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When I was still having fun on Twitter, I had made it a running joke to note, whenever Carlo Ancelotti led yet another team to a trophy, that it was a big day for West Vancouver soccer.
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Ancelotti, one of the world’s greatest soccer coaches, is an occasional resident here. You probably already know that, though.
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So it was delightful to see Ancelotti post a New Year’s greeting on Instagram this week, showing him perched on the property he and his wife own in West Vancouver. He met a Canadian woman, Mariann Barenna McClay, about 15 years ago and the couple married in 2014. She’s originally from West Vancouver.
They’ve kept a home here in B.C. ever since, returning here often during breaks in his coaching schedule.
So many of us only ever see sportspersons in game, rarely do we get a true glimpse of their day-to-day life. They never become real people, just caricatures. But Ancelotti, who is set to coach Brazil at this summer’s World Cup, has always appeared comfortable being seen away from work. There are plenty of examples of him being shown meeting people in public, of him being spotted going around in daily life.
That Thomas Müller showed up in Ancelotti’s comments, inviting the legendary coach to a Whitecaps game this year, is no surprise. The Whitecaps’ superstar has found a similar public comfort during his half-year in Vancouver. He’s happy to be spotted around town, to be recognized as one of Vancouver’s more famous residents.
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Indeed he, like Ancelotti, embraces it.
The world needs more people like this. Life is meant to be lived, to be enjoyed, no matter what station in life. Truly, it takes more muscles to frown than to smile: Both Ancelotti and Muller remind us of this every day.
Vancouver Goldeneyes’ Anna Segedi and Ottawa Charge’s Mannon McMahon vie for the puck during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Vancouver on Dec. 16, 2025. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESSEven steven
The Vancouver Goldeneyes can’t win on the road.
The Vancouver Canucks can’t win at home.
It’s a baffling balance from Vancouver’s two professional hockey teams.
What gives?
Goldeneyes coach Brian Idalski: “We’re still a little too perimeter too often.”
Canucks coach Adam Foote: “Just second periods, we’ve got to get better at.”
In both cases, the answer is clear: Find a way to deal with the hard moments better. The Goldeneyes haven’t gone to the middle of the ice enough. The Canucks have let themselves get caught out on the ice too long when they’ve got the long change in the second period.
At least, that’s the coaches’ views.
Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken with his teammates during the second period of an NHL game in Vancouver, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESSCanucks trades
You have to feel for Kiefer Sherwood. He keeps showing up. He keeps hustling. He keeps doing what he can in the only way he can.
But you’ve got to think he’s tired of the ambiguity around his situation. He’s been in trade rumours for weeks now.
He’s been held up as the Canucks’ No. 1 trade chip from the moment Jim Rutherford told me it was time to start moving out free agents.
Players try to avoid hearing about it, but surely the chatter has made it on to Sherwood’s radar. And he can’t enjoy the waiting.
Hurry and get on with it!
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