‘No Timeline’ On Ghotbi Replacement, Says Friend

Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC is, for the first time in club history, without a permanent head coach at the helm.

The club made its firing of inaugural head coach Afshin Ghotbi official yesterday, with former Nine Stripes boss Martin Nash stepping in as the interim replacement.

In the meanwhile, Club President Rob Friend says the search for Ghotbi’s permanent successor doesn’t have a deadline looming.

“Honestly, it’s open,” Friend told OneSoccer. “There’s no timeline on this. Everything we do is not reactionary, it’s not short term. If the right coach, if we don’t find them, we’re going to take our time, because really we’re thinking of the next three, four, five years with the next coach that we find.”

Friend had tapped his global rolodex for Ghotbi’s hiring back in 2022, with the former Canadian striker having nearly signed for him during the coach’s time leading the Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. That sparked a working relationship that led to Vancouver FC many years down the line, and while expectations were high when Ghotbi came in, the next two-and-a-half seasons have seen the expansion club languish near the bottom of the table.

Nash has tasted Canadian Premier League playoff action before, and while he’s in the hotseat to impress, Friend is keen to begin a global search for the club’s second-ever permanent head coach. The club has built an identity on developing young domestic talent, and it looks like that’s an angle he’d like the next Eagles boss hiring to continue.

“They have to fit the model. They have to know there’s a lot of pieces that this new coach needs to fit within this puzzle that we’re building,” adds Friend, who notes that this search could take a week, months, or even into next season.

One of those pieces is, it goes without saying, domestic league success. Ghotbi had expected to challenge for a title by year two, but thus far the club has not neared a playoff position by the results end of the season. Despite calling them the best last-place team in the history of the league, the club has evidently shifted to change its own legacy.

“We’re really going to be patient on that search and really look low and high, and turn over every rock. I’m going to tap into my network globally. My phone has been blowing up with some incredible candidates already, but I’m excited to really start that process,” adds Friend.

The Langley-based team has had a busy week even outside of the coaching turnover, with star striker Alejandro Diaz being loaned to rivals Pacific, while Friend’s side takes a chance on Toronto FC loanee Hugo Mbongue instead.

Vancouver FC is back in action tomorrow night against another struggling side in Valour, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Eagles squad reacts to the head coach turnover.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques