Tony Fonseca often visualized living in Canada when he was younger and a bright Portuguese soccer star married to a wife who had resided in Vancouver.
For more than a decade it wasn't possible to move because Fonseca was a fullback of note earning his living in Europe. Lena and their two children had to wait until Fonseca finished playing and moved into coaching.
They finally got to Vancouver in late 1999 and yesterday appeared ready to take up permanent residence on the Canadian West Coast after Fonseca was named head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, replacing Dale Mitchell.
''I have to follow my dream,'' Fonseca told Lena years ago. ''In the end I might move (to Vancouver) and that's what I did.''
Fonseca was an assistant coach to Mitchell for two years before his promotion, prompted by Mitchell moving t the Canadian Soccer Association to handle the national under-20 men's team.
The Vancouver position was first offered to Bobby Lenarduzzi, general manager of the Whitecaps, but he declined the dual portfolio and was dismissed.
Whitecaps owner David Stadnyk, believed to have lost more than $700,000 last year operating the A-League team and the Vancouver Breakers women's pro team, wasted little time hiring Fonseca for one of the most prestigious soccer positions in Canada.
All Fonseca has to do to satisify the owner is take the Whitecaps further than last season, when Vancouver reached the final four in A-League playoffs.
Lenarduzzi will not be replaced as GM. Some of those duties will be handled by the owner when Stadnyk takes over player contracts as team operations are fine-tuned.
''The players continually said that he is the guy who can make their game better, make this a winning, championship team,'' Stadnyk said of Fonseca, 37. ''Rather than take a chance on someone who's unproven . . . that's the basis behind it.
''I like to be considered a players' owner. They got what they wanted. Now let's see if they can do the other side and bring a championship team here.''
The departure of the popular Lenarduzzi, who played for the only Canadian World Cup team in 1986 before he turned to coaching, left the Whitecaps with a void in the Vancouver soccer community. To address that area, Stadnyk hired Tom McManus as community youth soccer liaison.
The Whitecaps also would like to use former player Domenic Mobilio in a community relations capacity, much like the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League do with former kicker Lui Passaglia.
''From a financial aspect, I hope we can keep losses to a minimum so we can continue to grow soccer,'' Stadnyk added. ''If we stay around, it will be healthy.''
Fonseca was given a one-year contract believed to be worth about $40,000, with a team option on next year, although no details were disclosed by Stadnyk.
''For me, soccer is life, it is passion, it is desire,'' said Fonseca. ''Combined it creates a great thing to watch.
''We will bring a different way to see soccer. Hopefully we will be more entertaining, more quality. I know the game, I love the game.''
Fonseca prefers an attack style played along the ground, with short, sharp passing rather than the aerial game featured by many British-trained coaches.
Veteran mid-fielder Steve Kindel understands the burning desire Fonseca brings to the pitch in a coaching capacity.
''He's going to change things and put his own stamp on the team,'' Kindel said. ''He's a great selection, having played at Benfica.
''Tony is going to demand hard work. Tony trained with us a lot last year as an assistant just to fill in numbers. Even though he had nothing to prove or a spot to win, he worked hard. I know he'll demand that from each and every player, from top to bottom of the roster.
'''He's not a Mike Keenan, or anything like that, but he will demand us to work hard.''
In the A-League draft yesterday, Vancouver selected mid-fielder Andrew Veer of nearby Coquitlam, plus defender Tyler Hughes and mid-fielder Nico Craveiro, both from Victoria.
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