There is no sugarcoating it, the Vancouver Whitecaps were awful in the 2025 Champions Cup final.
The lights were too bright. They got a ticket to the dance, but they forgot how to bust out the moves. As a result, they fumbled their chance to take the princess home.
This wasn’t even a game; it was a massacre. The Whitecaps from minute one, did not look prepared at all. They looked like a band that forgot to practice before a big concert. Not only did they fail to take the princess home, but they made fools out of themselves by drinking too much and ruining all the refreshments.
Vancouver had a chance to not only win a trophy but to showcase themselves, MLS and Canadian soccer on a global stage. They also had a chance to captivate their fans and Vancouver’s bandwagoners and end all the negative narratives. But instead, it was the “same old Whitecaps.”
Pathetic Effort
Losing a final in soccer or any other sport always hurts. No one remembers the losers, history was written by the winners.
The Whitecaps went on a magical run that captured the hearts of many. They lost the first leg to Saprissa in the first round but Brian White’s brace in the second leg was enough to send them through. Reigning champions Monterrey were next and they had Sergio Ramos, but the Whitecaps managed to knock them out. Then there was Pumas. When their run looked all but over. However, Tristan Blackmon’s stoppage time goal sent the ‘Caps to the semi-finals.
And then there were the two legs against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. A 2-0 win in front of a record crowd at BC Place and then a 3-1 win in Fort Lauderdale sent the Whitecaps to the final. But losing 5-0 to Cruz Azul just marred it and it hurts.
We can talk about how much fun this run was. But that will take some time.
A lot of credit has to go to Cruz Azul. They deserved it and have a great team. But the Whitecaps had zero shots, not shots on target, shot attempts. That is completely unacceptable and terrible.
We were not ready for this game tonight,” said Ranko Veselinovic to OneSoccer’s Kristian Jack after the game.
Right from kickoff, the Whitecaps looked disjointed. Once they gave up the opening goal, they couldn’t recover. There were too many defensive lapses and turnovers and they struggled with their build-up. The final third play? Non-existent.
Edier Ocampo kept getting skinned, Pedro Vite wasn’t creative at all and Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson looked lifeless on the wings. White was isolated and Andres Cubas was the cause of three of the goals and looked like a Sunday league player.
As a whole, Vancouver played like they had never seen a ball in their lives. It is very hard to come up with any sort of positive. Losing the final on a last-minute goal would’ve hurt less.
“We came with hope and aspiration and ambition and we leave with devastation,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen after the match. “Today we couldn’t put up the performance to shake a good team and football at this level can be brutal.”
This loss hurts and will for a while. There was no intensity or urgency. The effort? It gets an F.
Would having Ryan Gauld and Sebastian Berhalter in the lineup have helped? Absolutely. Was the altitude, travel and the fact the Whitecaps played so many midweek matches this season factors? Yes. But they can’t be excuses. There should be no excuse for losing a final 5-0 and failing to register a single shot.
So how can the Whitecaps move on?
The Whitecaps still have a chance at silverware this season.
They are still in the Supporters Shield race and have a game in hand. There is also a real possibility to make a run at MLS Cup. Also, they have another chance at getting back into the Champions Cup as they have a chance to win their fourth straight Canadian Championship.
But the stretch gets tougher. Over the next few weeks, several players will be away on international duty. Ahmed, Nelson, Sam Adekugbe, (Canada) Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White (USA) will be playing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Pedro Vite has been called up for Ecuador for the June international window. Giuseppe Bovalina has been called up for Australia’s under-23s and Tate Johnson was impressed to earn a call-up for the American under-20s. Since he has been an important player for Paraguay for years, Cubas will likely be away on international duty as well. Oh, and Gauld is still not ready to return to action. That makes things worse.
“We have a huge task ahead of us in MLS because we have to pick ourselves up after this,” said Sørensen. “We weren’t able to be a champion in football, but it’s about being a champion in life. That’s about your behaviour and it’s about how you react when you meet adversity, and it’s about how you show resilience when things are tough.”
The Whitecaps have played a ton of soccer already. With many players away on international duty and with Seattle Sounders, Columbus Crew, San Diego FC and LAFC among the opponents up ahead, it’s going to be tough. Can they prove that their early season success wasn’t a fluke?
Seattle, LAFC and Columbus made the Champions Cup final in recent years. The Sounders won it in 2022 and ended up missing the playoffs for the first time in their MLS era as a result. LAFC lost to Club America in the 2023 final and did make the MLS Cup Final for the second straight year. However, they lost to the Crew. The Crew lost to Monterrey last year in the Champions Cup Final. They did win Leagues Cup but shockingly got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the New York Red Bulls.
This summer will be a big test for the Whitecaps, especially their depth. Are they really a contender? The Columbus and LAFC managed some success after losing the CCC final due to their depth.
Learning and moving forward
Sørensen, his staff and the players will take a lot from losing to Cruz Azul.
It is always great to celebrate and enjoy the good times, but the MLS season is long. Adversity has already hit the Whitecaps over the past couple of weeks and more will come. They need to prove losing the final was a blip and not the start of a bad run of form. If it is, things could get really, ugly.
It hurts that their Champions Cup run ended with them getting annihilated. But it is time to move forward. Why do we fall? So we can get ourselves back up. It is up to the Whitecaps to get back up and get back on track.
