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OT: 2025 Vancouver Whitecaps and Soccer thread ⚽️

I continue to be stunned by this 2025 version of the Caps. It doesn't seem to matter who's missing from their lineup. They send another guy out on the pitch and he picks up the scoring slack.

Where did all this depth come from? I mean, isn't it basically the same guys as last year? They look unstoppable right now.

Were they always this good--and all it took was a coaching change? Or has Sorenson got them playing some sort of system that plays their strength?

Whatever it is--pretty amazing stuff.
 
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Really, right now, I like to know what is the starting lineup with everyone healthy. Seems like there are a lot of players deserving of being starters.













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I believe it's the coaching change. Former coach Vanni Sartini was always front and center, the media focus, due to his outgoing personality.

But I can't forget a video near the end of last season showing Vanni in the dressing room before a match, doing a major pump up address to the players who encircled him. None of the players were looking at him. They were all looking down. I thought it was weird. Maybe the body language of the players was telling.
 
Canuckle1970 said:
I believe it's the coaching change. Former coach Vanni Sartini was always front and center, the media focus, due to his outgoing personality.

But I can't forget a video near the end of last season showing Vanni in the dressing room before a match, doing a major pump up address to the players who encircled him. None of the players were looking at him. They were all looking down. I thought it was weird. Maybe the body language of the players was telling.
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Vanni Sartini was very tight with the guys until the very end. The issue is he had a limited toolset and lacked the technical ability when it came to managing.

To his credit, he performed well given the fact he had very limited experience (only had depth coaching roles in Italy and 1.5 yrs under Marc Dos Santos), but he should have never been a long-term manager at the MLS level. The owners were totally penny-pinching.

This franchise finally hired a manager/coach with a decent resume. Thordarson, Rennie, Robinson and Dos Santos all sucked. It only took 14 years.
 
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SeawaterOnIce said:
Vanni Sartini was very tight with the guys until the very end. The issue is he had a limited toolset and lacked the technical ability when it came to managing.

To his credit, he performed well given the fact he had very limited experience (only had depth coaching roles in Italy and 1.5 yrs under Marc Dos Santos), but he should have never been a long-term manager at the MLS level. The owners were totally penny-pinching.

This franchise finally hired a manager/coach with a decent resume. Thordarson, Rennie, Robinson and Dos Santos all sucked. It only took 14 years.
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Thanks. That makes more sense.
 
Just A Bit Outside said:
Nelson AINEC.

Not a fan of Ahmed. He’s fine in small doses.

Sabbi has the physical traits but not quite high level football IQ.
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The cool thing is that for the first time in a while Vancouver actually has options. So I'd really like to see them rotate as much as possible to keep everyone fresh. Of course this team is never more than like 70% healthy at any time, so it may not even prove to be a choice.

Of course they're also likely to lose Vite in the next transfer window, so there will be some reshuffling regardless. Still some hope that they will pick up reinforcements of their own, but even with them rolling now they will always be at a huge disadvantage in that department.

SeawaterOnIce said:
To his credit, he performed well given the fact he had very limited experience (only had depth coaching roles in Italy and 1.5 yrs under Marc Dos Santos), but he should have never been a long-term manager at the MLS level. The owners were totally penny-pinching.
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I don't think that's quite fair... all signs originally pointed to Axel making a change for 2022, but the Whitecaps had come on so strong down the stretch in 2021 (this actually began under MDS, but they went on a lengthy unbeaten streak with Vanni) that it sort of stopped making sense. Even after they brought him back I doubt they expected him to last more than a year or two, but he proved quite popular and the Caps' results were generally okay.
 
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Unless it's a mirage, the Whitecaps really needed a season like this.

Everybody knows the franchise is on the block. But if this run continues;, the attendance picks up dramatically; and more importantly, they can reach some sort of deal on a natural grass stadium; then their future is probably secure in Vancouver.

Go caps, go!
 
Back atop the power rankings:

www.mlssoccer.com

Power Rankings: Philadelphia Union gain steam, San Diego FC stumble | MLSSoccer.com

What a week in MLS.
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1
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+1

We’re watching something special. It’s worth repeating that Vancouver lost DP midfielder Stuart Armstrong this offseason, didn’t replace him, and are playing like the best team we’ve seen in MLS since 2019 LAFC (at least so far).
It's hard to envision them slowing down. They went up 2-0 on Inter Miami in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal meeting and followed it up by pummeling a good Minnesota United team despite rotating their starting lineup. Somewhere in between all of that, Sebastian Berhalter cemented himself as one of the best No. 8s in MLS.
 
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So far this has been remarkable. The Whitecaps have looked much improved and are making more intelligent plays, especially in the final third.

I do wonder how much of the improvement is directly from Jesper Sørensen and his coaching staff but it appears to be significant.

Kudos to Sørensen and let's enjoy this ride.

(Feel free to tell your friends. Plenty of room on the 'Caps bandwagon)
 
logan5 said:
Too bad this huge match isn't televised. Not even on Apple plus. I guess I don't want to pay OneSoccer subscription just to watch one match. Oh well...
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How do they factor in 'away goals' in the CONCACAF champions playoffs? Are they worth more than home goals?

I assume that if the Whitecaps were to lose, say 2-1 in Miami, they would still advance on goal differential?
 
I'd love to see the Caps score in the first 30 minutes. That away goal would tip the scales massively in their favour to advance to the final.
 
VanJack said:
How do they factor in 'away goals' in the CONCACAF champions playoffs? Are they worth more than home goals?

I assume that if the Whitecaps were to lose, say 2-1 in Miami, they would still advance on goal differential?
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Tie-breaker if the aggregate score is tied. If Vancouver gets 1, Miami needs 4 to win. The pink guys have one already though.
 
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