VANCOUVER, B.C. – Vancouver Whitecaps’ key priority this offseason was to find themselves a goalscorer. With three goals in his first three MLS matches, it looks like they got one in Octavio Rivero.
Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson was first alerted to Rivero last June and made him his No. 1 transfer target for the offseason. The Uruguayan was not a player familiar to most, but Robinson headed down to South America to speak with Rivero, his father and his representatives in December and watched him play and train.
After liking what he saw, Robinson was keen to lock Rivero up contractually before the European transfer window opened in January, signing him as a Young Designated Player on Christmas Day. That belief in Rivero has already been repaid, but despite the forward's rich vein of early-season form, Robinson is expecting a lot more to come from the youngster.
"I think he can be better," Robinson told reporters at training on Thursday. "The chances that he's missed have been the easier ones rather than the ones he's scored. On Saturday he scored a fantastic header. The technique of him putting his body on the line and the angle of his head is credit to him and we take the reward from that.
"He can get better, as all my players can. It's important that we give him time to settle in. He's started off very well but there definitely is more room for improvement."
That's an exciting prospect for Vancouver and a potentially ominous one for the rest of the league. Because while Rivero may still be finding his feet in his new surroundings, he's doing that productively, leading or co-leading MLS in goals (3), shots (14) and shots on target (8), with a slew of other chances that have gone begging.
What's made Rivero a particular handful for defenses in MLS so far is that his goal threat can come from anywhere, with his three goals to date being scored with his left foot, his right foot and, most recently in a 1-0 win against Orlando, from a diving header.
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"I work with shooting with my left, my right, then when the opportunity comes I take it with what is needed," Rivero told reporters. "At the moment I feel very content. I feel in a good rhythm. The most important thing is the team and that it's winning. It's nice because I'm feeling confident and the team has confidence in me."
Having played his soccer in Uruguay and Chile, Rivero is now having to immediately adjust to the demands Major League Soccer and the vastness North America poses. He's had to travel around 9,000 miles to get to and from his first two road games, there's been overnight layovers from missed connecting flights and he's still getting used to playing on turf pitches.
None of that seems to phase the Uruguayan and he's just taking it all in his stride.
"I feel good in the stadiums, feel good on the pitch," Rivero said. "I'm very content. I'm not used to the travel, because I've played in smaller countries. But we won an important game, then another one, then after a day I feel I'm ready to fight for the win."
