s my belief and my coaches belief that Diego was too good to pass on. He brings a quality that I think we’ve been missing. I know that he can step up to the plate.”
On whether Rodriguez has attacking abilities:
“He does. He should have a lot more for his attributes. When I went down to Uruguay and met him, spoke to him and watched him train and play, one of my observations was that he should score more goals. In the game I watched, he probably should have scored four goals from set pieces. He will bring an element of aggression in the opposition box along with Kendall and Octavio.”
On the future of Johnny Leveron:
“We’re still speaking to Johnny at the moment. Obviously we’re going to have 40+ games next year and I want to build a strong squad. If that’s with Johnny, great. If not with Johnny, we’ll move on. We’re in talks with him and his agent but we’re not very close on agreeing on anything at the moment. So we’re keeping our options open.”
On the future of Andy O’Brien:
“We’ve had very, very good discussions with Andy, but unfortunately we’ve been unable to come to an agreement. We’re going to be moving in a different direction now and Andy is exploring things over in Europe at the moment … we have to be a club that moves forward at some time and probably the time is now for us. We did try to come to an agreement but we unfortunately weren’t able to.”
On whether we can expect more acquisitions:
“Yes, without a doubt. As I said, I want to freshen things up in certain areas. We need to bring in a little more quality in certain areas. We’ve managed to bring in Octavio, we managed to re-sign Mauro, we managed to bring in Diego, and I’m still looking at possibly two or three more additions – or even four with the SuperDraft tomorrow. There will be more faces coming in.”
On if he wants to add one more centre back (in addition to Waston, Rodriguez, and Dean):
“Ideally, I’d like to have five centre backs on my roster. I know it’s a very long season and there will be injuries and suspensions. I’ve got three. Minimum I will require is four, but there’s a very, very good chance that there will be five centre backs coming into preseason.”
On whether there are any MLS-ready centre backs available in the SuperDraft:
“I really do believe there are a pool of five or six centre backs in this draft that I think a lot of teams will like. There are players to be found. We’ve identified six players in that area. If we think it’s right to draft a centre back, then we certainly will.”
On the biggest need now for the team:
“I’ve said all along I want to try and build this squad as strong as I can. I want to have a pool of players I’m very comfortable with, young or old. There are still three areas I’m looking at: the wide area, the centre back area, and I’m looking in forward areas as well.”
On potential trades at the SuperDraft:
“We’ve been in discussions, but not for the number one position. I’m not looking at trading up too much. Once you get past the first four or five players, then the next group of players we’ve identified as a staff are very close. Then it comes down to what’s your positional need.”
The 2015 MLS SuperDraft will be streamed live on whitecapsfc.com on Thursday, January 15 at 9:30 a.m. PT.
Participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver! The 2015 Whitecaps FC season kicks off on March 7 versus Toronto FC at BC Place. Season Tickets are now on sale, starting at $397. 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.
