VANCOUVER — After his first training session with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Tony Tchani admitted that his trip north of the border had been accompanied by some nerves.
The central midfielder, acquired on Thursday from the Columbus Crew in exchange for winger Kekuta Manneh and $300,000 in allocation money, was anxious for a simple reason: the players on Vancouver’s roster were all strangers to him.
“I was a little nervous, just coming all the way from Columbus,” he said on Friday. “You know, and just not knowing a single guy on the team.”
It helped, though, that Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had been a teammate of Tchani’s in the latter’s first Major League Soccer season.
“I played with Robbo when I first got drafted in New York,” said Tchani, who was selected second overall by the New York Red Bulls in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. The six-foot-four Cameroon native added that his relationship with Robinson gave him “a bit of confidence,” at least, about the move. Robbo, he said, was someone he’d looked up to as a youngster.
If you ask Robinson, the Whitecaps’ latest addition is exactly what the team needs right now.
“He’s a very physical player, but he’s really technically good as well,” Robinson said, describing Tchani as the true box-to-box midfielder the team has been lacking since the departure of Gershon Koffie.
Tchani should bring “a bit of power, a bit of strength to the midfield area,” he said.
The Whitecaps can certainly use all the help they can get. The team is winless in MLS this year, and while it’s still early days, there’s a sense of urgency surrounding the club—the feeling that the ship must be righted quickly after a disappointing 2016, and a disappointing start to what is supposed to be a bounce-back season.
Tchani’s first opportunity to show what he has to offer could come quickly. The Whitecaps host the L.A. Galaxy (1-2-0) at BC Place on Saturday evening, and Robinson said Tchani could well be part of the starting XI.
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“He was in the locker room with myself and Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry, so he had to grow up very quickly,” Robinson said of Tchani’s first season in the league. “And Thierry was the pusher, and I was the sort of arm-on-the-shoulder guy to him, because the two older guys that we were, one pushed him and one sort of took care of him.”
Tchani may have been young, but his talent was evident, Robinson said. He was simply looking for consistency, something the coach said he’s achieved in his 180 MLS appearances across three teams (New York, Toronto FC, and Columbus).
“He’ll make our team better, and our squad better, which is what we’re always trying to do,” Robinson said.
Tchani—he doesn’t really have a nickname, but you can call him “TT,” he said—has yet to make an MLS appearance this season but expressed confidence that he’s fit enough to start if called upon.
“I’m here just to do whatever the coach tells me to do,” he said, describing himself as a good passer who is comfortable with the ball. “I just listen to what the coach tells me to do and I just step on the field and do it.”
Like his new team, Tchani is looking for a bounce-back of sorts. His best season came in 2015, when he made 32 starts, tallying five goals and six assists. This year, the veteran found himself well down on the Crew’s depth chart. So far all his initial nerves, the Whitecaps’ new No. 8 is just happy for the chance to play.
“Every single player is looking to at least be in the 18, or have some playing time, so I’m really excited about it,” he said.
The 27-year-old is a soft-spoken presence, but his imposing size and his athleticism will be felt sharply by opposing team. It will also be felt by a few of his teammates, some of whom will now be competing with him for minutes.
“The other midfield players, they’ve got to react, because if I’m bringing a player in, for the benefit of the group, then you’ve got to step up,” Robinson said. “Because when you get your chance to play, it’s your chance to shine.”
