The 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps: Where Are They Now?

The present day Vancouver Whitecaps can be a frustrating team. Sometimes they’re great, sometimes they’re hard to watch. So with that in mind let’s reminisce about a time when they were always bad. it’s interesting to see both how far the team and MLS as a whole has come. Of course this is not the first time Eighty Six forever has delved into this dark chapter of the the Whitecaps History, as Mark Daily did a similar piece in 2014. So to differentiate this piece i’ve looked into every player on the roster and done pretty extensive research into where they are now.

Goalkeepers:

Joe Cannon: Played for the whitecaps until his retirement from professional soccer in 2013. Is now the colour commentator for the San Jose Earthquakes

Jay Nolly: My Childhood hero. Spent a year with the Chicago Fire before retiring from professional soccer. Now a commentator for Real Salt Lake

Brian Sylvestre: The residency graduate never made an appearance for the first team (if I had a nickel for every one of those...) but went on to have a relatively successful career in the NASL. He currently plays for North Carolina F.C. In 2015 he was loaned to the Philadelphia Union when all of their goalkeepers were unavailable to play against the Vancouver Whitecaps. He played quite well despite the ‘Caps coming away 3-0 winners.

Defenders:

Michael Boxall: Currently plays for Minnesota United and is a regular for the New Zealand national team. In Between his two MLS stints Boxall turned out for Wellington Phoenix, NPL Victoria side Oakleigh Cannons, and South African outfit SuperSport United.

Bilal Duckett: didn’t look very convincing at all in a Whitecaps kit but went on to have a fairly succsesful career in the American lower leagues. Duckett has played for the Harrisburg City Islanders, made one MLS appearance for the New England Revolution, the Rochester Rhinos, the Charlotte Eagles, and Charlotte independence.

Alain Rochat: Always a fan favourite Rochat was traded to D.C united in a move that left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of Whitecaps fans. Rochat’s wife had been about to give birth. Rochat didn’t stick around in D.C for long, returning to switzerland to play with Young Boys before moving to Lausanne-Sport where he currently plays.

Jay Demerit: The first captain of the MLS era retired as a Whitecap. Now owns a stereo company.

Greg Janicki: Was released after the 2011 season. Played for San Antonio Scorpions and Indy 11 before retiring from professional soccer in 2016. Seems to have also made some appearances for NPSL side Detroit City F.C after his retirement from full time pro soccer.

Carlyle Mitchell: Continued to play for the Whitecaps until 2014 when he was dropped after a bizarre handball. He the joined Seoul E-Land, A second division Korean team. After a year in Korea he returned to Trinidad and Tobago to sign for TT Pro League team San Juan Jabloteh F.C. Mitchell now plays for East Bengal in the Indian I league. He’s certainly lived an interesting life.

Jonathan Leathers: Despite performing admirably in a porous backline Leathers struggled to catch on elsewhere. He dropped out of professional soccer for two years before resurfacing with the Charlotte Eagles. The Eagles now play in the PDL (and are part of some kind of weird Christian sports alliance) and Leathers is no longer on their roster. he has no social media presence that I can find so I have no idea what he’s up to these days. If you have any information please come forward.

Update: Jared Odenback (@JaredOdenbeck) reached out to us on twitter to let us know that Jonathon Leathers “liv[ing] in Charlotte in a low-income area to serve and love kids through soccer, coaching, school help, [and] mentoring.” and that he is “[a] Great guy & happy.”

Jordan Harvey: Still with the team

Wes Knight: He’s got a F****** long throw! After leaving the Whitecaps Knight played for the San Antonio Scorpions, F.C Edmonton, and the Carolina Railhawks before retiring at the age of 28. He now runs a consulting agency and is the host of the associated “Creating Space” podcast.

Mouloud Akloul: Let go after the 2011 season despite being a fan favourite. He then joined St. Co Locminé who are currently in the french 5th division (though it’s not clear if they were in that division at the time he played for them). He now plays for GSI Pontivy who also play in the french 5th division.

Midfielders:

John Thorrington: Moved to D.C United before retiring in 2014. Now the vice president of soccer operations for LAFC

Jeb Brovsky: Currently a free agent. claimed in the expansion draft by the Montreal Impact before moving on to NYCFC. Spent time on loan at Strømsgodset in the Norwegian top flight. He then returned to the states to play for Minnesota United but wasn’t signed to their MLS team

Michael Nanchoff: Made a handful of appearances for the Portland Timbers after leaving the Whitecaps. Spent time on loan at Jönköpings Södra IF of the Swedish first division before joining the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Philippe Davies: The residency graduate never made an MLS appearance (sigh) and later kicked around the lower levels of the North American soccer pyramid. Played for Richmond Kickers and Ottawa Fury before joining his current club CS Longueuil, a semi pro team playing out of Quebec. This despite starring for Canada at the youth levels and even making a full national team appearance. Davies is one of many standing testaments to the necessity of the Canadian Premier League.

Nizar Khalfan: A Tanzanian international, Khalfan had the potential to dazzle and also the potential to underwhelm. He will always be fondly remembered for the part he played in the comeback 3-3 draw against Sporting Kansas City. Khalfan was let go after the 2011 season and picked up by the Phildelphia Union. He never made an appearence for the union and was released after only three months. He then returned to Africa to play for Tanzanian giants Young Africans S.C. It took a while to figure out where he went from there but eventually I was able to track down a match report Which revealed he currently plays for AFC Leopard of the Kenyan Premier League.

Davide Chiumiento: I’m still upset that they sold him. He’s since made 106 appearances for F.C Zurich

Shea Salinas: traded to the San Jose Earthquakes after the 2011 season where he has remained ever since.

Alexandre Morfaw: didn’t exactly set the world alight for the Whitecaps and dropped out of professional soccer after 2011. It’s a little difficult to tell what he’s done since then but based on his Instagram he seems to be doing academy work in various African nations.

Gershon Koffie: Continued with the Whitecaps until 2015 when he was traded to the New England Revolution. he was then sold to Hammarby of the Swedish first division and was promptly loaned back to the revolution.

Russel Teibert: Still with the team

Peter Vagenas: Famous worldwide for his short side ways passes Vagenas left the Whitecaps for Chivas USA in 2012. He then retired from professional soccer and now is part of the front office set up at L.A Galaxy

Blake Wagner: Released part way though the year after making 9 MLS appearances. Since then he has played for RSL, San Antonio Scorpions, Tampa Bay Rowdies, and the Carolina Railhawks. As far as I can tell he has now retired from Soccer and is part of the Tampa Bay Rowdies coaching staff.

Kevin Harmse: Made a whopping three appearances for the ‘Caps in MLS (though he previously played for them in the USL). Was one of many Whitecaps to go on to play for the San Antonio Scorpions. He’s now the assistant coach of the SFU men’s soccer team.

Terry Dunfield: The Vancouver native was traded to Toronto F.C, seemingly as punishment for missing a penalty in exchange for the MLS rights to Keven Aleman (Aleman currently plays for Saprissa so it’s only a matter of time before those rights are exercised). Dunfield made the ‘Caps play as he scored a late winner against them in 2012. he then went on to play for Oldham Athletic, Ross County and Canadian Soccer League side Toronto Atomic. He’s now an analyst for TSN and he liked my tweet about how often he uses the word “sexy.”

Strikers:

Mustapha Jarju: A famously bad signing, the first African DP in the history of MLS left the team with 10 appearances and no goals. He returned to R.A.E.C Mons where he scored 16 goals over two seasons before moving to Hatta Club UAE pro league. Jarju clearly found his level with the Dubai based club as he scored 15 times in 20 matches. He then signed for FC Irtysh Pavlodar of the Kazakhstan Premier league before terminating his contract and suing the club over unpaid wages without making an appearance. he then returned to Belgium with KSK Hasselt.

Atiba Harris: Currently plays for F.C Dallas and is now a right back. Also played for Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Omar Salgado: Picked first overall in 2011 draft just ahead of Darlington Nagbe (sigh) Salgado never lived up to the hype. It was rumoured Arsenal were interested in him at one point and it seems the Whitecaps should have cashed in when they had the chance. Salgado was traded to NYCFC before being sold to Tigres UANL in 2015. He failed to make an impact on loan spells at Tampa Bay Rowdies and Jaguares de Córdoba and now languishes in the Mexican 3rd division with Tigres’ reserve team.

Long Tan: A cult hero, Long Tan was the first Chinese born player to score a goal in MLS. Since leaving the ‘Caps he’s bounced around quite a lot, making appearances for D.C United, Richmond Kickers, Orlando City, Zhejiang Yiteng F.C. of the Chinese second division, Arizona United, and Tampa Bay Rowdies. He now plays for Changchun Yatai F.C. of the Chinese first division.

Eric Hassli: Famous for scoring the greatest goal in Whitecaps history (twice) Hassli had his Career derailed by back problems after leaving the Whitecaps. He played for Toronto F.C and F.C Dallas before joining, guess who, the San Antonio Scorpions. Hassli then joined the Las Vegas Legends of the MASL, a semi-pro indoor soccer league. Hassli is now retired and it’s not clear exactly what he’s up to now but he uses his twitter to promote totally not a gambling app FireFan. He also seems to be involved in some way with the Metz youth system but I couldn’t find anything to confirm that

Camilo: You know what happened.

Coaching Staff:

Teitur Thordarson: The lovable Icelandic made the move to India to coach Barasat Euro Musketeers in 2012. Thordarson was part of a project to bring in foriegn coaches to elevate the level of domestic play in India at the outset of the Bengal Premier League. unfortunately the Musketeers couldn’t get it together on the administrative side of things and the teem folded after a year. Thordarson then went to Norwegian 3rd division side Funnefoss/Vormsund IL before upgrading to second division side Drøbak-Frogn IL where he is currently the head coach.

Tom Soehn: Arguably the worst coach in the Whitecap’s history, certainly during my lifetime (which, granted, only goes back to ‘98), Soehn is currently the assistant coach of the New England Revolution.

Colin Miller: Miller has been the head coach of F.C Edmonton since 2012 with a breif stint as the interim head coach of the Canadian national team

Dennis Hamlett: Currently the sporting director of New York Red Bulls. Also spent time as an assistant for the Montreal Impact.

Mike Salmon: Currently the head of goalkeeping development for Richmond F.C

And that’s where every player from the 2011 squad is today. If you’re interested let me know in the comments what other Whitecaps squads of years past you want examined.