Afshin Ghotbi is literally counting down the hours until his team runs onto the field for its first game of the season at Willoughby Stadium.
Hesa国际传媒檚 head coach of the Vancouver Football Club (FC) and in front of what he hopes will be a sold-out crowd, Ghotbi wants to show off the new team and all itsa国际传媒檚 new attributes for its fans.
This year, the team gets to begin its season with a home opener at Willoughby Stadium in Langley Sunday afternoon.
After what he called a successful off-season and a productive pre-season, the professional soccer players - new and old sa国际传媒� are anxious, as is he, to begin the clubsa国际传媒檚 second season with a new look and many new players.
sa国际传媒淚 feel the group is very charged, energized, very inspired, very united, and wesa国际传媒檙e very happy to be able to start at homesa国际传媒� and show the new face of this team,sa国际传媒� he shared a few days ahead of the game.
With the addition of many new players this season, some seasoned pros mixed with fresh young talent, Ghotbi believes the blend could spell some great successes this year.
sa国际传媒淚 think it allows us to play the kind of football I want to play, the football I feel can be entertaining, and the kind of football that can kinda dominate, control games. And, I believe with the qualities that we have, we will not waiver from that.sa国际传媒�
Last year, with what he called a challenging inaugural year and a brand new team, they simply struggled to stay competitive and stay in the game. And while they did reasonably well, and improved tremendously as the season progress sa国际传媒� winning four of their last six games sa国际传媒� it was all new for many of them, Ghotbi admitted.
But with the changes in players that have been made since, with a new depth of experience added, and with a lot of hard work done pre-season, he said sa国际传媒渁s yousa国际传媒檒l see from the first kick, wesa国际传媒檙e going to go after victory.sa国际传媒�
The first game of the season is this Sunday, April 14, starting at 4 p.m. at Willoughby Stadium (next to the Langley Events Centre) on 200th Street in Langley, when VFC takes on Winnipegsa国际传媒檚 Valour FC.
sa国际传媒淥bviously last year, Valour had a tough season. They had a lot of injuries, they finished last in the table. But they were very competitive in almost every game, so if you look at them throughout the season, they were one of the most difficult opponents to face,sa国际传媒� Ghotbi said, acknowledging that both VFC games against Valour at home ended in scoreless draws.
Still expecting the tenacity demonstrated in past by Valour, the head coach said he never anticipates any game in the Canadian Premier League to be sa国际传媒渆asy,sa国际传媒� and especially not this weekendsa国际传媒檚 match up against Valour.
Single game tickets and season passes are available .
Asked what hesa国际传媒檚 looking forward to most in the second season for VFC, Ghotbi said he is anxious to see the fan base grow, and consequently the love and appreciation of the game intensify in B.C.
He pointed, for instance, to the inclusion of several players from B.C. in this yearsa国际传媒檚 roster sa国际传媒� some returning for a second season and some new to the team sa国际传媒� as a means to that goal. He described them as individuals who sa国际传媒� like himself sa国际传媒� want to foster a passion for the sport in this province.
VFC has been busy in the off-season bringing B.C.-born players home to Vancouver to play in front of their friends and family. VFC now has a total of 13 B.C.-born players, including the likes of Ben Fisk, Paris Gee, David Norman, and Zach Verhoven who will all be making their hometown debuts this season.
Having witnessed this team at practice and playing in a number of sa国际传媒渇riendlysa国际传媒� pre-season games, Ghotbi is confident theysa国际传媒檒l have a great season ahead.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a very exciting event, and Isa国际传媒檓 hoping that inspires more and more fans to come out and join us and celebrate this beautiful game,sa国际传媒� he concluded.
