CROWING OVER KAH
WHITECAPS: Coach Robinson is thrilled Pa-Modou will be returning next season.
The Gambian gabber is returning to the Vancouver Whitecaps to provide centre-back depth and to dispense more of his engaging brand of keen analysis and noisy chatter.
The Caps announced Friday they’ve re-signed 35-year-old Pa-Modou Kah, the multilingual, fun-loving needler, to a one-year contract extension after initially declining his 2016 option.
“He’s got that right balance of being able to have a bit of fun and be laid back, but knowing that when it’s work time, it’s work time,” said Caps head coach Carl Robinson of a player well- respected by his Major League Soccer teammates.
“As an older player, he knows there are times when young players might want to take an easier day, but he doesn’t allow that to happen. Because the makeup of my squad is predominantly young players, they need guidance from coaches, but they also need it from other, older players and that’s what Pa brings.”
Re- signing Kah meant he stayed out of Friday’s MLS reentry draft, which saw just two players selected. FC Dallas scooped former Portland forward Maximiliano Urutti, a player the Caps had some interest in, with the No. 1 overall pick. Then, after nine teams passed, Sporting Kansas City selected goalkeeper Alec Kann from the Chicago Fire. The Caps passed with the No. 16 pick.
Two Vancouver players whose 2016 options weren’t picked up — veteran midfielder Mauro Rosales and goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi — went unselected and now will be available in next Thursday’s Stage 2 re-entry draft when they negotiate new deals if selected.
Robinson said the Caps are still talking to Rosales, but “in a salary-cap world, there is only a certain amount of money available in certain positions … and he wants to see what’s out there.”
Meantime, the trade of right fullback Steven Beitashour to Toronto FC for a second-round pick in next month’s MLS Super-Draft won’t be finalized and announced until today.
The Caps declined the 28-yearold’s 2016 option, likely for in excess of $215,000, and tried to get him to re-sign for less. But Beitashour, one of the three highest-paid fullbacks in MLS, wasn’t interested.
“We wanted to do everything we could to keep him here, unfortunately we weren’t able to do it,” Robinson said.
He said there were a couple of teams interested in the American-born, Iranian international, but once he knew Toronto was in the hunt, “he made it clear that would be the (preferred) destination.”
“I respect him greatly,” Robinson said. “I’m disappointed to lose him, but he goes to a place he wanted to go and it frees up significant cap space that we can use to strengthen our team in other ways.”
The reliable Beitashour, acquired before the 2014 season from San Jose, started 27 times for a Caps team in 2015 that conceded only 36 goals, tied for the best defensive record in MLS.
Robinson said he intends to bring in a right back before next season begins, but he believes Jordan Smith, the 24-year-old Costa Rican who came to Vancouver on loan in late August, has “unbelievable potential and fantastic upside.”
Smith did look good at times pushing forward into the attack, but was an adventure defensively in his handful of starts. Robinson said he and his coaching staff believe they can fine-tune his defensive game “and Jordan will get the opportunity to make that spot his own.”
Kah, who joined the Caps for 2015 after two seasons in Portland, started 25 of his 26 appearances across all competitions. That was more than even Robinson anticipated, but made necessary when young Uruguayan centre back Diego Rodriguez struggled with injuries and a lack of confidence.
Rodriguez won’t be back, but it’s likely Tim Parker, last season’s terrific rookie who stepped into the middle of the backline alongside Kendall Waston when Kah was injured late in the campaign, will start 2016 in that spot. And Robinson said he’s determined to get young centre back Christian Dean, the No. 3 overall pick in 2014, into more games as well.
“Pa is fully understanding of what his role will be,” Robinson said. “But he’s like a lot of older players, you still believe you can play every minute of every game.
“Pa will do everything he can to keep (Parker and Dean) out of the (first) team, but if not, he’s going to support the young players. His leadership is a very valuable thing to have.”