Believe it or not, another Vancouver Whitecaps season is upon us.
Like any sport, a new MLS season brings hope, even for the bottom feeders. All 30 teams now have a chance to lift MLS Cup in December.
For Whitecaps fans, a new season brings hope, anxiety or dread. Like Michael Scott famously said: “I’m ready to get hurt again.” That pretty much sums up Whitecaps fans heading into a new season.
So once again, Area 51 Sports Network will be previewing the upcoming season. But first, let’s look back at 2024 for a bit.
The 2024 Whitecaps: Rollercoaster and Stagnation
The ‘Caps did win the Canadian Championship for the third straight year but that was expected. In Leagues Cup, they got knocked out of the Round of 32 again. MLS play was a rollercoaster for the Whitecaps. A good start, slump, summer streak and then a bad dip in form which lead them to an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference.
The playoffs began with a bang. They thrashed the Portland Timbers 5-0 in the wild-card round. But like in 2023, Vancouver fell to LAFC in the first round. This time around, it was much closer as the series went to three games.
At times in 2024, the Whitecaps looked like one of the most dangerous sides in MLS. Ryan Gauld lead the way offensively with 22 goal contributions in the regular season plus five more in the playoffs. Brian White once again lead the team with 15 regular season goals and Andres Cubas looked like one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. Ranko Veselinovic also lead MLS in clearances.
However, the Whitecaps also looked like one of the worst sides in MLS, especially during the final seven games of the regular season. The final third play was abysmal and the defending fell asleep at the worst possible times.
2024 was a disappointing year for the Whitecaps. Sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster shared the same sentiment. As a result, popular head coach Vanni Sartini lost his job and after almost two months of searching, former Brondby IF head coach Jesper Sørensen was brought in. The Danish coach brings a controlled, possession-based and structured style of soccer.
The Whitecaps offseason
The Whitecaps did not need to splurge big money this offseason. After all, they just needed a few quality pieces to truly compete with the best in MLS.
So far, forwards Jayden Nelson, Emmanuel Sabbi, Daniel Rios and third-string goalkeeper Adrían Zendejas have been signed. These three players are mainly depth players. Nelson brings MLS experience from his time at Toronto FC and is looking to revitalize his career after an underwhelming spell at Rosenborg in Norway. The 22-year-old Canadian winger has some good skill with the ball and can create chances but has trouble putting them in the net.
Sabbi unfortunately will miss the start of the season with an ankle injury. The reported timeline is two to three weeks. Sabbi is an intriguing signing. While his offensive numbers with La Havre in France aren’t great, (They are in last place in Ligue 1) Sabbi’s defensive numbers are intriguing. He’s got speed, agility and a decent shot.
We already did a deep dive on Rios the other day. He’s an MLS experienced striker who will be the backup to Brian White.
The Whitecaps lost Fafa Picault (signed with Inter Miami in free agency), Deiber Caicedo (on a permanent move to Junior), Levonte Johnson (Signed Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship as a free agent), Alessandro Schöpf (signed with Wolfsberger in Austria as a free agent) and Ryan Raposo. (still a free agent but rumour is, he is signing in China) But the biggest loss was Stuart Armstrong.
The Scottish Designated Player left Vancouver after just five months to sign with Sheffield Wednesday of the English Championship. That was a kick in the teeth for Whitecaps fans. While the MLS winter transfer window runs until April, there is a slim chance that the Whitecaps sign a DP to replace Armstrong before then, but things can change quickly.
It was an underwhelming offseason for the Whitecaps as they lost a key piece and added a few reclamation projects.
The current roster
So are the Whitecaps better or worse than the team that lost to LAFC last November? Let’s take a look.
Goalkeepers: Yohei Takaoka, Isaac Boehmer, Max Anchor, Adrían Zendejas
Defenders: Mathias Laborda, Sam Adekugbe, Ranko Veselinovic, Belal Halbouni, Bjorn Inge Utvik, Edier Ocampo, Guiseppe Bovalina, Tate Johnson, Tristan Blackmon
Midfielders: Ralph Priso, Sebastian Berhalter, Andres Cubas, Ali Ahmed, Ryan Gauld, JC Ngando, Pedro Vite, Jeevan Badwal
Forwards: Jayden Nelson, Emmanuel Sabbi, Daniel Rios, Damir Kreilach, Brian White, Nicolas Fleuriau-Chateau
There is a lot of uncertainty heading into the 2025 season for the Whitecaps. That is on the pitch with the roster and the impending sale of the club.
So on paper, the roster is like the past few years. It does feel this team looks worse after the loss of Armstrong. There is a mix of veterans, players in their prime and youth.
White will lead the line once again and is poised for another great season. Rios provides more depth while Fleuriau-Chateau is one to watch with his size and strength.
Gauld of course, leads the way in the midfield. Ahmed did take a step back last season and will look to improve in 2025. Ahmed has already been gaining interest from European clubs and he and Vite could get their big moves if they perform this season.
One name to watch in the midfield is JC Ngando. The Whitecaps 2022 SuperDraft first-round pick spent 2024 on loan with the USL’s Las Vegas Lights FC. He can make long passes and has shown he can be good defensively so he
The Whitecaps are also going with the same defence from 2024. The only new acquistion is Tate Johnson. He was the Whitecaps first round selection in December’s SuperDraft. The 19-year-old is expected to play a bunch of first team minutes as the backup to Adekugbe as he is very good at moving the ball forward.
Still, it feels like there needs to be a bit more.
Is this team good enough? What will a good season take?
The Whitecaps have a good squad and once again, this looks like the best of their MLS era. But as mentioned, it still is missing a few pieces.
The team will rely heavily on Gauld and White for offensive contributions. They are two of the main core pieces alongside Andres Cubas and Ranko Veselinovic. Of course, the four of them can’t do it all alone. Can Ahmed and Vite take bigger steps? Can Sebastian Berhalter continue to improve? Can Tristan Blackmon bounce back to his 2022 and 2023 form? Will the new signings help?
There is a lot of questions surrounding the club. While we did mention that the loss of Armstrong makes the club look worse, there are decent depth options. As it stands, the Whitecaps are once again, close to being a contender.
A good start is vital. In 2022 and 2023, the Whitecaps struggled out of the gate. Last season, they won five out of their first 10 games.
However, consistency was an issue. This year, they need to find ways to maintain consistent good runs of form. The late-season slide from 2024 cannot happen again.
Another reason why 2024 was a disappointment was because while the Whitecaps looked great on the road, they struggled at home. Away from BC Place, Vancouver had a 7-4-6 record but at BC Place, it was 6-4-7.
It’s not crazy to believe the Whitecaps can finish in the top four of the Western Conference. It feels wide open this year. The two LA teams have regressed but of course, can still beef up in the summer. Real Salt Lake lost key players including Cristian Arango, after losing Evander to FC Cincinnati, the Timbers are a question mark.
The two teams that have really improved are the San Jose Earthquakes and Seatle Sounders. San Jose has embarked on a rebuild under new head coach Bruce Arena and has signed Arango, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Joseph Martinez to name a few. Seattle has bulked up by acquiring Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira from FC Dallas.
Expect the Western Conference to be a tight race once again. The Whitecaps need to be consistent to have a chance to finish in the top four.
Predictions and Hot Takes
It’s become a tradition at this point, but the experts at MLSSoccer.Com do not favour the Whitecaps heading into the 2025 season.
Despite the underwhelming offseason, it feels wrong to think the Whitecaps can miss the playoffs. They have the talent of a playoff team.
We’re going to predict the team will finish sixth in the Western Conference. To add more cautious optimism, they pull off an upset in round one but lose in round two…on penalties.
It’s safe to predict will win the Canadian Championship for the fourth straight year. This time, they will beat CF Montreal in the final, in Montreal.
We predict that the new DP midfielder won’t be signed until the summer because one of Vite and Ahmed will be going to Europe for decent fees.
As for hot takes, we’ll predict that Gauld will be in the MLS Starting XI and a finalist for MVP. We’ll also predict White will score 20 goals this year. As a result, the Whitecaps will be in the top seven in goals scored this season.
Kickoff
The Whitecaps begin their 2025 campaign in San Jose, Costa Rica against Saprissa. That is in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16. Kickoff is at 5:00 pm Pacific. Their MLS campagin kicks off in Portland against the Timbers on Sunday. Kickoff is at 1 pm Pacific.
Look out for our coverage of the 2025 Whitecaps season here at Area 51 Sports Network and the Terminal City FC podcast!
