Now, if you’ve ever heard Lenarduzzi speak about the team that went to World Cup finals in 1986, he’ll talk about the number of players on the squad who couldn’t find teams on which to play. It was a ragtag group of players, many of whom didn’t escape the realm of semipro North American soccer. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Lenarduzzi is the boss. He’s on the club side. And he has obviously learned that management is a cruel business.

On Thursday, TFC made two major deals — drastically remaking the roster. The Reds acquired Terry Dunfield, who scored against TFC on opening day at Empire Field, from the Vancouver Whitecaps for allocation money and future considerations. Dunfield, who was the lone Vancouverite in the regular ‘Caps lineup, didn’t start in the the team’s most recent match, a loss at Colorado.

What’s interesting is that just three weeks ago, Jarju had told Gambia’s Daily Observer that he was ready to sign a contract extension with Mons, and was looking forward to getting an EU passport. “I am keen to extend my stay with the team at least for one more season with the condition that they will help me secure a Belgian passport,” Jaru told the Observer on June 24. “I have spent five years in Belgium which now qualifies me for Belgian citizenship so it makes no sense to move to another country at the moment.”

It is Vancouver’s first season in Major League Soccer, and you already have to wonder if the city is suffering from the same friendly fatigue we have seen developing in other North American cities.

“It was sort of a surprise to me a little bit,” said Dunfield after the national team practice Tuesday morning at BMO Field. “It’s difficult when you see not only a good manager, but a good person lose his job. But it’s important we move on from that now.”

Expansion team or not, the Whitecaps’ brass expected better than winning just one out of its first dozen games in a home-heavy early season schedule. Coach Teitur Thordarson paid for it with his job. The club’s Director of Soccer Operations, Tom Soehn, takes over as the new coach of the club. Before coming to Vancouver, Soehn spent a tumultuous three years coaching D.C. United after being promoted up to the job. After winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2007, the club underwent a decline through the end of his reign, in 2009.

Edwini-Bonsu, an Edmonton native, has been on the wish lists of FCE fans since the club started playing friendlies in 2010, long before it kicked a ball in NASL play. But the former Canadian U-20 standout hinted on his Twitter account that it might be time to go “back to Europe.” And he also pledged not to play with the Montreal Impact, the Whitecaps old hated Div. 2 rival.

The right opponent, in this case, is Manchester City. But is it the right date? The Whitecaps announced Thursday that it will play Manchester City on Monday, July 18 at Empire Field. It’s part of the World Football Challenge series. But, how will that game stretch coach Teitur Thordarson’s ranks? A high-profile international is a great PR exercise. But, the Whitecaps are scheduled to play at home to the juggernaut that is Real Salt Lake on July 16, and then travel to San Jose on July 20.

Omar Salgado won’t have to wait until his 18th birthday to play in his first MLS game. The Vancouver Whitecaps have been successful in their efforts to get the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Superdraft cleared to play. Salgado is currently with the U.S. U-20 team as it prepares for the CONCACAF qualifiers in Guatemala, so he won’t be able to help the Whitecaps this Saturday in Philadelphia, where the club has a bit of a roster crisis because of international call-ups.

Lenarduzzi and coach Teitur Thordarson must believe that the core has established itself very nicely over the course of a few preseason games because, on Friday, the Whitecaps announced the signing of a DP — French striker Eric Hassli, who scored 21 goals in 34 games for Swiss side FC Zurich during its domestic championship season of 2008-09. He has scored one goal in five Champions League appearances.