After acquiring Union’s top pick, Whitecaps will now cheer hard against Philadelphia

Martin Rennie

In 2012, the Vancouver Whitecaps nabbed Darren Mattocks with the second overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. And, unless the Philadelphia Union pulls out of its nosedive, the Whitecaps stand to get a high pick in the 2013 draft.

On Tuesday, the Whitecaps announced the completion of a deal that saw Vancouver send its No. 1 spot in the allocation draft and its second-round pick in the 2013 SuperDraft to Philadelphia. In return, the Whitecaps get Philly’s first-round draft pick and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. Philadelphia wanted that No. 1 pick to sign defender Bakary Soumare. As a former MLS player who went abroad, Soumare has to re-enter MLS through the allocation process.

This is a similar procedure — though far less drawn-out — to July 2008, when Toronto FC had the top allocation spot, and Brian McBride wanted to re-enter MLS. He wanted to go to Chicago, and Chicago wanted him, so a deal was eventually made.

“There were a number of factors involved in this trade, including our current and future needs, the players available through allocation ranking, as well as the strength of next year’s MLS SuperDraft,” said Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie in a release. “In the end, we are very pleased with the assets we’ve acquired, as allocation money is an important asset in our league, and we have seen the value that a first-round pick can bring in either a quality player or something that can be turned into assets down the road.”

Right now, the Union has the second-worst record in MLS, with just 11 points from 13 games. No doubt, Whitecaps fans will now be cheering against the Union week after week, hoping that Philadelphia finishes as low in the standings as possible, which gives the Whitecaps the highest draft pick possible.

Even if Rennie uses the asset for a future trade, its value is linked to how good a pick it will be. If it is a No. 2 pick — or even a No. 1 — then the Whitecaps may have just got themselves a steal of a deal.

And, while the Whitecaps holding of the No. 1 allocation ranking forced the Union’s hand, it is interesting to note that this is the second major deal completed between the two clubs over the last several months. Earlier this season, the Whitecaps got forward Sebastien Le Toux from the Union for allocation. So maybe, we can see this deal as the Whitecaps getting some of that allocation money back (since those figures aren’t disclosed, we can never be sure).

But, in MLS, you often see two teams who tend to partner to help each other out with deals. Toronto and San Jose have that kind of relationship — Alan Gordon, Ronnie O’Brien, Nana Attakora, Ryan Johnson, Nick Garcia and Sam Cronin are names who have been involved in deals between the teams over the years. Makes sense, as they are from separate conferences and can’t hurt each other. You have to wonder if Philly and the Whitecaps are getting close to having a cozy trading relationship.