Vancouver Whitecaps Present New Left Back Alain Rochat

VANCOUVER, BC - With preseason training set to begin next week, Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today the signing of Canadian-born defender Alain Rochat to the club's Major League Soccer roster - pending his international transfer certificate. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"We're delighted to add Alain to our MLS squad," said Whitecaps FC head coach Teitur Thordarson. "He brings a wealth of experience and has won titles in a top-flight European league and has played in prestigious European club competitions like the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup."

Initially acquired from FC Zürich by Whitecaps FC during the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League season on August 17, the 27-year-old spent the remainder of last year on loan at the Swiss Super League outfit. The 6-foot, 170-pound defender - who can play left fullback as well as centre back - started all 14 appearances during his loan spell with FC Zürich.

"I'm excited by this new challenge to play in North America and in Major League Soccer,” said Rochat. “Vancouver is a beautiful city, and Whitecaps FC have been very welcoming to me and my family, since I made the decision to first sign with the club last summer."

The native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, first joined FC Zürich on loan during the 2006-07 season from Stade Rennais FC of France’s Ligue 1 before making his move permanent the following season. In four-and-a-half seasons with FC Zürich, Rochat made 154 appearances, scoring nine goals, and recording 10 assists. During this time, Rochat helped FC Zürich to Swiss Super League championship titles during the 2006-07 and 2008-09 campaigns. In the 2009-10 season, Rochat helped FC Zürich reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, where they faced Spanish giants Real Madrid, Italian powerhouse AC Milan, and France's Olympique de Marseille in Group C.

Prior to his recent spell with FC Zürich, Rochat joined Stade Rennais FC at the start of the 2005-06 French Ligue 1 season and appeared in 11 matches for the Brittany-based club. From 2001 to 2005, the defender played four seasons with Switzerland's Berner Sport Club (BSC) Young Boys. Rochat started his professional career in 1999 with Yverdon Sport FC, who were then members of the Swiss Super League.

Rochat, who moved from Canada to Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, when he was two, appeared for Switzerland at the youth international level before making his senior international debut on June 4, 2005, as Switzerland claimed a 3-1 away victory over the Faroe Islands in Group Four of European qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Paradigm Shift

So we tied another game against a Canadian opponent.... the general consensus around the city is "meh". I've been asking soccer fans around the city how they feel towards the Whitecaps season thus far and indifferent seems to be the resounding answer. They can't score, they don't win any games, the same things my incredibly ground breaking blog has been saying for the last month.

Its got me to thinking though. Ok, so we draw AC St. Louis, and Crystal Palace Baltimore, not really great teams. But maybe we need to readjust the frame on this picture.

We also tied Toronto FC, twice! by all accounts and measures they are the best team in our country. They play in the highest level of competition and are the reigning champions in our National tournament. While TFC have been scoring franchise highs in goals for this season, they have also been scoring franchise lows in goals against. Bear with me for a second. While we all love to rag on the team from "THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE", they are one of the best teams in MLS this year. They are unbeaten at home in all competitions and Stefan Frei with his defensive back line haven't really been letting anybody score as of late. So in all reality 0 goals for and 0 goals against against TFC is a fairly good record. Despite what you want to think about the teams Toronto fielded against the Cap's they didn't score either...

Our other Nutrilite opponent, Montreal, are the reigning USL D-1 Champions. Now whether they have taken this tournament seriously over the last two years remains to be seen. But they have clearly made their League fixtures a priority over this span. We remain one point ahead of them in the League standings and have now finished 4 points clear of them in the Voyageurs Cup. 3 times this year we've drawn even against last years champions. Not really that bad.

Previously I had made comments about how "We need to hold people accountable for their actions" and I think what irked me was the way Team President, Bob Lenarduzzi was quoted in the press. I found the context made it sound like he was complaining about the Impact time wasting, and how it may have cost his club another championship. But tilting the frame has made me realize that first we need to look at where the quote is coming from. This is our man, he bleeds BLUE and WHITE, you call the Whitecap's Offices on Water St. and HIS voice is the automation. He calls himself Bobby and almost expects you too as well. When he says that he "can't understand" why Montreal as a team wouldn't want to give their faithful the best on field product to watch, its not that he's complaining or crying. He's confused, and please don't take that to mean that he's slight of intelligence, what I am saying is he literally doesn't get that mentality, it's not how he played the game, it's not how he runs his club. Like I said if you stabbed the man he would bleed blue and white.

The one thing we can't take away from these guys is they have been trying. Everyone, whether its been Janicki playing with a bandaged up brain, or Wes Knight with a sore leg. It could be Martin Nash with a strained back (and you know he would play every minute if Teitur would let him) , all the way to call ups like Cornelius Stewart and Doudou Toure emptying the tank the last couple weeks desperately trying to stay up with the big club. Even if you could see how many laps Hirano was doing before and after games while he was getting back to match fit. It really is something when you look back on all of it.

Maybe we all need to take a step back and have a sip of our coffee's and really think how lucky we are to be watching this club, in their last year at Swangard, in their last year before making the jump to the MLS. Yeah maybe their not tearing it up like they did last year but they are in every game. That's the last I'm going to say on that.

The Whitecaps PDL team plays tonight at SFU if anyone feels like checking it out. "The kids can play, let me tell ya!" I watched them beat on a very good Victoria Highlanders team to start the season off in the Coast Capital Cup. A game where Doudou Toure potted a goal! the Game starts at 6 I believe I will be there at 3 getting the inside scoop. I hope to see a couple of you out there. I will provide a post game review of the game and I will also post a review of the Women's Game from this past weekend. As I hadn't had a chance to get around to it.

One last note I know I said I was going to post a note about the format of the Nutrilite Championship and its future but really if you want to see the current discussion on it I urge you to check out the 24th minute blog. Duane Rollins posted a very insightful blog on it and if you can't beat em, link em! my dad always used to say!

ok he never said that but he would if he was tech savvy.

here's the link for anyone who can't find it on their own.

http://www.24thminute.com/2010/05/what-to-do-about-v-cup.html