The 2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the Whitecaps' second season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, the top tier of soccer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, the expansion Whitecaps FC struggled to find the results and finished at the bottom of the league table winning just six matches with none on the road. By finishing last overall in the regular season the Whitecaps FC received the 2nd overall pick in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

and

2012 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft was a secondary Draft (sports), draft that was held by Major League Soccer via conference call on January 17, 2012. The draft was four rounds and all 19 MLS clubs participated. Changes from 2011 *As an expansion c ...

that were held in January 2012. The Whitecaps second season began on March 10 against expansion side, and Canadian rivals, Montreal Impact at

BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

with a 2–0 victory. Vancouver set a MLS record by going 427 minutes without conceding a goal to start the season. The club qualified for the playoffs for the first time on October 23 when the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

defeated

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. They became the first Canadian MLS team to make the playoffs in MLS history. Vancouver finished as runners-up in the

2012 Canadian Championship The 2012 Canadian Championship (officially the Amway Canadian Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Van ...

after losing to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

in the Final for the second consecutive season, under the current bracket format. The Whitecaps defeated

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

with an aggregate score of 5–1 in the semi-finals before falling 2–1 on aggregate to Toronto.

Season overview

January/February

By finishing last overall in the league table in 2011, the Vancouver Whitecaps received the 2nd overall draft choice in the

and

Supplemental Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. The SuperDraft was held on January 12 and the club selected

Darren Mattocks Darren Dimitri Mattocks (born 2 September 1990) is a Jamaican professional footballer who last played as a forward for Phoenix Rising FC and the Jamaica national football team. College career Mattocks played for the University of Akron where he ...

with their first-round pick and Chris Estridge with their second-round pick. As a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

player, Mattocks was already signed to a league contract prior to being drafted. The Whitecaps also selected four players in the Supplemental Draft, Gienir Garcia,

Greg Klazura Gregory Klazura (born January 27, 1989) is a former American association football, soccer player who most recently played for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer. Career College & amateur Klazura played soccer in the National Col ...

, Andrew Fontein and Mark Fetrow. Garcia was traded shortly after to Montreal in exchange for the discovery rights to

Etienne Barbara Etienne Barbara (born 10 June 1982) is a Maltese former footballer and manager. Club career Malta Barbara started his career as a youth player with Qormi. After having been spotted by scouts following some impressive displays, he earned a move ...

. Training camp for the 2012 MLS season began in Vancouver on January 23. Under new head coach, Martin Rennie, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC underwent a large number of personnel changes both on the pitch and off. Rennie replaced assistant coaches Colin Miller and

Denis Hamlett Denis Hamlett (born January 9, 1969) is a Costa Rican-American former professional association football, soccer player and coach currently serving as sporting director for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. Hamlett spent his entire p ...

with Paul Ritchie,

Carl Robinson Carl Robinson (born 13 October 1976) is a retired Welsh international footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Club career Wolverhampton Wanderers Robinson s ...

and Jake DeClute. He also acquired several high-profile players to add to the club. After signing

Lee Young-Pyo Lee Young-pyo ( ko, 이영표; ; born 23 April 1977) is a retired South Korean professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him ...

and Lee Nguyen in December, the club acquired MLS All-star striker

Sébastien Le Toux Sébastien Le Toux (; born 10 January 1984) is a French retired professional Association football, footballer who spent the majority of his career in Major League Soccer, including six seasons at Philadelphia Union. A versatile attacker, who in ...

from the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

on January 31 in exchange for allocation money. On February 16 the Whitecaps also announced the signing of

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

midfielder, and Scottish international,

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

as their newest

designated player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

, replacing Mustapha Jarju who was released shortly before. Robson will join the club in July after his season with Middlesbrough has concluded. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC spent ten days training at the Grande Sports World complex in

Casa Grande, Arizona , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Casa Grande-Casa Grande Union High School-1920-2.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Historic Casa Grande Union High School which now serves as the ...

for the second consecutive season. During the training camp the club played in two friendlies against the

and

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. Both matches ended in 1–1 draws with

Camilo Camilo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Camilo Albornoz (born 2000), Argentine footballer * Camilo Cascolan (born 1964), Filipino law enforcement officer * Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writ ...

and Darren Mattocks scoring the goals for Vancouver. The Whitecaps returned to Vancouver for training and played a friendly against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

of the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

. The Whitecaps won the match 2–1. On February 21 the Whitecaps began training at the

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur s ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The Whitecaps signed their second-round Supplemental Draft choice, Greg Klazura, on February 22. During their two-week training camp in Florida they competed in the

Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic The Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic is an annual preseason soccer tournament for clubs in North America. Hosted by Disney, it is contested at Hess Sports Fields' Field 17, part of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fl ...

. Vancouver played three group stage matches against Montreal Impact,

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

, and

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

. They finished the group stage with three wins while scoring seven goals, led by Le Toux with three, and conceding none.

March

The Vancouver Whitecaps won their first trophy as an MLS franchise when they defeated

by a score of 1–0 in the Walt Disney Pro Soccer Classic Final on March 3. Camilo scored the lone goal of the match for Vancouver in the 10th minute. The club then played their final match of the preseason, a community shield friendly, against Martin Rennie's former club,

Carolina RailHawks FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

, the following day. The match also featured former RailHawks FC players

Brad Knighton Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player. College and amateur soccer Knighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Dev ...

and Matt Watson. The Whitecaps tied the match at 2 with a last-minute goal by

Davide Chiumiento Davide Chiumiento (born 22 November 1984) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a midfielder. Early life Chiumiento was born in Switzerland but spent most of his childhood abroad. His father, Gerardo Chiumiento, was a power tool salesman ...

but ultimately lost 4–2 on penalties. The Whitecaps kicked off their second MLS season on March 10 against rivals Montreal Impact in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,000 at

. This was the first match between the two storied rival squads in Major League Soccer. The Whitecaps scored early with Sébastien Le Toux registering his first goal for Vancouver in the 4th minute after receiving a flicked on header from

Eric Hassli Eric Hassli (born 3 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Early career Hassli began his career at his hometown club Sarreguemines FC. In 2000 Hassli moved west to play for FC Metz. In 2002, h ...

before sliding the ball passed goalkeeper

Donovan Ricketts Donovan Ricketts (born 7 June 1977) is a Jamaican former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and is currently an assistant coach for FC Tulsa in the USL Championship. Ricke ...

. In the league's seventeen season history, Le Toux's strike was the fastest opening goal ever to start a season. The Whitecaps increased their lead when

leading scorer, Camilo, scored his first goal of the season in the 54th minute. Joe Cannon made five saves to earn his first win, and

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, of the season as the Whitecaps won their season opener 2–0. The match was watched by an average of 541,000 viewers in Canada, with a total of 2.5 million people tuning in for at least a portion of the match, on

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

and RDS making it the most-viewed MLS game ever in the country. Vancouver played their first road match of the season on March 17 against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

The Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignity ...

. Captain

Jay DeMerit Jay Michael DeMerit (born December 4, 1979) is an American retired soccer player who played as a center back. He played college soccer for the UIC Flames and was in the Chicago Fire Premier development squad, but after not being drafted for Maj ...

scored the lone goal, his first as a Whitecap, of the match with a header off a corner kick in the 68th minute. Goalkeepers Joe Cannon and

combined for the clean sheet and the Whitecaps won their first away match in their MLS history. Knighton replaced Cannon who was subbed off with an injury in the 41st minute. Joe Cannon was awarded the MLS Save of the Week for his stop on

Casey Townsend Casey James Townsend (born July 7, 1989) is an American former professional soccer player. Career Prep career Townsend played for Traverse City West High School in Michigan from 2004 to 2007. During his time there he was named the state's Pla ...

in the 32nd minute. The Whitecaps continued their streak of not conceding a goal on March 24 in a 0–0 draw with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Cannon was awarded with his second consecutive Save of the Week when he blocked a

Hamdi Salihi Hamdi Abdullah Salihi (born 19 January 1984) is an Albanian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the assistant manager of Albania. Nicknamed 'The Bomber' by his former international coach Otto Barić who would compare ...

header off a corner kick in the 67th minute. Vancouver capped off the month of March with their fourth clean sheet of the season but, once again, failed to score themselves against the

April

The Whitecaps saw their four-match unbeaten streak to open the season end on April 7 against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. Sébastien Le Toux scored a second half goal for Vancouver but

Chris Wondolowski Christopher Elliott "Chris" Wondolowski (born January 28, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Nicknamed Wondo, he scored 171 career goals, the most in Major League Soccer history, and he was MLS's t ...

replied with a brace and San Jose won 3–1. The match also saw the Whitecaps set a new MLS record for shutout streak to open a season end at 427 minutes, a mark previously set by the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

at 421 minutes. John Furlong, former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

VANOC The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) (french: Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver - COVAN) was the non-profit organization responsible ...

for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

, was named Executive Chair of the Whitecaps on April 12. Vancouver suffered their second consecutive 3–1 at the hands of

on April 18 before rebounding to beat both

and

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

1–0 on April 21 and 28 respectively. Camilo and Lee Young-Pyo scored the goals respectively.

May

The Whitecaps opened the month of May with the first leg of their semi-final fixture for the

in an away match against

of the NASL. They earned a 2–0 victory over their Canadian rivals with goals from

and

Atiba Harris Atiba Erasto Harris (born 9 January 1985) is a Kittitian football administrator and former professional footballer. He captained the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team. As of August 2021, he serves as President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Foo ...

while Brad Knighton earned the clean sheet in his first start for the club. On May 5 the Whitecaps had a re-match with the San Jose Earthquakes at BC Place. Vancouver were able to defeat San Jose 2–1 despite falling behind in the 15th minute. Eric Hassli scored in the final minute of stoppage time to give the club its first ever win when trailing in a match. The match took place exactly thirty-eight years since the Whitecaps played their first ever competitive match as a club, also against the San Jose Earthquakes, where they were defeated by the same 2–1 scoreline. On May 12 the Whitecaps suffered their worst defeat of the season to date dropping a 4–1 decision to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Lee Nguyen, who was waived by the Whitecaps in the preseason, scored two goals and helped set up another. Vancouver drew 1–1 against Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship. Ryan Johnson put the visitors ahead but Eric Hassli scored in stoppage time to salvage a draw. Hassli's goal was described by analysts as "jaw-dropping" and compared to his goal against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in 2011, which received international acclaim and was a finalist for the 2011

Best Play ESPY Award The Best Play ESPY Award has been conferred annually since 2002 on the play in a single regular season or playoff game contested professionally under the auspices of one of the four major leagues in the United States and Canada or collegiately un ...

and runner-up for MLS goal of the year. Vancouver opened the 2012

Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for the ...

against the

at BC Place on May 19. Twice the Whitecaps earned the lead with goals from

Alain Rochat Alain Rochat (born 1 February 1983) is a retired footballer who played as a defender. Born in Canada, he represented Switzerland internationally. Club career Switzerland Rochat was born in Canada but his family moved to Switzerland when he wa ...

and Camilo but both were answered by Eddie Johnson and

Fredy Montero Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz (born 26 July 1987), known as Fredy Montero (, is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. He is Seattle's all-time top scorer in official club co ...

for Seattle with the match finishing in a 2–2 draw. Vancouver failed to win their first Canadian Championship losing 1–0 to Toronto FC, 2–1 on aggregate. The Whitecaps ended the month in Portland where they drew 1–1 with the

Timbers Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. Darren Mattocks scored his first MLS goal in the 84th minute to pull the Whitecaps even.

June

On June 15, the Vancouver Whitecaps unveiled their new third kit. The design features an arbutus brown colour with sky blue trim. The new kit debuted on June 17 against

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

where the Whitecaps won 1–0. On June 18 the club introduced Barry Robson to the media. Robson will be eligible to join the line-up on June 27. On June 28 the Whitecaps waived midfielder Floyd Franks and traded forward

Tan Long Tan Long (; born April 1, 1988), former name Tan Xin (), is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai. Club career Tan started playing football when he was six. Between 1994 and 2004, ...

to D.C. United.

July

Kenny Miller - Brazil vs Scotland Mar11 (cropped)

Barry Robson made his club debut on July 4 against Colorado. Robson was named to the starting eleven by Martin Rennie and played 57 minutes before being subbed off. The Whitecaps won the match 1–0 on a goal by Darren Mattocks. The win brought Vancouver to 29 points, eclipsing their total of 28 points in

. On July 8 captain Jay DeMerit was named to the MLS All-Star first XI. The

2012 MLS All-Star game The 2012 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, held on July 25, 2012, was the 17th annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, a soccer match involving all-stars from Major League Soccer. The game was played at PPL Park, now known as Subaru Park, in C ...

took place July 25 at

PPL Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Phila ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The MLS All-Stars defeated the 2012 UEFA Champions League and 2012 FA Cup winners,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, 3–2. On July 11 it was announced that

would be transferred to

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

. Further moves were made on July 13 when Sébastien Le Toux was traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for

Dane Richards Dane O'Brian Richards (born 14 December 1983) is a Jamaican former professional footballer, who played as a winger. He spent the majority of his career with Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls. Career Youth and college Richards was a ...

. On July 16 the Whitecaps announced the addition of a third designated player, captain of the Scottish national team,

Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic. Miller began his career at ...

. Miller made his Whitecaps debut coming off the bench against San Jose a week later. On July 20 Martin Rennie made more moves by trading away the club's first ever designated player

in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and an international roster slot through the 2013 season. This also freed an international slot for the club in addition to the slot acquired from the trade.

August

The club made two depth acquisitions to begin the month of August signing Irish centre back Andy O'Brien and Brazilian midfielder Tiago Ulisses. O'Brien made his debut coming off the bench against Real Salt Lake on August 11.

October

On October 21 the Vancouver Whitecaps became the first Canadian MLS team to qualify for the

MLS Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualif ...

. They entered the day needing either a win against Portland, an FC Dallas defeat, or a draw with Portland and a FC Dallas draw with Seattle. Vancouver fell 0–1 but still clinched as the Sounders defeated Dallas 3–1.

November

The team lost their one-game playoff game against

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

2–1 despite opening the scoring in the third minute of the match. The Galaxy eventually went on to win the MLS Cup.

Players

Squad information

Transfers in

Transfers out

Club

Front office and staff

Martin Rennie at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West field 5

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Last updated: January 7, 2013
Source
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
br /> ''Italic'': denotes player is no longer with team

Goalkeeper stats

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, colspan="4" style="width:160px; text-align:center;",

MLS Cup Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualif ...

, colspan="4" style="width:160px; text-align:center;",

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

, - , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , style="width: 40px;", , - , style="text-align: right;" , 1 , , style="text-align: left;" , Joe Cannon , 2,457 , 79 , 36 , 1.32 , 2,277 , 73 , 34 , 1.34 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.00 , 180 , 6 , 2 , 1.00 , - , style="text-align: right;" , 18 , , style="text-align: left;" ,

, 1,052 , 40 , 10 , 0.86 , 782 , 27 , 7 , 0.81 , 90 , 5 , 2 , 2.00 , 180 , 8 , 1 , 0.50 , - , style="text-align: right;" , 24 , , style="text-align: left;" , Brian Sylvestre , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.00 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.00 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.00 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.00 ''Italic'': denotes player is no longer with team

Starting XI

Configuration based in August 2012 starting lineups.

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal. {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" , - !width=15, !width=15, !width=15, !width=15, !width=150, Name !width=100, Major League Soccer !width=100, MLS Playoffs !width=100, Canadian Championship !width=80, Total , - , 1 , 22 , FW , ,

, 7 , 1 , 1 , 9 , - , 2 , — , FW , , ''

'' , 4 , 0 , 2 , 6 , - , 3 , 37 , FW , ,

, 5 , 0 , 0 , 5 , - , 4 , — , FW , , ''

'' , 2 , 0 , 2 , 4 , - , rowspan="3", 5 , 14 , MF , ,

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , 20 , MF , ,

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , 28 , MF , ,

Gershon Koffie Gershon Koffie (born August 25, 1991) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Israeli club Ironi Tiberias. Career Youth Koffie grew up in the Ghanaian capital Accra, and began his soccer career when he joined R ...

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , rowspan="2", 8 , 4 , DF , ,

, 2 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , 7 , FW , ,

, 2 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , 10 , — , — , — , colspan="5", Four players tied with 1 goal each , - , colspan="5", TOTALS , 35 , 1 , 6 , 42 ''Italic'': denotes player is no longer with team

Top assists

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal. {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" , - !width=15, !width=15, !width=15, !width=15, !width=150, Name !width=100, Major League Soccer !width=100, MLS Cup Playoffs !width=100, Canadian Championship !width=80, Total , - , 1 , — , MF , , ''

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Jordan Harvey Jordan Harvey (born January 28, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who last played for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Career Youth and college Harvey started playing club soccer with Strikers FC. Upon high school ...

, 2 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , 14 , MF , ,

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Omar Salgado Omar Salgado (born September 10, 1993) is an American soccer player. Career Club Salgado began his career at the youth ranks of top Mexican club Guadalajara. Before that, he played for the El Paso Texas Fire Soccer club and attended Cathedral ...

, 1 , 0 , 1 , 2 , - , 28 , MF , ,

, 2 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , 10 , — , — , — , colspan="5", Ten players tied with 1 assist each , - , colspan="5", TOTALS , 35 , 1 , 6 , 42 ''Italic'': denotes player is no longer with team

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by position, and then shirt number. ''Italic'': denotes no longer with club.

Competitions

Pre-season

Arizona training

Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic

Friendlies

Overall

Major League Soccer

League table

=Western Conference

=Overall

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

Schedule

=Note

= Indicates a match against a

rival.

MLS Cup playoffs

Knockout round

Canadian Championship

The club participates in the four-team

which includes

, Montreal Impact and

. The champion of the tournament is awarded the

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's nationa ...

and qualifies for the

2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League The 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 48th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of Nor ...

group stage. Each round will feature a two-legged home-and-away format. The team with the higher aggregate score from both matches will be declared the winner. Should there be a tie in the aggregate score, the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...

will be used to determine the winner. Should the away goals also be even then an additional 30 minutes of extra time will be played with the away goals rule no longer in effect. The final tiebreaker will be a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

Semi-finals

Final

MLS reserves

The Vancouver Whitecaps will compete in the West Division for the 2012 MLS Reserves season. The division consists of six teams, including

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

and

. The Whitecaps will play each other team twice, once home and once away.

League table

;West Division

Match results

Schedule

Cascadia Cup

The Whitecaps have had a long-standing rivalry with the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

clubs

and

, dating back to the 1970s when ancestry clubs of the same name played in the original and now-defunct

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. The tri-member tournament will continue in 2012. The winner is determined through league matches between the sides, and the club with the best record against both sides wins the trophy. The

2012 MLS season The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer. The regular season began on March ...

will see an unbalanced schedule due to an uneven number of teams with the addition of the Montreal Impact. As a result, the Whitecaps will play three matches each against Portland and Seattle. The odd number of matches means Vancouver will host the Sounders twice and Timbers once while visiting Seattle Portland once and twice respectively. This setup will alternate each year.

Recognition

MLS Save of the Week

{, class=wikitable , - ! style="background:#00235d; color:white; text-align:center; width:30px;", Week ! style="background:#00235d; color:white; text-align:center; width:150px;", Player ! style="background:#00235d; color:white; text-align:center; width:50px;", Save ! style="background:#00235d; color:white; text-align:center; width:75px;", Report , - , style="text-align:center;", 2 , Joe Cannon , style="text-align:center;
32'
, style="text-align:center;
SOTW
, - , style="text-align:center;", 3 , Joe Cannon , style="text-align:center;
67'
, style="text-align:center;
SOTW

MLS Team of the Week

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Week !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Player/Manager !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Position !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Report , - , style="text-align: center;", 7 ,

, style="text-align: center;", DF
MLS Team of the Week: 7
, - , style="text-align: center;", 8 , Lee Young-Pyo , style="text-align: center;", DF
MLS Team of the Week: 8
, - , style="text-align: center;", 11 ,

, style="text-align: center;", DF
MLS Team of the Week: 11
, - , style="text-align: center;", 12 ,

John Thorrington John Gerard Thorrington (born October 17, 1979) is a South African-born American retired soccer player who currently serves as co-president and general manager of Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Although raised in the United States, Th ...

, style="text-align: center;", MF
MLS Team of the Week: 12
, - , style="text-align: center;" rowspan="3", 13–15 ,

, style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2", FW , rowspan="3"
MLS Team of the Week: 13–15
, - ,

, - , Martin Rennie , style="text-align: center;", Coach , - , style="text-align: center;", 18 , Joe Cannon , style="text-align: center;", GK
MLS Team of the Week: 18
, - , style="text-align: center;", 23 ,

, style="text-align: center;", MF
MLS Team of the Week: 23

MLS All-Stars

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Player !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Position !style="background:#00235D; color:white; text-align:center;", Note , - ,

, style="text-align: center;", DF , First XI

Miscellany

Allocation ranking

Vancouver is in the No. 11 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking. Vancouver moved to the top position in the allocation ranking after the Montreal Impact exercised their allocation rights to acquire Eddie Johnson. On June 26 the Whitecaps swapped their allocation ranking with the

, who were in the 12 position, in a trade. Philadelphia then used their allocation ranking to sign

Bakary Soumaré Bakary Soumaré (born 9 November 1985) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played professionally in the United States, France, Germany and Canada, and earned twelve caps for the Mali national team. Early li ...

International roster slots

Vancouver have 11

MLS International Roster Slots MLS International Roster Slots are an important piece of roster composition in Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport ...

for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots. Vancouver acquired one additional slot from Colorado Rapids in November 2010 and a second slot from Colorado in January 2012. They acquired a third additional slot from Toronto FC in July 2012.

Future draft pick trades

Future picks acquired: *

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draft, ...

Round 1 pick from

*2013 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick from

2013 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft was a secondary draft that was held by Major League Soccer via conference call on January 22, 2013. The draft was four rounds with all 19 MLS clubs participating. Selection order The official selection order was a ...

Round 1 pick from Chicago Fire *

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center ...

Round 1 pick from

*2014 MLS SuperDraft Round 2 pick from

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

*2014 MLS SuperDraft Round 3 pick from

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

Round 3 pick from

Future picks traded: *

Round 2 pick to

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 Vancouver Whitecaps Fc Season Vancouver Whitecaps FC seasons

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...