Vanni Sartini isn鈥檛 known for keeping his opinions to himself.
During training, the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps regularly paces the field, yelling instructions in multiple languages and gesticulating wildly.
His relative quiet at Tuesday鈥檚 session was noticeable, but as the 鈥楥aps (13-8-6) gear up for a packed stretch of critical matchups 鈥� starting with a visit to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday 鈥� Sartini is 鈥渂iting his tongue.鈥�
鈥淚 think in this period, the coaching is more the planning than the coaching on the field,鈥� 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 due to the quality of the players and a schedule that included just one game per week, Sartini said.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he next few weeks is going to be harder because, basically, you don鈥檛 train and you always play and you recover every single time. So it鈥檚 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.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 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 鈥楥aps sit sixth in the congested Western Conference where the second-place club and seventh-place club are separated by just four points.
Vancouver is currently a single 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鈥檚 at stake for the mid-week matchup, but the standings aren鈥檛 the first thing they鈥檙e thinking about, said 鈥楥aps defender Sam Adekugbe.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 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,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we have a good team. There鈥檚 no reason why we shouldn鈥檛 be able to get a result.鈥�
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 鈥渃haos,鈥� said 鈥楥aps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
鈥淚t was kind of a weird game,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey create chaos. So we have to control the game. So if we score or concede a goal, we need to be staying in the game.鈥�
Houston comes in on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) after posting a decisive 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake last Saturday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e obviously in good shape and good football style, like ticky-tacky,鈥� Takaoka said. 鈥淪o we need to be very patient. We need to be solid for 90 minutes.鈥�
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-8-6) at HOUSTON DYNAMO (12-8-8)
Wednesday, Shell Energy Stadium
INS AND OUTS: Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed will miss Wednesday鈥檚 game with a quad contusion, but is expected to join the team in L.A. ahead of Saturday鈥檚 matchup. Midfielder Andres Cubas will return to the Vancouver鈥檚 starting 11 after missing last week鈥檚 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 鈥楥aps are 7-4-3 on the road this season and have a chance to set new club records in both MLS away wins and points. The current highs (seven wins, 24 points) were set in 2015.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
