Seattle-Vancouver soccer rivalry? Alan Hinton has seen it all

TUKWILA — The lyrics to "White is the Colour" came back effortlessly to Alan Hinton. As a player-coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 1978, Hinton helped rerecord "Blue is the Colour" — a song made popular by Chelsea FC of the English Premier League.

The Whitecaps-centric remix sold about 10,000 copies in 10 days, Hinton said, and went as follows:

White is the colour,

Soccer is the game,

We're all together,

And winning is our aim,

So cheer us on through the sun and rain,

Because Whitecaps, Whitecaps is our name!

Fast forward 33 years and Hinton could be forgiven for having split loyalties on Saturday when Seattle Sounders FC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps in a 7:30 p.m. Cascadia Cup match at Qwest Field. The 68-year-old Englishman is a part of the storied soccer history in both cities, dating to the North American Soccer League.

But while the rebirth of the regional rivalry hits home on both fronts, Hinton isn't torn in his rooting interest.

"My allegiance is completely with the Sounders," said Hinton, a broadcast analyst for the team and a Seattle resident since 1979.

Hinton came to the United States from England in 1977 after the death of his 9-year-old son to cancer. He played one season for the Dallas Tornado and retired, only to be recruited by Vancouver coach Tony Waiters to serve as an assistant. Hinton agreed.

When Waiters wanted to re-sign Gordon Taylor as a left-sided midfielder, however, Hinton had a different idea.

"I'm better than him," Hinton said, ready to end his short retirement.

"Well, you better get some weight off," Waiters replied.

The 35-year-old Hinton lost 20 pounds and capped his career with a special final season with the Whitecaps. He helped lead Vancouver to a 24-6 record, the best in NASL, and set a league high-mark with 30 assists.

Hinton's head coaching career started the following year with the Tulsa Roughnecks, but he came back to lead Vancouver in 1984. He had also managed the successful Sounders from 1980-82, culminating in a trip to the Soccer Bowl.

Decades later, his influence in the Seattle soccer community is still felt, especially by Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid.

"He knows what you feel like as a coach; he knows what you're going through," Schmid said. "His wife being able to talk to my wife (also helps) because she knows what she's going through. Those (relationships) have been very, very helpful. And I love hearing the old stories."

And this weekend, new chapters in the storied Sounders-Whitecaps history will be written.

"For me it's all happening again," Hinton said. "It's the I-5 rivalry, and it's wonderful."

Newcomer helps

reserves win 2-0

Sounders FC got goals from 6-foot-5 trialist forward Cillian Sheridan and defender Roger Levesque in a 2-0 Reserve League win over Vancouver on Tuesday night at Starfire Sports Complex. Seattle's reserves are 5-0. The Whitecaps are 0-2-1.

Sheridan, a 22-year-old Irishman, is scheduled to be in camp through June 14. Myron Samuel, 18, a forward/midfielder from St. Vincent, is also trying out and had a couple scoring chances up front after replacing Sheridan at halftime.

"The summer window is coming up (on July 15) and we're still looking to improve ourselves," Schmid said of the newcomers.

Joshua Mayers: 206-464-3184 or jmayers@seattletimes.com