The Brotherly Game Talks With Whitecaps Head Coach Tom Soehn About Jordan Harvey

Ahead of a call with (now) former Philadelphia Union left back Jordan Harvey, the Brotherly Game was able to talk to Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Tom Soehn.

tBG: What interested you enough about Harvey to acquire him, despite already having a starting left back in Alain Rochat?

Soehn: We're in dire need of MLS experienced guys. He's played a lot of games over the last couple of years. He gives us the flexibility of moving Rochat centrally in a spot we feel he's very valuable. So Jordan will obviously fill a need for us.

tBG: While MLS doesn't release the specifics of allocation money amounts, can you give a description of what was sent in return for Harvey? Small, average, etc?

Soehn: I think it's what you can expect for an experienced player with his abilities. We're excited to get him. I think he's a quality guy. He's has the experience we're looking for in the back. What we want to do is get deeper as a team and defensive stronger and I think he can do exactly that.

tBG: For Union fans, this trade seemed out of the blue. Had discussions been going on for some time or was this trade a sudden occurrence?

Soehn: I think teams are always looking to make changes. I'm not going to divulge the entire story behind it, but we've had interest in him and the timing worked out for us right now.

tBG: Shea Salinas played with Harvey in Philadelphia last year, did he has any impact on the decision to bring Harvey to Vancouver?

Soehn: Well I think we did want to know a little bit about the character of the player. In passing, it wasn't asking to see if it was a good trade or not, it was just in passing to see what kind of guy he was. Shea got along with Jordan very well and spoke highly of him as a person.

tBG: Did Union head coach Piotr Nowak hint as to why he decided to send his starting left back to the Whitecaps?

Soehn: No, I think every team has their reasons for making trades. We have our reasons and I'm sure they have theirs. But that's for them to know.

tBG: You said earlier that having Harvey will open up possibilities for the team defensively. How will it affect Rochat, specifically?

Soehn: I think it gives us flexibility to do that. We're fortunate to have Rochat who can play left back and centrally, something he can do very well. With Jordan coming it gives us a lot of versatility.

tBG: How will the Harvey-Rochat left back situation play out?

Soehn: That'll work itself as time moves along.