The Vancouver Whitecaps are riding through the veins of history.
This was the biggest match to date of their MLS era. A CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final first leg at BC Place in front of a packed house of 53,837 fans against Inter Miami. They have some big stars that you may have heard of: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Unlike last season, a fiasco surrounding Messi was not the main storyline. This time, he was in Vancouver and a lot of people were wearing the jerseys of Inter Miami, Argentina, FC Barcelona and even PSG.
But this was the Whitecaps vs Inter Miami, not the Whitecaps vs Messi. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, it was all business with higher stakes.
The Whitecaps did make the night about them. And what a night it was. This was the best night in the MLS era of the Whitecaps to date.
First half: The Whitecaps press and turf suffocate Messi and Inter Miami
Right away, the Whitecaps made sure they weren’t messing around.
Andres Cubas was winning duels and Ranko Veselinovic was using his head to make clearances. Inter Miami had the majority of the ball and the Whitecaps looked to burn them with their transition game.
They nearly did. First, Ali Ahmed nearly found Brian White, but he couldn’t get it in time. Later, White left the ball for Daniel Rios, but like Inter Miami defender Marcelo Weigandt was the last line of defence.
Like an enemy Stand, Messi was waiting to pounce and working in silence contemplating his next move. He got a ton of cheers during warmup but boos once the game started. Veselinovic, Cubas and Tate Johnson in particular were watching him like hawks.
The legendary player nearly pulled off his magic. It looked like he tried to find Suarez with a low pass after he got by the defenders, but Tristan Blackmon had some magic of his own and cleared it off the line.
But Vancouver said “Expelliarmus” first. Sebastian Berhalter teed it up for Pedro Vite. The Ecuadorian crossed it with one touch into the box, and you guessed it, White was there to head it past Oscar Ustari. This was aesthetically pleasing. Absolute cinema.
It looked like the turf was giving Inter Miami trouble. The passes were not connecting and Messi and Suarez were having trouble finding each other.
But you have to give credit to the Whitecaps for closing down on the Miami players. It took over 35 minutes for them to get a shot on Yohei Takaoka. Fortunately, it was a long shot from Messi that he saw all the way.
The Whitecaps did a good job of pressing to make Inter Miami lose the ball or be forced to pass back. The visitors were thrown off by Vancouver’s transitions and on it, the Whitecaps entered the flow state.
But that was just the first half. They were not out of the woods yet. They still needed to be on high alert. Like a Stand user, an attack from Inter Miami could happen anytime.
Second half: Defence and transitions help Whitecaps prevail
The Whitecaps began the second half on the defensive. Messi and his friends were lurking. Veselinovic nearly made a fool out of himself for trying Cruyff turns near Messi, but he smartly passed it back to Takaoka.
Johnson was doing a good job of handling Messi as his tackles were throwing the Argentinian off. Not bad for a guy who was studying for college exams less than a year ago.
The Whitecaps did need to be cleaner in the final third. The problem was the headers were not connecting and it seems players were staying back instead of crowding the box like they usually have this season.
Every time Inter Miami had the ball, it made you want to yell: “Oh my God!” or “Oh no!” very dramatically. That is especially true when Messi had the ball.
The Whitecaps were bending but not breaking. Once again, they had to rely on pressing and transitions instead of the usual controlled play in a physical match.
In the 84th minute, the Whitecaps used their signature move of the match (the transitions) and bedlam erupted at BC Place. Jayden Nelson, who has returned from his hamstring injury found his way in the box and his pass missed Emmanuel Sabbi and Brian White. But Inter Miami forgot about Berhalter buried the ball past Ustari.
Euphoria, pure euphoria.
That was that. The Whitecaps hung on and beat Inter Miami. Yes, this is real and no you are not dreaming, do not scratch your eyes.
The Southsiders made a tifo before the match and they manifested this result. The Whitecaps did give Miami hell.
Stat of the match
According to FotMob, Veselinovic was dribbled past zero times. He had the game of his life and possibly, his best as a Whitecap. He is a true leader and titan.
What was said
“I’m proud of every player that stepped on the pitch,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen. “We had to put everything on the pitch and every player put everything on the pitch.”
He was also asked about the tactical adjustment from being possession-based to transitional-based.
“It was not intentional because we were up against a team that was very good on the ball,” said Sørensen. “We had difficulties ourselves controlling the game with the ball. But we had some speed up front that we knew we could play and get behind them because they’re also pretty high up the pitch…But the result was amazing and the collective effort.”
“It’s no more losing the last second or not getting over the line,” said Sebastian Berhalter on the growth of this team in big matches. “This is who we are as a team and we’ve got to keep doing this going forward.”
Nelson spoke about the BC Place crowd.
“It should be like this all the time,” said Nelson. “We’re getting the performance and getting the results and I think more fans should come out and support us.”
Tweet of the match:
Messi stiffed Vancouver fans twice. Once again, he was a no-show! Time to file a lawsuit against the Whitecaps!
All jokes aside, a lot of credit has to go to the team for keeping Messi in check. They did not let him use his magic and he left Vancouver frustrated in defeat.
Wrap-up
The job isn’t done. The second leg of the semi-final is on Wednesday in Miami. (More accurately Fort Lauderdale) Kickoff for that game is at 5 pm PST. But before that, the Whitecaps travel to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota United. Kickoff for that game is at noon PST.
But wow, just wow. This was a Vancouver Whitecaps game. They really did beat Inter Miami. The Whitecaps in the past have crumbled in front of big crowds. This time, they shone. The lights weren’t too bright because they shone brighter.
All season, they have been exciting and fun to watch. Nelson and the other players that spoke to the media were right. This city needs to show up to support them. BC Place needs to be filled. And the team is giving a lot of good reasons why.
Maybe the casuals or Euro snobs who went on Thursday night are thinking of returning. Maybe they went just for Messi but now, they want to come back to support the Whitecaps.
These aren’t the Whitecaps of old. This team is special. And with them being up for sale, a game like this should attract buyers.
So come on Vancouver, get behind the boys in blue and white. And hopefully, they can make more history and more nights like these can happen.
