With 15 goals in 20 appearances this year, Brian White is at the fore of Vancouver's Cinderella season. Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images

Ahead of arguably the biggest game in the history of the Vancouver Whitecaps, head coach Jesper Sørensen was candid about his team's stunning 2025 resurgence that has led to his team's place in Sunday's Concacaf Champions Cup final.

"I did not expect this. I did not expect us to go to -- I didn't even know much about the Champions Cup before I came," the former Danish midfielder, hired in January, said to ESPN. "Of course, when you start, you hope that you can make a difference and make something new, but I didn't expect things to pick up this fast."

Once seen as a worrisome rebuild instead of title contenders, last year's 14th-placed side in the Supporters' Shield standings now find themselves in second with a game in hand in the regular season race. Without losing their stride, they've also maintained their brilliant pace in continental competition, culminating in Sunday's Champions Cup final against Liga MX powerhouses Cruz Azul.

Defeating superstar Lionel Messi along the way, surpassing Mexican giants in the knockout round, and all while being up for sale as a franchise, it makes for a Canadian Cinderella story that has reverberated beyond Sørensen's Vancouver and into the lore of North American soccer.

Plucky but with ice in their veins, were the Whitecaps to lift their most impressive trophy to date, it would send a chill down the spine of the Liga MX scene that has won 18 of the past 19 editions of the competition. MLS has one trophy in the modern era of the Champions Cup.

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The tides could be gradually turning in the favor of MLS, and leading the charge on Sunday isn't a glamor clubs like Inter Miami CF or LAFC, but instead a team that's not only seeking new owners, but also outside the league's top 10 when it comes to total roster market value (via Transfermarkt).

Ninety-plus minutes away from history, can the Whitecaps climb North America's highest club soccer peak and plant the flag of MLS?

Pushing MLS forward

Thanks to Vancouver, perceptions are already changing about the push-and-pull between Liga MX and MLS that traditionally views the Mexican side as heavy favorites.

When asked if the Whitecaps' knockout-round wins over Liga MX's Monterrey and Pumas have garnered more respect for MLS back home in Mexico, Vancouver striker Daniel Ríos didn't hesitate.

"Yes, totally, totally," Ríos, on loan from Mexican giants Chivas, said to ESPN. "Clubs [in MLS] can win at any moment, so the level is very even, not as uneven as it used to be."

Vancouver has added to that conversation in Mexico -- even appearing in one comic from a sports paper earlier this month as a grim reaper -- and although MLS has just one continental title through the Seattle Sounders in 2022, it doesn't appear to be a fluke that the following three editions have included a Liga MX-vs.-MLS final.

LA SORPRESA DEL TORNEO 🤯🏔️🔥Vancouver Whitecaps ha tenido una Concachampions de ensueño, aunque no fue favorito en ninguno de sus compromisos, terminó por eliminar a Monterrey, Pumas y hasta a Messi para llegar a la final 👀Todo sobre el equipo 👇https://t.co/xV5chC2DPM pic.twitter.com/WVHYdTtOjZ

Real Salt Lake academy graduate Sebastian Saucedo, who has played in both leagues and in that 2022 Champions Cup final for Seattle's opponents Pumas, also painted a picture of a level playing field, but highlighted serious challenges that remain against Mexico's best of the best.

"I'm not surprised if any time soon MLS will surpass, you see it now in big competitions ... [but] it's very difficult because América, Tigres and all them, they have high-end players that play for their countries," said the free agent who most recently played for FC Juarez. "I think they're about the same."

With improvements seen in player development and club infrastructure and facilities, a stronger foundation does seem to be forming in MLS, but roster constraints that are labyrinth like make it difficult to compete with Mexico's elite, who face no such spending restrictions. We also can't overlook the fact that Liga MX teams are 3-2 in this year's Champions Cup series vs. MLS opposition.

Nonetheless, that's also a sign of just how brilliant and singular Vancouver's story has been.

"I think it's both," said Saucedo when asked if the latest results say more about the Whitecaps or a growing MLS. "[But the] reality is though that Vancouver's doing it in MLS and in the Champions Cup, so reality is that Vancouver's a special team ... I don't think it's just the growth of MLS, I think it's a very good team that they've built."

Looking back at that last and only Champions Cup title for an MLS side in 2022, Saucedo also noted a similarity to what he saw on the other end of the field, and now years later in 2025.

"Seattle had a very special group, and if you realize with Seattle, there had been a base to that team," Saucedo said of his Champions Cup opponents. "Now I see Vancouver doing the same thing."

Achieving collective success

When former coach Vanni Sartini was dismissed in November and September DP signing Stuart Armstrong left the club less than five months after joining, expectations for 2025 were tempered.

"Almost every season, we are cautiously optimistic and nothing happens. Then this time we were not even cautiously optimistic," Peter Czimmermann, president of the Vancouver Southsiders supporters group, said to ESPN. "And it's turned out to be the best season ever in Vancouver's history."

Czimmermann mentioned roster construction that's proven to be clever as a factor for 2025, but also noted an overarching theme that others have mentioned as an invaluable variable: "team culture."

"What I think is a big, big difference is that some of the current players -- I don't really want to name anybody right now because I don't think it was anybody particular -- but everybody sort of matured together into this level, and Jesper found a way to unlock all that potential," Czimmermann said.

Now in the front office as a business operations associate for the organization, few have a deeper understanding of the Whitecaps than Russell Teibert, who spent 16 years with the club before retiring in 2024. Like Czimmermann, Teibert also brought up a different team mentality that has been developing.

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"The biggest change that I've seen is this strong sense of belief that we can achieve something very special, not as individuals, but as a collective," the former midfielder said to ESPN. "As fans, as players, as staff, we're all pulling in the same direction."

Part of that process has been led by messaging from Sørensen that all roster spots are up for grabs. As opposed to feeling hindered by prominent Champions Cup matches to start off the year, the games have been viewed as high-profile platforms that have motivated his squad to stake their claim to a place in the XI.

On the field, Sørensen should also be praised for his tactics that are more proactive in comparison to the reactive approach from 2024. Last season, they were the least aggressive pressing team in MLS; this season, their head coach aims for "a high-pressing, running style against the ball." Possession numbers have gone up, there's more freedom on the field, and yet they're also balanced enough defensively with the fewest goals allowed.

All coupled with time spent together through constant traveling, there's a level of cohesion and joy that seems to be at an all-time high.

"It's exciting, there's a lot of fun, guys are getting on well, the locker room is always loud and music is playing, games are being played, there's banter. I'm not sure if you can hear the guys yelling in the background," forward Brian White said on a call with ESPN after a training session. "There's always a bit of fun on the planes and everything 'cause we travel so much."

As for their next trip as a collective, there's no doubt that it'll be the most important of the year so far.

'Together We Dare'

So begins the countdown to the final vs. Cruz Azul at Mexico City's historic Estadio Olimpico Universitario.

According to Czimmermann, more than 500 Whitecaps supporters will make the trip. The same jubilant fans who, just a few weeks ago, showcased their confidence with tongue-in-cheek stickers from the Southsiders.

"Yeah, we kind of feel like that," Czimmermann said with a laugh. "It is definitely tongue-in-cheek, but I think it's kind of the sentiment across all of us. Like yeah, we are the best f---ing team in the world."

Heading in with a 15-game undefeated streak in all competitions, Vancouver will look to rely on not only a goal scorer like White, but also an energetic midfielder such as Pedro Vite, the diligent Andrés Cubas in the heart of the XI, Tristan Blackmon in defense -- the list goes on for the final.

Leaving no stone, or dish, unturned, the club has also taken extra and peculiar measures. In order to avoid the alleged food poisoning that the Columbus Crew suffered in their Mexican hotel ahead of last season's Champions Cup final loss to Pachuca, a team dietitian and admin from the Whitecaps have headed down to Mexico in advance.

Thinking of the smallest details, it's all in preparation for a pivotal moment.

"It would mean history as the first Canadian team to win the tournament. It's about breaking molds or challenging the norm ... we weren't given a chance by anyone coming into the season," Teibert said. "It's interesting because I look at the back of our jersey in our 'Peak' kit this year and it says: 'Together We Dare.' It's on the back of the jersey and it's quite fitting."

Amid all of the excitement of the high-stakes battle against Cruz Azul in Mexico, and as the comeback story of the year in MLS, it's also easy to forget that the Whitecaps franchise is up for sale.

"We're lucky because the winning takes away or we are not paying attention as much," Czimmermann said. "I'm really scared to even think about that [sale]."

Made official in December, the search for a new ownership group has left question marks about the future of the club, whose CEO has stated that they're working on a proposed team-owned stadium plan that could help secure a stay in Vancouver.

"There's a tremendous value and just this team, this club and what it represents in terms of history and just the rivalries it's part of, it's an essential part of North American soccer," Czimmermann said. Whether a Champions Cup title helps the case for Vancouver to stay for new owners down the line, the Southsiders president remains skeptical, but in their path to hiking up that North American soccer peak this Sunday and making history, it surely wouldn't hurt.

Or at the very least, it would be a continued and welcome source of sporting comfort.

"I kind of think of this as a transaction. It's financial, it's a business transaction. When you can buy and sell franchises, the sports wins, I feel like they are pushed into the background," said Czimmermann. "[But] maybe it helps."