Whitecaps face Cascadia rivals with Sartini back in charge

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Vanni Sartini has done a lot of self reflection lately.

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Barred from the Vancouver Whitecaps’ first four games of the Major League Soccer season, the club’s head coach has had time.

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The animated Italian was handed a five-game suspension and a $20,000 fine in November for his on-field actions and post-game comments after a playoff loss to Los Angeles FC that ended the Whitecaps season. Sartini also got an automatic one-game suspension when he was shown the red card late in the match.

MLS reduced the ban to four games earlier this month.

Now Sartini will return to the sidelines Saturday when the ‘Caps (2-1-1) host the Portland Timbers (2-2-1).

“When you make mistakes, it’s important to learn from those mistakes,” Sartini said Wednesday, adding that he’s done a lot of work on himself over the past several months.

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“It’s going to be, I would say, really important the fact that we can be emotional, we can be completely into the game, we can be completely even excited. But of course, within the limit of helping the team and not being overwhelmed by any bad emotion or by any bad moment that you can have during the game.”

The coach knows stopping to count to three when he’s upset might not be quite enough.

“I should maybe have to count to a million,” he said.

Since taking over the Whitecaps in August 2021, Sartini has drawn attention for his enthusiastic demeanour on the sidelines. He’s known to gesture wildly while shouting to players in multiple languages, and leap, cheer and bear hug his assistants whenever Vancouver scores.

Passion is part of what makes Sartini such a unique coach, said midfielder Ryan Gauld.

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“There’s no doubt he raises the energy. That’s just his character, that’s what he brings,” he said.

Sartini’s also passionate about his club’s defensive structure, Gauld added — something that was lacking last Saturday when the ‘Caps dropped a 2-1 decision to visiting Real Salt Lake.

RSL outshot the home side 22-7 and managed 25 crosses compared to Vancouver’s eight.

“For me, a big takeaway from Saturday’s game is we weren’t anywhere near our best,” Gauld said. “We normally pride ourselves on being hard to break down, hard to create chances against. But it wasn’t like that on Saturday.”

Portland, too, is reeling from a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union.

The result wasn’t indicative of how well the Timbers played and the club won’t be an easy opponent this weekend, Sartini said.

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“I expect a team that is very good. And also maybe they’re going to come here eager for points and hungry for points,” he said. “The most important thing, always — and it will be the most important thing for the entire season — is our defensive organization, the way we defend.”

Vancouver’s defence was solid across the first three games of the MLS campaign, with the ‘Caps allowing just two goals.

Whitecaps assistant coach Michael D’Agostino, who filled in for Sartini on the sidelines, made some “intelligent” moves that helped the team succeed early in the campaign, Sartini said.

“It’s been really high, high, high notes in terms of results, in terms of the decisions he took in the game,” he said.

“It has been a really, really formative time for him, for his future.”

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NEXT GAME

Portland Timbers (2-2-1) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1-1)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m., B.C. Place

TV: AppleTV Radio: AM730

INS AND OUTS: Midfielder Andres Cubas (Paraguay) and forward Fafa Picault (Haiti) are back with the ‘Caps after missing last week’s game for international duty. Fullback Sam Adekube is expected to play his first game of the season after working his way back from a knee injury. Striker Brian White is questionable after he suffered a concussion against Real Salt Lake.

CUP QUEST: The Whitecaps head into Saturday’s matchup as the reigning champions of the Cascadia Cup — an annual head-to-head contest between the ‘Caps, Timbers and Seattle Sounders to determine the top club in the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver was 3-2-1 against its Cascadia rivals last year, including a pair of wins over Portland.

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HOME COOKING: Vancouver is still looking for its first win at B.C. Place this year. Last season, the club boasted an 8-3-6 home record.

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