Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference of the league. The Whitecaps are the 17th team of Major League Soccer and replaced the USSF Division 2 team of the same name. The club has been owned and managed by the same group since their USSF days, having graduated to MLS after the conclusion of the USSF's 2010 season. The MLS version of the team is the third to share the legacy of the Whitecaps name. In the 2012 season, the team became the first Canadian team to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

History

An ownership group in Vancouver were granted the seventeenth Major League Soccer franchise on March 18, 2009 by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. While no name was provided at the Vancouver announcement, over a year later the club confirmed it would keep the Whitecaps name.

In preparation for its first MLS season, the Whitecaps brought in executive talent from around the world. On November 24, 2009, Paul Barber, former Tottenham Hotspur F.C. executive, was announced to join the club as CEO. Others joining him included former D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn as Director of Operations and Dutch national Richard Grootscholten as the Technical Director and head coach of the residency program.

Share

Share may refer to:

'Computing

Whitecaps

Whitecaps may refer to:

Sport

Political and armed movements

Popular culture and music

Vancouver

Vancouver (ⁱ/væŋˈkuːvər/ or /vænˈkuːvər/) officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada.

The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country, the second largest city on the United States–Canada border, and the most populous in Western Canada. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square kilometres, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per square mile). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality, and the fourth most densely populated city with over 250,000 residents in North America, behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City.

Christian Bolaños

Christian Bolaños Navarro (born 17 May 1984) is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC as a winger. Since his international debut in 2005, Bolaños has earned 60 international caps and played at two FIFA World Cups.

His brother Jonathan is also a footballer.

Club career

Deportivo Saprissa

With Saprissa Bolaños won various national championships as well as a UNCAF Cup title and a CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Bolaños participated in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup with his team, and was awarded by FIFA as the third best player of the tournament. Following this success he was invited to attend a ten-day trial with Liverpool, although he was not signed on a permanent basis.

On 9 August 2006, he signed a one-year loan deal with Premier League side Charlton Athletic. However, he failed to obtain a work permit having not played enough games for his country, and the deal fell through.

OB

On 2 June 2007, he signed a three-year contract with the Danish side OB in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. Struggling to make an impact on the strong Danish midfield, Bolaños was a target for other clubs.