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Posted by
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April 12, 2018 |
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VANCOUVER, B.C. - The glitz and glamour that is Los Angeles FC take on 3-2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Friday night at B.C. Place. Bob Bradley's expansion side have had an up and most recently downward start to MLS life. Vancouver will be looking to continue a losing trend for 2-2-1 LAFC who were thumped 5-0 to Atlanta United FC on Saturday.
Vancouver will have a rare advantage in being able to sleep in their own beds before the match. The road warrior Caps start a stretch that features four of six matches at B.C. Place. Caps midfielder Felipe, is hoping Vancouver is able to sent a positive tone at home.
"It's always great to play at home, in our stadium." Felipe said following training on Thursday. "We've got to take advantage of playing at home, but play well, and get three points. We have to win as much games as we can."
LAFC aren't like your usual expansion team. They've opened the purse strings, and brought in marquee players like Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, and Andre Horta. They can turn up the offensive dial, and that's what makes them extremely dangerous.
"I think there's a lot of comparisons to them at Atlanta at the moment for whatever reason." Coach Carl Robinson explained. "They've spent money on designated players at the top end of the pitch. They've also got two experienced coaches. LAFC have got a great manager in Bob (Bradley). I've got a lot of respect for Bob, he's done what a lot of people have talked about. He's managed here in MLS, he's been successful. He's gone to Europe, he's not took the easy option. He's managed different clubs in different countries, and been successful. Sometimes it fits, and sometimes it doesn't. He's come back to a wonderful franchise in LAFC. You arguably say that he's the most successful U.S. manager there is, and rightly so. He should be the example that all U.S. coaches, foreign, and young coaches look up to."
The fact that LAFC are leaking goals like nobody's business brings up an interesting tactical angle. If you're Robinson, do you want your players to go out, step on the throttle, and expose the shaky back-four of LAFC, or do you sit back, play your game, and wait for the visitors to turn the ball over before running off on a counter-attack.
"It's an open-ended question," Robinson said, as he paused and composed his thoughts. "It's a very good question because you can go gung-ho. The example we use in-house, we played Seattle last year in the semi-finals, and it was a chess match, it wasn't wide open. Because it was a chess match, it come down to moments of magic, and obviously the designated player (Clint Dempsey) for them made the difference. We weren't quite good enough based upon that. You can go gung-ho like Houston did, and within 20 minutes of the game they're out of the tie. We can't do that, we're not good enough to do that. We have to play to our maximum levels on both sides of the ball, with the ball, and without the ball, and we need to be concentrated. It's a bit a both."
Whitecaps FC simply aren't a team that's going to run anyone off the pitch. They're a long ball over the top, counter-punch, set piece quality side. Their bread, and butter is making opponents pay for their mistakes. To try, and run and gun with the likes of LAFC could result in a lopsided score-line to the delight of Bob Bradley and his squad.
Players like Felipe relish opportunities to shut-down big match players like a Vela, and Rossi. Clogging up the midfield, and limiting chances for LAFC will go a long way in maintaining possession, but also creating chances the other way on offence. As long as Vancouver earns three points, Felipe isn't fussed with how the Caps approach LAFC.
"I think they have a very good group of players with a lot of quality." Felipe said. "They're a new team, but still a very good team, but we've got to think about us. It's about us, how we play, how we play in our home. Whoever comes to our house needs to respect it, and understand it's a tough place to play, and it won't be different tomorrow."
An expected sold-out crowd will want to see a wide-open match with goal-scoring chances on every break. That just isn't a reality. Earning three points, any which way is what separates top teams from the rest of the MLS pack. It's likely not going to be a dull nil-nil match that Vancouver and LA Galaxy played at B.C. Place on March 24. It's also not going to be a shootout the likes of Zlatan and Atlanta Unted FC have shown against LAFC.
"We play every game to try and win the game." Vancouver Whitecaps FC Assistant Coach Martyn Pert said, earlier this week. "Depending on the tactics the other team is playing, I'm not one of these players that thinks there's a right way to play the game. Everyone has different styles of coaching. You coach the team based on what players you've got. They'll play open because they need to get (Carlos) Vela on the ball. He's their best player."
Vancouver has previously had a tendency to slip on a banana skin against sub-par opponents. The Caps turn up against big names, big teams, and MLS stars. Whitecaps FC know who they are, but LAFC are still in a flux searching for a first year identity. It's the perfect time for Vancouver Whitecaps FC to strike, and snatch three points from LAFC.
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