Once A Whitecap: Where are they now? (Part 2)

In this second part of our “Once A Whitecap: Where are they now?” feature (you can see part one HERE), we take a deep dive into some players that you may not thank us for making you recall.

Brad Rusin

The towering Indiana native made 20 starts for the Whitecaps in 2013 after joining the Whitecaps from the Danish second tier side HB Köge. His time in Canada was short lived, hampered by an ankle injury, and he joined Orlando City Soccer Club in the USL Pro (Now USL League 1) for 2014.

After his contract at Orlando City Soccer Club expired, Rusin spent 3 years in the NASL between the San Antonio Scorpions and Miami FC. In that time, Brad Rusin went 18 months without an appearance. For the 2018 season, he joined Indy Eleven, where he was reunited with his Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie . At the end of the 2018 season in which he made 11 appearances in the USL, Brad Rusin retired from professional soccer.

Photo Credit: Bob Frid/WhitecapsFC

Kenny Miller

One of only two Whitecaps players to have scored at Wembley (I think)! After a $730,000 transfer from Cardiff was complete in 2014, Miller was expected to be a catalyst for a side in desperate need of goals. Averaging a goal every three and a half games tells its own story. After two years in blue and white, Miller left Vancouver on a free transfer.

Not long after returning to Scotland, Kenny Miller signed for Rangers for a second time in his career. In what was a highly successful spell with the rebuilding Scottish titans, who found themselves in the Scottish Championship at the time (it’s a long story). 58 goals and four years later, Miller joined Livingston FC on a free transfer as player/manager.

This was to be a short-lived stint. On the pitch he added a goal and an assist in his seven matches, off it, he had disagreements with the club’s management and they came to an “amicable agreement” to part ways after two months in the role, meaning Miller was again on the move for the 18/19 season.

Dundee FC was the eventual landing spot – where Miller would go on to make 35 appearances before joining Partick Thisle a year later. 32 appearances and 10 goals in 2019, where he was playing alongside Whitecaps Residency alumni Dario Zanatta, was not enough to keep him with the Glasgow side and it was announced this month that he was leaving the Jags, again, by mutual consent.

Maybe a reunion with Carl Robinson in Australia is on the cards? Kenny Miller is represented by Avid Sports Group…

Nigel Reo-Coker

Nigel “Bike rack” Reo-Coker joined the ‘Caps in February 2013 on a free transfer from Championship side Ipswich Town. The Premier League and Championship veteren spent a year and a half in Vancouver before he was traded to Chivas USA (Rest In Peace).

After Chivas went belly up, Reo-Coker spent a year with the Montreal Impact, making 40 appearances for the Quebec based side. In 2017, the man with 200+ Premier League appearances to his name spent four months without a club before joining Norwegian side IK Start. That spell lasted less than two months, with only three “starts” for Reo-Coker.

Eight months later, Reo-Coker signed for MK Dons in the English third tier, but only made one appearance in his three months at the club in 2018. As far as we know, no bike racks were harmed.

The former England U21 captain is now retired.

Martin Bonjour

Strap yourselves in, this one is going to be a journey.

Martin Bonjour was adequate during his year in Vancouver. The player who had previously played in his home nation of Argentina, along with Uruguay, Poland, and Chile made 30 appearances in 2012 for the Vancouver Whitecaps before leaving for an undisclosed fee to Liverpool FC (not that one) in the Uruguayan top flight.

Bonjour made an impressive 30 appearances for Liverpool over two years in the Primera Division and moved to Ecuadorian side Deportivo Quito in 2014, where he played in the Copa Libertadores. From there, Martin Bonjour would spend a year with Colombian side Once Caldas, before rejoining Deportivo Quito in 2015. He made 12 appearances for Deportivo the second time around, then went to play in the Argentine second tier with Club Social y Atlético Guillermo Brown (“William Brown” was an Irish born Argentine admiral is a national hero in Argentina for his role in the Argentine War of Independence).

Six months later, Bonjour would say “bonjour” to a new club – SD Aucas back in Ecuador, followed by spells with Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay and CD Olimpia in Honduras. After more than 200 appearances at the professional level, Martin Bonjour has been without a club since July. He’s probably enjoying all his air miles.

Photo Credit: Bob Frid/WhitecapsFC