Good Friday morning Caps fans, happy Friday the 13th. Hope you all avoid black cats and ladders and such and that your week flows seamlessly into a lovely weekend.
The Caps will return to relative normalcy (or as normal as things will be until the end of the Gold Cup) this weekend, welcoming back three key players on international break and prepping for a big match against Columbus. That will be must see TV, as two teams who love possession and attractive soccer square off.
Vancouver did get very bad news and unfortunately it involves Sam Adekugbe, who has had his career with the Caps largely derailed by injuries. The club confirmed Sam tore his Achilles tendon during the Canadian Shield match against Cote d’Ivoire. That means a lengthy absence, likely for the rest of the season.
A healthy Sam was a big lift to the start of the Jesper Sorensen era and it was a just reward for a player who has been a loyal servent in Vancouver. Tate Johnson’s rise will mean the Caps have a solid player to fill in but this is a sad development for a guy who has never been able to stay on pitch to live out the hopes we had for him coming back to Vancouver.
Sam is under contract until the end of next season, meaning this won’t be the end of his Caps’ journey. The timing means Vancouver will likely explore putting him on the season ending injury list to free up a substantial amount of cap space this season to use in the summer transfer window. It’s a help but Vancouver would surely much rather a fit and firing Adekugbe. For now here’s to a speedy recovery Sam — we’ll miss you out there.
Shameless Self Promotion
We take a look at how things are going in the Northern Super League for the Vancouver Rise, who got Quinn back this week but still lost.
Best of the Rest
The Caps players are, understandably frustrated they were made to play last weekend, despite the result. Several players were symptomatic when they took the pitch which, uh, seems bad!
The Club World Cup has bumped Caps/LAFC in late June back by a day. Make sure to clear your Sundays!
FIFA VP Victor Montagliani said moving MLS out of Vancouver would be a “crime.” There definitely is a joke to be made here but I guess its nice to have the support.
The Club World Cup kicks off tonight, giving MLS teams a stage they are not really used to having.
The harrowing story of Jordyn Huitema surviving an armed home invasion.