Whitecaps waive two defenders By Steven Sandor Posted on July 28, 2011 1 0 729 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The Vancouver Whitecaps, who have surrendered 30 goals in 21 league games this season, cut two defenders loose on Thursday. As has been widely expected, French defender Mouloud Akloul has been set free. Akloul made eight MLS appearances, but his shining moment came in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, when he slammed home a rebound from a Terry Dunfield shot in extra time of the semifinal second leg against the Montreal Impact. The goal was the one that sent the Whitecaps to the final. Ironically, both men involved in that goal — Dunfield and Akloul — have been purged. But, former FC Dallas defender Blake Wagner was also culled. Wagner made nine starts for the Whitecaps this season. Mouloud Akloul Both players were brought in by former coach Teitur Thordarson during the Whitecaps final season in Div. 2. Soccer Operations Director and interim coach Tom Soehn was part of the brain trust that decided to get rid of Thordarson less than halfway through the team’s first MLS season; now it’s clear that the players Thordarson brought into the fold aren’t safe. While the addition of ex-Philadelphia Union man Jordan Harvey to play at left back has given Soehn a little more flexibility on the back line, the cutting of two players and the freeing up of an international slot makes you believe that these cuts are setting up future moves.
