VANCOUVER – It’s been nine games since Davide Chiumiento was allowed to leave the Vancouver Whitecaps for Swiss club FC Zurich.
Is it any coincidence the ‘Caps have nosedived since?
Looking hapless and out of ideas for most of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers, even that score line flattered a Vancouver side that seemed totally out of sync in comparison to the squad that seemed well in control of its destiny at the time of Chiumiento’s departure.
After Week 18 of the MLS season, right before the Swiss-Italian was sold, the Whitecaps were tied for third in the Western Conference with the Seattle Sounders on 30 points. The Fifth-place LA Galaxy was seven points back with 23, and the sixth-place Colorado Rapids had 22 points.
The buffer was there, and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time seemed well on track.
Then, the sale.
On July 11, the club announced it was selling Chiumiento to FC Zurich. The club attempted to paint the picture that the diminutive playmaker was leaving to be closer to home. No doubt that played into the story — Chiumiento seemed happy to be closer to his daughter and his parents who live in Switzerland — but the Whitecaps did not present a competitive alternative.
Here were Chiumiento’s choices. He could go to Zurich, be closer to home and get a raise with a guaranteed three-year deal. Alternatively, he could stay in Vancouver and have a one-year extension.
There was no decision to make, and Chiumiento told Sportsnet.ca in a phone interview shortly after his move that he felt a little let down the club didn’t try to match Zurich’s offer or make any attempt to keep him.
“Of course (I’m disappointed),” Chiumiento said. “I mean, as a player, I would have loved to have stayed here. It’s a great place to play football because people here love soccer also now. It’s really growing and it’s a beautiful place to live. But I have to see for my future, but I didn’t feel they — I don’t know how to say, but I felt it was the best decision for me. That’s football.”
So with things going swimmingly, the club let one its most talented individuals walk — and Chiumiento suggested it wasn’t just the cash — because he just didn’t feel wanted.
“It’s not just about money,” Chiumiento said. “I could have stayed even for less here, but it has to be something where I can be happy. When you’re 27, you have to look for your future. It wasn’t all about money, it’s about trying to make a player happy who wants to stay, and that’s it.”
Regardless of whether you buy the club’s assertion that Chiumiento had been quietly pushing for a European move, or instead believe the player was simply trying to leverage interest from European clubs to secure a long-term deal in Vancouver, it doesn’t matter much now.
What does matter is that in the nine games since Chiumiento’s departure, the Whitecaps have a record of 2-6-1 — this in contrast to the final nine matches of his tenure in Vancouver — all of which he started, in which the club posted a solid midseason run of 3-2-4.
Vancouver sits in the fifth and final playoff position on 37 points, with FC Dallas now just five points back in sixth place.
Given the amount of cash the club has thrown at Kenny Miller — the Scottish designated player will earn $1.2-million in the first year of his deal — it’s not as if the money wasn’t there to keep Chiumiento instead.
Head coach Martin Rennie chose to let him go so he could make room for Miller and give him bagfuls more cash. Chiumiento was on $300,000 at the time of his departure.
The positive of all this is that Miller scored his first goal during Vancouver’s loss on Saturday, but that Miller in, Chiumiento out swap could be the gamble that ultimately decides the club’s playoff fate — one way or the other.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer who covers the Vancouver Whitecaps FC for Goal.com. Follow Martin on Twitter