Vancouver Whitecaps Look to Turn City's Sporting Fortunes in Concacaf Champions Cup Final | OneFootball

For some, it can come as a shock. For others, it’s a choice filled with surprise.

Outside of academy players, few come to Vancouver Whitecaps FC familiar with the club and the city. Even for one of Canada’s premier destinations, with its jagged mountains and glimmering shoreline, many show up not knowing what awaits them on Canada’s western shores.

Brian White, who had played his entire soccer career in New Jersey, didn’t know what to expect when he joined the Whitecaps in 2021, swapping the Jersey Shore for the West Coast.

“Vancouver is a real far flight from New Jersey, and it’s probably the farthest place I could have gone from in MLS,” says White, who initially joined the Whitecaps in their brief COVID-era home of Salt Lake City. “The team was in Salt Lake City for two months, so it was an interesting start ... but it just kind of clicked once we got back to Vancouver, and it's been a great time.”

Since joining the Whitecaps, White has quickly become a key player. He’s the club’s all-time leading scorer with 56 goals in all competitions and has helped them to the top spot in the MLS Western Conference table and the Concacaf Champions Cup final on Sunday against Cruz Azul.

Fourteen years into their MLS existence, the Whitecaps still lack a major trophy. Although they have won four Canadian Championship titles, they have struggled to establish themselves as an elite North American club since joining the now 30-year-old league in 2011.

This year, with the club’s future in doubt as longtime owners seek a sale, they’ve found success like never before, bringing the city’s soccer energy to a point it has seldom seen since the Whitecaps won the 1979 North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl.

“To have the weight [of a final] on your shoulders is special, it’s been a good season so far, but this is going to be the biggest one,” defender Ranko Veselinović says ahead of the final.

“It's going to be a great challenge for all of us to play in that kind of environment in Mexico and in a final. Honestly, I can't wait, because it's going to really be a game that is going to be a highlight of our career.”

Both White and Veselinović are two of the longest-tenured players on the squad and know just how improbable the season has been.

Veselinović, just 20 when he joined the Whitecaps from his native Serbia, has also grown off the pitch, now a 26-year-old with an established life around the club and city.

“Thinking back, I was just a kid. I really didn't know much of even the little things, like going to a restaurant, and going to the grocery store. Everything was different, but it has made me the man I am today,” he says. “The Whitecaps helped me a lot and they make you feel like you belong and that you're part of this family.”

At the same time, the team has been built around a core of consistent players over the last five seasons, with acquisitions led by former director of football operations Nikos Overheul and sporting director Axel Schuster.

Veselinovic (left) and Tristan Blackmon have become key facets of Vancouver Whitecaps FC's 2025 success. / Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

Veselinović and White have been a part of that plan, as has Veselinović’s center-back partner, Tristan Blackmon and White’s attacking henchman, Ryan Gauld, who has missed all but three games this season due to injury and will miss the final.

While the squad has improved significantly this season, only six players were not on the roster that finished 2024.

“Every year had its challenges and its own story,” Veselinović says. “I came here in 2020, and since then, every season has had progress. I'm happy that I'm still here, and that this season is an upgrade to the previous ones.

“I think we can continue like this, and we can make this season even more special.”

Flashes of Hope Falling Short

Pedro Vite (left) has elevated his play alongside White in 2025. / Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images

Vancouver has had flashes of hope in its MLS history, but it has yet to have a crowning moment.

From a lightning cancellation that stole what looked to be their first Canadian championship in Toronto in 2011, to a 2017 Western Conference semifinal playoff loss to the Seattle Sounders during their most successful era prior to this season and countless heartbreaks against LAFC, nothing has come easily.

Until this year, it’s seldom gone Vancouver’s way.

That’s all the past, though, and under rookie manager Jesper Sørensen, anything feels possible.

It was a daring move made by Schuster and the club’s higher-ups, who dismissed long-time manager Vanni Sartini in favor of the unknown. Yet, with the new Danish 51-year-old on the touchline, the Whitecaps have transformed into a dominant and consistent team that has elevated a roster without a dramatic overhaul.

“Jesper came in and brought a new style of play that allowed players to kind of flourish in their roles, and they've been able to play with their talents and their skill set,” White says. “I think they've been able to get the best out of every player ... when things start going well, the vibe of the group gets better.”

Sørensen has turned the Vancouver Whitecaps into one of the strongest teams in MLS. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

That tactical change and vibe have shifted Vancouver’s big match tensions. Any significant moment used to be a daunting challenge for past eras of the Whitecaps. They would shrink in the spotlight, leaving large crowds hanging in anticipation in their most significant moments.

But under Sørensen, they waltz into the Estadio Olímpico Universitario brimming with confidence like never before, having already eliminated Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa, Mexico’s CF Monterrey and Pumas and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF.

“I’m happy we are here now and I’m happy we’re in the state we are in," Sørensen said after the Whitecaps played to a scoreless draw with Minnesota United on Wednesday, ahead of the final. “Now we can focus on the game in Mexico on Sunday. We have not been talking much about that game. We can do that now. But everybody knows that it’s been there.

"It is a special game, and if it’s not a special game, special games don’t exist. We are looking forward to it. We think we’re ready for it.”

Sporting Success in a City Used to Losing

Vancouver Whitecaps FC supporters have dreamed of a moment like Sunday's Concacaf Champions Cup Final. / Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images

For Kristjan Aug, the memories will come flooding back when he hops on his flight to Mexico. The longtime Whitecaps supporter and commercial pilot has attended over 68 away matches and even flew supporters to a Seattle Sounders FC away match in 2013 in a moment dubbed “Wings over Cascadia.”

But this trip feels different.

“I’m just going to be thinking that I can't believe we're actually here,” he says. “After years of getting knocked out in the first round, it’s just so nice to have such a meaningful game to be part of ... I'm already nervous, but I'm just happy to see them play, and I just want a good game.

“Everything else that happens after that is just going to be me losing my voice and maybe more.”

While hundreds of Whitecaps supporters are expected to make the trip to Mexico, nearly 2,500 will pack into the Terry Fox Plaza for an outdoor watch party in Vancouver.

Those fans know heartbreak. Few cities are as familiar with that as Vancouver, and a win would stretch far beyond being the first Canadian team to reach Concacaf’s summit and the third MLS team to win the tournament.

Vancouver, as idyllic as it can be, hasn’t had many champions in leagues outside the Canadian Football League. The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup, and the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies—who were once for sale, like the Whitecaps—left for Memphis.

For a city married to sporting heartbreak, the Whitecaps have a chance at a divorce.

Even though Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who has been key to the run, won’t be available for the final due to yellow card accumulation, his words after beating Miami still ring true.

“We’re dreamers. Why not? We’re a small-market club, but why not? Why not win the whole thing?” he said.

“We’ve been saying since Day 1, we’re about trophies. This club wants to win trophies. That’s why we’re here and that’s why we’re in the final.”

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