TORONTO – While the rest of the Canadian Premier League’s assembled head coaches toured the east coast in search of hidden talent, Pacific FC boss Michael Silberbauer watched from afar.
The Danish tactician is currently on the coaching staff of Swiss side FC Luzern, and wasn’t able to join his peers for the first three stops of the Canadian Premier League’s #GotGame Open Trials, though his assistant coach James Merriman deputized for him on-scene in Halifax, Montreal and Hamilton.
Silberbauer explained that he’ll join the west-coast Canadian outfit permanently in December, when most European leagues take a mid-season break. But Silberbauer was in attendance in Toronto in the fourth stop of the #GotGame Open Trials, and is looking forward to joining Pacific FC full-time with each passing day.
“I’m excited just to get started, but also to get over here,” Silberbauer told CanPL.ca during the Toronto stop of the #GotGame Open Trials.
“You see, with all these kids coming, there’s a lot of excitement and I think it will only build up in the coming months.”
While Silberbauer hasn’t had a chance to see some of the standouts from the first three stops of the Open Trials, the former Danish international has stayed in close contact with Merriman throughout the trials. The two have spent time pouring over the trialists on offer, too.
“I’ve spent a whole lot of time with James trying to track all these players, to get to learn about all of these players, so I’ve been basically working two jobs,” Silberbauer said.
“There’s a few that we put down – not a lot – but there’s few that, while you try and build your roster, might have a go, but there might be a few that will either be in mind for preseason or maybe give them another shot and see them in our environment.”
Unlike some of the league’s head coaches, Silberbauer has deep ties to European talent, and could potentially turn to his rolodex as Pacific FC begins putting together its inaugural roster. But Silberbauer’s connections won’t take away from the club’s – and his own – desire to field a team of Canadian talents … preferably, from the B.C. area.
“We have a few international names, but we try to look locally first (in Vancouver Island), then we broaden the net a bit and go Canadian, and then you broaden the net a bit further and you go international last,” Silberbauer pledged. “There are a few on the list, but if we bring in an international, it has to be someone that’s better than any Canadian.”
The CPL’s #GotGame Open Trials are in Toronto (Oct. 11-12), before making stops in Winnipeg (Oct. 18-19), Calgary (Oct. 25-26) and Vancouver Island (Nov. 5-6). Think you’ve #GotGame? Register at CanPL.ca/GotGame.