Vancouver Whitecaps are Flying | OneFootball

Vancouver Whitecaps joined MLS in 2011. For a long time, they were just passengers in the league.

What it means is, they were just there in MLS. They weren’t a flashy team making big signings; they weren’t a big team winning things (apart from Canadian Cups of course). But they also weren’t a terrible team that struggled at the bottom. They looked like your standard middle of the pack team just happy to be in the league.

Of course, it all changed last year when they reached both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and MLS Cup finals. Although they lost the Champions Cup they earned praise from the fans and media for the strength of their qualification, which included defeating Inter Miami twice. They then faced them in the MLS Cup final. They lost that too, but right up until stoppage they were in the match. Once again, people took notice.

And of course, Whitecaps have made a flying start to the 2026 MLS season with four wins out of four, where they scored 14 goals and conceded just one.

How did they get to that level? We have to look back at last year.

Club Up for Sale; Manager Exits

Last year this time, everything seemed chaotic for Whitecaps.

In late 2024, the owners put the club up for sale. It was followed by head coach Vanni Sartini’s exit from the team. This in particular looked to be a big blow because he was a successful manager who had guided them into the playoffs for three seasons.

The club brought in Jesper Sørensen from Denmark. It wasn’t a flashy name, this was a guy who was sacked from Brøndby after finishing fifth in the league. There was very little excitement.

In terms of off-season transfers, the only player brought in that had a decent reputation was Emmanuel Sabbi. Taking all that into consideration, many people thought they might not even make the playoffs in 2025.

Whitecaps proved everyone wrong.

Three Finals

Whitecaps started their 2025 MLS season brilliantly, winning their first four games. In fact, they only had one loss in the first 16 fixtures. It was incredible.

That’s not all. They were also doing well in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which surprised people because it’s unusual to see an MLS team doing well in both competitions at the same time. Because of lack of depth in squads, MLS teams that usually do well in one competition struggle in the other.

It wasn’t a case for Whitecaps though and they reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, ultimately losing out to Cruz Azul in June. But they were about to open their checkbook to bring in a superstar that summer.

About a month later that June defeat, Whitecaps signed Thomas Müller, the globally famous World Cup winner and striker for a Bayern Munich team that’s pretty much won everything.

It was great lift to add a top player like that to a team that was already doing well, and he provided necessary leadership to the team. For seemingly the first time, the world was interested in the Whitecaps, and their games were packed with fans.

They’d go on to win the Canadian Championship over their crosstown rivals Vancouver FC, where Müller scored and provided an assist.

Then they reached the MLS Cup final for the first time, knocking out FC Dallas in two games, beating LAFC 4-3 in penalties after a 2-2 draw, and defeating San Diego FC 3-1 on the road. Alas, Lionel Messi would ultimately extract his revenge in that match to hoist Miami’s first Cup.

What’s Next?

The front office issues haven’t been solved yet. The team hasn’t been purchased and the owners are now looking for partners instead of an outright sale,. They still have significant issues with their home stadium at BC Place.

On the field though, they’ve made a historic start to the 2026 MLS season. They are the first team in league history to have won their first four game in consecutive seasons. They were eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup by cross-border rivals Seattle Sounders, but hopefully that will help them focus solely on winning the MLS Cup this season.

Vancouver Whitecaps had been passengers in MLS for so long. Finally, they are one of the teams to watch in the league, and they’re playing excellent soccer.

Now, it’s time to go win the MLS Cup and have the city of Vancouver go crazy for their soccer team.