First BC Derby on Thursday
“I have played in the German Cup; it was always tough when you went to lower division sides, everything is possible in those games,” former Bundesliga striker and Pacific FC CEO and co-owner Rob Friend said to Transfermarkt ahead of his club’s Canadian Championship clash against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Thursday (7 p.m. PT). It is the first time two clubs from British Columbia will meet in the Canadian Championship and Pacific FC have already sold around 4,000 of the 5,000 tickets available for the game at Starlight Stadium.
The Canadian Championship is a crucial tournament for Canadian-based teams. It includes the three Major League Soccer teams, all eight Canadian Premier League teams, and the champions of League1 Ontario (Master’s FA) and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (AS Blainville). The winner receives Canada’s spot in the Concacaf Champions League—for the three MLS-based clubs, it is the only pathway to the continent’s biggest club competition.
The Whitecaps, in fact, have made the tournament a priority. “It is four wins to the Champions League,” Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos said on a call with Transfermarkt. The 44-year-old initially voiced his displeasure at having to play an extra game in what has been already a difficult season for the Whitecaps. Like all Canadian clubs, the Whitecaps were forced into exile during most of the COVID pandemic, playing their home games in Salt Lake City, Utah (USA).
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Despite the extra travel that comes with the game, Dos Santos believes the tournament is important for the club and is expected to field his strongest XI. “We are taking it very seriously,” Dos Santos said. “For me, if I had to prioritize one competition over another, I would take the Canadian Championship over the MLS Cup.”
Unlike the other two MLS teams, however, Vancouver were placed in the preliminary round of the tournament together with seven out of the eight CPL teams and Master’s FA as well as Blainville. Forge FC from the CPL as well as MLS sides Toronto FC and CF Montréal will enter the competition in the quarterfinals.
“We were never told why,” Dos Santos said, pointing out that the Whitecaps finished ahead of Toronto and Montréal in the MLS standings last season. But at the same time, Dos Santos sees the game against Pacific as an opportunity to grow the game not just in Canada but in British Columbia specifically.
Pacific FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps will take place at the Starlight Stadium on Thursday
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“It is fascinating,” Dos Santos said. “We are still at the start of growing the game in this country, and cup games like this will educate people what this game is all about.” Pacific’s Friend echoes this sentiment. “It is David vs Goliath,” Friend said. “There are still a lot of people on Vancouver Island that don’t know about us or what the Canadian Premier League is, and this game can put us on the map and show that we can compete against MLS teams.”
Dos Santos certainly is not taking Pacific FC lightly. “I will prepare for this game like it is any MLS game,” Dos Santos said. The Vancouver head coach has followed Pacific FC closely this season and has highlighted them as a dangerous opponent. “Look, there is a reason they are first in the league. We have to make sure that we don’t go into that game with a mindset of this being an easy game.”
But what about Pacific’s preparations? Pa-Modou Kah laughs when asked about the pressure of facing a team like the Whitecaps. “I will prepare for this game like it is any other game,” Kah said to Transfermarkt. “We have to look beyond the big brother, little brother rivalry, it is great for the fans, but for us, it is just another game.”
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There are indeed deep ties between the two clubs. Kah won the Canadian Championship as a player with the Whitecaps in 2015, and Pacific FC stars Terran Campbell, and Marco Bustos are just two players on the squad that have been developed by the ‘Caps. Kah stressed that his players have to stay focused on the game rather than the past or the surroundings. “Don’t re-invent the wheel; we must play our game.”
Both teams use a 4-3-3 formation and rely heavily on possession. But where Dos Santos has finally gotten a playmaker in Ryan Gauld, who plays in a deep-lying role behind a front three, Kah’s team plays in a more rigid 4-3-3 without a natural playmaker. Instead, the Tridents rely heavily on the creativity of their wide-players, which at times can act as a playmaker. Bustos is a great example, a more typical number 10, the attacking midfielder plays on the wing for Kah without ever losing any of his influence on the game.
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With 4-3-3 the standard formation and possession a key attribute for both sides, Thursday’s clash promises to be an interesting tactical battle. The Whitecaps are on a good run of form, and in Scottish playmaker, Gauld have finally found the missing piece to get their attack going. Undefeated in eight games, Vancouver beat MLS giants Los Angeles FC on their return to BC Place last weekend and are now on course for a playoff spot.
Pacific FC, in the meantime, have played some of the most dominant football in the CanPL this season but have recently hit a bit of a wobble losing 2-1 to Cavalry FC, who are second in the table with one game in hand. “We will not take the Whitecaps lightly,” Friend said. “But ultimately, they have to win this game. We are the underdogs and have nothing to lose.”
