VANCOUVER — Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini previously declared Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC the best team in this year's CONCACAF Champions League.
But it fell at the final hurdle to Vancouver's Friday night opponent: Club Leon.
"And deservedly so," Sartini said at a press conference ahead of the Whitecaps' Leagues Cup tilt against the Mexican powerhouses. "Leon have a very, I would say, distinct style of playing. Very aggressive, very man to man, following you in your half to win the ball high ... I expect them to be very good."
The Leagues Cup features matches between clubs from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX.
It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league before its expansion this season.
Leon is the defending champion, and no MLS side has won it so far.
"I'm very excited for the fact it's a different competition," said Sartini. "It's going to be a very demanding game but also a good game to to compare us to the benchmark of soccer in North America."
Sartini also complimented the Mexican league's status as a source of inspiration for MLS' development.
"Mexico is a league where I see players with a lot more experience," he said. "I think MLS has done a great of taking Liga MX did before and I think now we're a lot more comparable as leagues."
Whitecaps midfielder and captain Ryan Gauld said the competition has an added incentive for Canadian teams to prove themselves against larger clubs.
"Everyone's excited to test ourselves against a very good team," he said. "We're going to be in for a very tough game but we're looking forward to testing ourselves against these very good players."
The Whitecaps are coming in off back-to-back wins in MLS regular season play, with Gauld admitting that a failure to get past the Leagues Cup group stage would be a blow to their consistency.
"We're coming off two good results so we want to keep that momentum going, he said. "If we don't go through, it'd be three weeks without games and no one wants that.
Club Leon's head coach Nicolas Larcamon pushed back when asked whether he'd consider rotating his lineup.
"The idea is to come to this championship to play, to take it seriously and to achieve the first goal which is to go to the final," he said.
He also said he wasn't underestimating Vancouver's ability but criticized the tournament's focus on having MLS clubs primarily play games at home compared to their Mexican counterparts.
"It's a very dynamic team. in the last weeks, they've been improving," he said. "We have to be focused on neutralizing those players."
The last time the Whitecaps won consecutive MLS games was an April 1 win over CF Montreal followed by an April 8 win against Portland, both at home.
The Whitecaps will also play MLS side L.A. Galaxy on July 29 in the final game of the group stage.
Vancouver beat L.A. 4-2 on July 15 with goals coming from Brian White, Gauld and Sergio Cordova.
White and Gauld's brace in the opening 23 minutes had the 'Caps rolling to victory before a near-rally from L.A. in the second half led to a tighter match.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
