In recent times, the position of Vancouver's left back has been something of a revolving door, with Sam Adekugbe, Marcel de Jong, Alphonso Davies, and Derek Cornelius among others, vying for the role that for six and half seasoned belonged to Jordan Harvey. On Thursday, Cristián Gutiérrez's name was added to the list. Will he become the next Jordan Harvey, or just add his name to the pile.
To be fair, Alphonso Davies was an unqualified success, earning his way to perennial German champions Bayern Munich, where he has already played 25 times, with 20 of them coming in the Bundesliga, 3 in the UEFA Champions League, and 1 each in the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup.
Despite appearances to the contrary, Cristián Gutiérrez was not in fact playing for or against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in this image by Carlos Figueroa
Gutiérrez, 22, signed with Vancouver on a free transfer from Chilean Primera División club Colo-Colo. Although he has represented Chile at the youth level, he is eligible to play for Canada, as he was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, where he spent his first three years before moving to Santiago, Chile.
"Cristián was looking for a new opportunity and we are excited to bring him to Vancouver," said Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster. "He has the four cornerstones we look for in a player, he is fully aware of the challenge in front of him, and he is excited to continue his development in [Canada]."
"Cristián is a young left back who has some experience playing in Chile at the highest level," added Whitecaps manager Marc Dos Santos. "We believe that Cristián will continue to grow and develop at our club. We are very happy to add him to our [squad]."
Although he had been rumoured to be heading to the Canadian Premier League's Valour FC in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where his twin brother Diego plies his trade, Cristián will be making his home on the west coast, though to look outside these days, one would hardly notice a difference.