The Wanderers Notebook: Injury updates, new roles, player recruitment and other tidbits from training camp
The Halifax Wanderers officially kicked off a new era on Monday as head coach and general manager Vanni Sartini and his players opened training camp at the BMO Soccer Centre.
The squad, which features returning players such as Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Isaiah Johnston and Lorenzo Callegari, will train in Halifax through March 15 — with scheduled friendlies versus Atlantic University Sports (AUS) sides on March 6 and 13 — before departing for Spain. The Wanderers will then spend two weeks at the Marbella Football Center playing friendly matches before returning to Nova Scotia on March 26. The club's first match of the 2026 season is scheduled for April 4 versus Vancouver FC at Willoughby Community Park in Langley.
Media members were invited to attend the opening of training camp, with several new players in attendance. So, without further ado, here's all the news and notes from the first day of camp.
A roster with a few signings left to make
The Wanderers have been slow this off-season and that's been reflected in their squad recruitment. Sartini wasn't hired until December 10, with the club announcing their decisions on contract options on January 5 — the same day that clubs like Forge FC, Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC reported to camp for their Concacaf Champions Cup matches.
As of Monday, the Wanderers had only 17 players under contract, meaning there's three contracts that need to be awarded for the club to hit the league's minimum allotment. Several youth players, and at least one familiar face in the form of former Wanderer Luke Green, helped to round out the numbers at camp.
Given the expectations that Sartini will play a variation of a back three, the club made key signings with a trio of former Vancouver Whitecaps as Marcus Godinho and Francesco Troisi provide wing-back options while Finn Linder rounds out a centre-back group boasting Meilleur-Giguère, Kareem Sow and Jefferson Alphonse.
Josh Healey
The Wanderers also inked two-time Golden Glove winner Marco Carducci to be their starting 'keeper so it's expected that a player like Sinclair Astridge, who was at camp and had previously accepted a short-term replacement contract with the club, could sign as a back up option.
With Godinho's preference to play on the left side (more on that later), and a plethora of midfield options, the Wanderers are in need of another right-wing back option and a striker following the club's record sale of Tiago Coimbra to IFK Göteborg.
Sartini, speaking to media following training, said he felt confident about his group.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "We signed very good players, as you said, you were talking about Marcus (Godinho) and Finn (Linder) but also Sven Zitman, Lucas Ulgain, Miguel Arilla, so they're all good additions on top of the core and, of course, Marco Carducci in goal.
"I would expect to make probably one, maximum two more moves before the season because I think this group is already a good group. If we want to add someone more, it needs to be someone that makes sense."
Searching for a striker on the eve of the season
It's important to note that it was beneficial for the Wanderers to sell Coimbra for a number of reasons. Of course, there's the financial incentive (a $250,000 fee plus bonuses and sell-ons). But there's also the message that it sends to young players considering their options: the Wanderers are a club that you can use to get a move to bigger leagues.
Now, with the CPL season creeping closer, the club is searching for another No. 9 option. Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Wanderers are actively looking for a starting striker and have the salary cap to match. There's been discussions on a number of potential options. (Sartini also mentioned to media that the club's looking to add to their striker depth).
But there's still plenty of time to sign an attacker, with a couple of in-house options available. Ryan Telfer and Jason Bahamboula can both lead the line, with each bagging a couple of goals last year playing as a centre-forward. There's also youngster Tavio Ciccarelli, who showed his nose for goal in last year's International Summer Series versus Wrexham AFC.
It's important to note, however, that both Telfer and Bahamboula have traditionally played on the flanks but are willing to line up wherever they're needed.
"Honestly, I've already played in several positions throughout my career," Bahamboula told HFX Football Post in a French interview. "I'm comfortable playing several positions. If they need me to play as a striker or wide, I'm ready to do whatever the club needs."
The more things change . . .
Godinho is one of several players who previously played in Sartini's system. He explained that the Italian gaffer's style of football aims to play at a high intensity, with an emphasis on pressing the ball and winning it in the final third. The result is an attacking approach but requires the players to have a high work rate and to be disciplined, especially with a back three vulnerable to long balls.
For his part, Godinho emphasized the importance of energy in the match.
"I think the main thing is the intensity of the pressing," he said.
But Linder, who also knows Sartini from the Whitecaps, is familiar with the system's challenges.
"It was a lot on the outside (centre-back roles) about taking your space, driving with the ball but also having to defend in those wide areas when you're exposed at the back," he said. "I find my strengths are in one-on-one defending, especially because you've got to do a lot of that with a back three system."
What's funny is that much of what Godinho and Linder explained is nearly the exact football former head coach Patrice Gheisar aimed to instill in his players. It's one of the things that made Sartini such a good fit for the Wanderers. But it also highlighted the dangers of committing players forward and the importance of discipline, especially when caught in transition.
Given 10 of the current squad are returning from last season, it'll be fascinating to see if the Wanderers fall into some of their old habits, specifically in big matches where they need to find a way to win.
But Sartini's record is something the players are betting on.
"As soon as I saw Vanni had this position, I knew this is where I wanted to be if (my family and I) came back to Canada. We spoke and coming back to play with him is a dream," said Godinho.
"The one trophy I won in my career is with him so that's something that's really special to me. When you look back at your career, those are moments that don't happen often and I think that he sold me the project, I know his system, it suits me well and I believe we can win something."
Footedness, unpredictability and a midfield triangle
A quick note on footedness and positions.
Godinho is right-footed but when asked where he prefers to play, with most righties opting to be on their natural side, he noted he prefers to play a left wing-back role. This means his dominant foot, when lining up, is positioned on the inside and more vulnerable.
However, Godinho explained, it also makes him unpredictable in possession as he's more easily able to invert and dribble inside.
"I feel on the right, everyone's forcing you onto your right foot and you go up and down. But on (the left flank), I feel comfortable taking it down the line but if the defenders are cheating, I can move inside, potentially shoot, link up, I just feel a little more unpredictable," he said.
It's no surprise that Godinho lined up predominantly in training along his preferred left side.
Another thing Sartini mentioned is that in addition to a back three, he's looking at playing with a No. 6 and two No. 8s, forming a midfield triangle ahead of his back line. It's expected that Zitman will slot in as the deep-lying midfielder while Johnston and Callegari play more advanced roles.
Sartini added he's looking to capitalize on his squad's strong midfield depth to help control matches.
"I think the midfield, we have a lot of players who have a lot of qualities and I would say, it would be a mistake not to use as many midfielders as we can. I think we can try to dominate the game with the quality of midfielders we have," he said.
Injury updates
For what feels like the first time in a long time, the Wanderers are entering training camp with a clean bill of health. Players like Linder and Bahamboula (both had long-term injuries last year) were full participants at training and looked sharp.
Further reading:
Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Cover Photo Credit: Josh Healey / HFX Football Post
