The Third Sub Episode 75: Recapping a busy week of Vancouver Whitecaps and Canadian Soccer news to start off March

Welcome back to another episode of the Third Sub Podcast! In this episode, Alex and Sam are back, as usual, this time to chat all things Vancouver Whitecaps and Canadian soccer after what was a busy few days of news on both of those fronts. To start things off, they open things up by chatting about the news that Fredy Montero is no longer a Whitecap, as the veteran striker decided to take his talents to the city where he began his MLS career: Seattle, where he signed with the two time MLS Cup Champs, the Sounders, on Thursday. They look at the impact that the move will have on Montero, Seattle and Vancouver, and look at what this move suggests for the future of these 'Caps. After that, they look at some of the other tidbits of news that came from 'Caps head coach Marc Dos Santos this week, as he spoke to media on Thursday. First, he talked preseason, as he shared the news that his team had plans to play Toronto FC, CF Montreal and some unnamed CPL teams in exhibition games, but it all fell through, for a myriad of reasons. Fear not, says Alex, however, as he suggests that the 'Caps temporary relocation to Salt Lake to start the year might give them some potential opponents to possibly play some friendly games against. Secondly, Dos Santos talked about the upcoming 'Caps international headache, as he's going to likely lose at least a half-dozen players to international duty at a crucial point of preseason in the next few weeks. Despite that, it's a problem he's more than happy to have, as he stressed the importance of working with National Team coaches to give his players the opportunity to represent their countries whenever possible. Lastly, he spoke about how preseason has gone well from an on-the-field perspective, but also how he is noticing some early holes that he and the recruitment staff are looking to fill by the start of the season, giving him a team he hopes can make some noise in MLS this season. Once through that, they finish off the 'Caps chatter with the rumours that came out Friday of Vancouver possibly signing Brazilian midfielder Caio Alexandre from Botafogo, for a fee that's reported to be around $2+ million dollars. Despite the immense potential of Alexandre, however, feelings are mixed on his potential arrival, mostly from a logistical standpoint, as there are lots of hurdles to clear before making a signing like this. After that, they chat about some of the recent Canadian Soccer news that came out this week, including the proposed Voyageurs Cup final date that came out Thursday, as well as the rumours of there being a potential Canadian second division starting in 2022. They then also chat about the dream scenario in which the Voyageurs Cup sees a massive expansion off of the back of these moves in 2022, further legitimizing Canada's marquee club tournament competition. Finally, they finish with a shoutout to some Canadian Men's and Women's internationals killing it abroad, before giving a nod to former Whitecap Marcel De Jong, who announced his retirement from the professional game on Friday. If you have Twitter, make sure to check out The Third Sub Podcast @thirdsubpod!