VANCOUVER, B.C. – The departure of Vancouver Whitecaps striker Octavio Rivero to Chilean club Colo-Colo was finally confirmed this week, and it perhaps could not have come at a worse time for the club.
The Whitecaps have never really found the prolific goal-scoring solution they’ve been desperately looking for these past couple of seasons. Kept off the scoresheet in a 2-0 loss to LA on Monday night, Vancouver now come up against the league’s most miserly defense in the Colorado Rapids on Saturday (10 pm ET; TSN in Canada, MLS Live in US).
"We're always looking to improve the roster, and you can't always control the timing of when things are presented and when opportunities are presented," Whitecaps VP of Soccer Operation Greg Anderson told MLSsoccer.com. "When this opportunity came up we looked at what we thought was best for us and best for Octavio, and decided that it was the right time to make the move."
Rivero’s stay in Vancouver and MLS had been a mixed affair, punctuated by brief goal-scoring streaks. The Uruguayan came to the league all guns blazing, hitting five goals in his first six MLS matches. But then the well dried up, with the Whitecaps DP only hitting seven more goals in his next 42 games, many of those from the penalty spot.
Although Rivero's work rate was regularly the best on the team, the lack of goals from the striker left him a frustrated-looking player on the pitch. It was a feeling echoed by many off it, although the Whitecaps feel that he settled into the league and the city quickly and that, overall, his time in Vancouver was a success.
"You can't question his ability or in particular his work ethic," Anderson added. "He always worked hard, and when he came in, he got off to a flying start and scored a bunch of goals, but ultimately when you're a striker you're judged on whether you score or not.
"He was in a drought and I think he got frustrated, just as we were frustrated, that he wasn't able to score, so I think that's why we decided that it was perhaps best for both of us to maybe move on."
Rivero’s departure leaves Vancouver needing to undergo another striker search. But it also frees up a lot for the Whitecaps in terms of a roster spot, salary cap space, an international spot, and a Designated Player slot.
With Japanese striker Masato Kudo still out injured, and Blas Perez appearing to have been reduced to a substitute’s role, Vancouver have been going with Erik Hurtado up front, despite the fact that the 25-year-old has yet to find the back of the net this season.
It’s not an ideal situation for the Whitecaps. Anderson cautioned that although Vancouver do have some targets in mind to replace Rivero, there won’t necessarily be a panicked rush to fill his role with the wrong man.
"We do have a number of targets that we're looking at," he said. "As I think [head coach Carl Robinson] has mentioned too, we’ve got a long-term vision of what we're going to do. And if there's a move that we can make this summer that we think is going to help us, both now in the short term and in the long term, then we'll do that."
One bright spot for Vancouver in the striking department right now is Kudo's imminent return. The Japanese striker has been out since suffering a horror facial injury against Chicago in May.
"He’s very motivated to come back," Anderson said. "He's now had his second full training session, and isn't too far away from being back in the squad. So we do have him coming back, which will almost be like having a new player come in. But we are going to assess all the different targets that we have and try and make the best decision we can."
