The Vancouver Whitecaps didn’t have to search far and wide for their next head coach after all.
Former Whitecaps assistant Carl Robinson is set to succeed Martin Rennie as the club's next head coach, according to The Province's Mark Weber and CTV Vancouver's Perry Solkowski:
The news comes as Vancouver have reportedly struck out on several more well-known candidates including former US and Egypt national team head coach Bob Bradley and former San Jose boss Frank Yallop, who jumped at the offer to become the Chicago Fire’s next head man.
Robinson, 37, a former Wales international who spent most of his playing career in the English Premier League before retiring with the New York Red Bulls in 2011, was a popular choice among a handful of Whitecaps players, including many of the club’s young prospects. He also got a big endorsement from Golden Boot winner Camilo.
“He's a good guy,” Camilo said in November. “He knows how to talk with the players. He knows how to give the confidence, too. If [the Whitecaps appoint him], he's going to make a good coach.”
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Following Rennie’s departure at season’s end – following a season in which the Whitecaps just missed out on the MLS Cup Playoffs – 'Caps president Bob Lenarduzzi said they would hold out for the best possible candidate. But as the coaching dominos began to fall, signs increasingly pointed toward Robinson.
When contacted by MLSsoccer.com, a Vancouver spokesperson said that nothing about the coaching decision nor a possible press conference next week could be confirmed.
