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Loving life after the Whitecaps

Richmondite and former Vancouver Whitecaps player Patrick Metcalfe has reignited his soccer career in a suburb of Oslo, Norway

A year ago, Patrick Metcalfe was pondering which path to tread through the soccer wilderness, after asking to be released by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Despite being promoted from the ‘Caps development squad to the first team for the 2020 season, midfielder Metcalfe couldn’t quite hold down a starting slot, making a slew of appearances off the bench during two campaigns.

Fast forward 12 months and the 23-year-old Richmondite has just touched down in Copenhagen for a post-season team vacation with his Norwegian team, Stabaek FC, of Oslo.

Metcalfe and his teammates are basking in the warmth of a promotion to Norway’s top tier, a quick-fire return to the division, having been relegated the previous year.

The Richmond soccer product jumped straight into the Stabaek starting line-up when he signed a three-season deal in March and he can’t believe the turnaround in his career in such a short space of time.

“It’s crazy. I would never have expected to be doing this,” said Metcalfe, when speaking to the Richmond News Thursday morning from Copenhagen.

“But it shows you how things can change in your football career. I’m happy that my agent found this opportunity. Life is good here.”

Metcalfe scores his first professional goal

Not only has Metcalfe kick-started his soccer career, he scored his first professional goal, albeit from close range.

“It was a header…from in close,” laughed Metcalfe, who is playing full-time in front of a home crowd of a few thousand fans.

‘I never score headers, not even in training, so I enjoyed that.”

Metcalfe said the standard of play in Norway’s second tier surprised him, adding that it’s a lot more focused on technique and tactics than the physically and athletically demanding MLS.

“It suits my playing style more. I’m not one of those players that’s going to dribble down the field. I need the players around me,” he said.

“They play a good style of football here, on the ground.”

On the coaching side, Metcalfe said there is a massive emphasis on tactics and knowledge of the opposition, noting that his team spent a couple of hours a week watching video of the teams they were about to face.

Away from the soccer field, Metcalfe said he was also shocked at how similar life is in Norway compared to Vancouver and Canada, including the weather.

“Everyone was really welcoming and there were no language barriers, they speak English perfectly,” he said, adding that most of the team are from Scandinavia, with a couple from Africa.

“It was a little colder here in March when I arrived, but nothing crazy.

“Society is pretty identical, it wasn’t much of a culture shock at all. The food is less greasy than in North America, but I guess that’s for the better.”

After the team vacation in Denmark, Metcalfe and his teammates will remain at the club until the end of the month for training, before returning home to Richmond for the holidays.