Ten Things to Know About Vancouver Whitecaps
May 20, 2015 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release
Ahead of this Saturday's home match with Vancouver Whitecaps, here are 10 things you may not have known about the Colorado Rapids' next opponents.
1. Vancouver Whitecaps can trace their origins back to December 1973, when the team of the same name was unveiled as a member of the North American Soccer league. The original NASL ran from 1974-84.
2. Among the names to feature for the Whitecaps during their NASL days were England World Cup winner, Alan Ball, the former Ajax and Dutch star Rudi Krol and his compatriot Frans Thijssen (pictured above), who was the 1981 Footballer of the Year in England when with Ipswich Town.
3. After the demise of the original NASL, a Vancouver team (Vancouver 86ers) played in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), from 1987 until that competition folded in 1992, whereupon they joined the American Professional Soccer League, which then became the A-League and was eventually re-named USL.
4. Vancouver's soccer team reverted to using the Whitecaps moniker from 2001.
5. MLS officially named Vancouver as an expansion city on March 18, 2009. They joined the league in 2011.
6. The current president of Vancouver Whitecaps is Bob Lenarduzzi. He was a player for the Whitecaps during their NASL days.
7. Vancouver's first match in MLS took place on March 19, 2011 and resulted in a 4-2 win over Toronto FC. It would be one of only six victories for the Whitecaps in their first season, as they finished with only 28 points from 34 games and bottom of the Supporters' Shield rankings.
8. The roster in that first season included former Rapids' players Joe Cannon, Atiba Harris and Jordan Harvey, as well as Colorado native Jeb Brovsky.
9. Vancouver enjoyed a much improved season in 2012, finishing fifth in the Western Conference and therefore qualifying for the playoffs. They lost 2-1 at eventual MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy in the one-off play-in game.
10. They fell short again in 2013, finishing the season in seventh, but claimed a place in the 2014 postseason with a 1-0 home win over Colorado Rapids in the final match of the regular season. This time, they lost 2-1 at FC Dallas in the play-in match.
For tickets to this Saturday's encounter, click HERE, or call 303-825-GOAL.
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