Whitecaps face gruelling stretch of schedule with seven games in 21 days
Vanni Sartini isn't known for keeping his opinions to himself.
During training, the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps regularly paces the field, yelling instructions in several languages and gesticulating wildly.
His relative quiet at Tuesday's session was noticeable, but as the Caps (13-8-6) gear up for a packed stretch of critical matchups — starting with today's visit to the Houston Dynamo — Sartini is “biting his tongue.”
“I think in this period, the coaching is more the planning than the coaching on the field,” he said Tuesday.
The Whitecaps head to Texas on a four-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, including a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday. The stretch is thanks to the quality of the players and a schedule that included just one game per week, Sartini said.
“We had time to train each week and, having a lot of quality players, the quality of the training was quite high. And that translated in what we did on Saturday,” he said.
“The next few weeks is going to be harder because, basically, you don't train and you always play and you recover every single time.
So it's hard also to try things. So I think more than the soccer technique and tactics quality itself, the mental part is going to be very important.”
Today's game is the second of seven that the club will play over 21 days.
On Saturday, the Whitecaps will be in California, taking on the conference-leading L.A. Galaxy.
With just seven games to go on their Major League Soccer regular-season calendar, the Caps sit sixth in the congested Western Conference, where the second-place club and seventh-place club are separated by just four points.
Vancouver is a point ahead of Houston, with both teams jockeying for a top-four spot that brings home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The players know what's at stake for the mid-week matchup, but the standings aren't the first thing they're thinking about, said Caps defender Sam Adekugbe.
“I'm sure it's in the back of your mind, but not necessarily just because it takes away from what you need to really focus on, which is the three points,” he said.
The Whitecaps have already faced the Dynamo once this season,
dropping a 4-3 decision at B.C. Place on July 20.
The game was “chaos,” said Caps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
Houston comes in on a threegame unbeaten streak (2-0-1) after posting a decisive 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake last Saturday.
“They're obviously in good shape and good football style, like tickytacky,” Takaoka said. “So we need to be very patient. We need to be solid for 90 minutes.”
WHITECAPS (13-8-6) AT HOUSTON DYNAMO (12-8-8)
Today, Shell Energy Stadium, 5:30 p.m.
INS AND OUTS: Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed will miss today's
game with a quad contusion, but is expected to join the team in L.A. before Saturday's matchup. Midfielder Andres Cubas will return to Vancouver's starting 11 after missing last week's outing with a shoulder injury and striker Brian White is expected to be on the bench after sitting out three games with a concussion.
HISTORY BOOKS: Vancouver holds a 10-9-5 edge over Houston in regular-season play.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Caps are 7-4-3 on the road this season and have a chance to set new club records in MLS away wins and points. The existing highs (seven wins, 24 points) were set in 2015.