VANCOUVER — Ryan Gauld wants to play meaningful soccer again.
It's been more than four months since the Vancouver Whitecaps were eliminated from the Major League Soccer playoffs, a layoff too long for the captain's liking.
Lucky for Gauld, the games are about to begin in a big way.
Vancouver's 2025 campaign begins with five games across 16 days starting Thursday when the Whitecaps visit Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa in the first game of a two-legged CONCACAF Champions Cup series.
“I think everyone's looking forward to it. Having such a long off-season, it feels like it's been a long time since we played a meaningful game," Gauld said. "So the fact that they're coming thick and fast right from the start, it's what we all want, and it'll get the match sharpness up straight away.”
Following the game in Costa Rica, the 'Caps travel to Portland, Ore., where they'll kick off the MLS season against their regional rivals, the Timbers, on Sunday.
A busy start to the season isn't unusual for newly minted Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen. The travel the team faces, though, is a bit of a change from what he experienced coaching in Denmark.
“To be honest, it's difficult. Because I don't have the experience from what we’re used to. I have experience with games coming up close to each other, but not by flying seven hours to Costa Rica and then directly to Portland and stuff like that," he said. "So it's new to me. And that's why it's very important that I also have people around me that have the experience in these kind of situations.”
The 'Caps have already logged some big kilometres this year.
The team gathered in Vancouver in mid-January before heading to Marbella, Spain for three weeks of pre-season preparations, including four games against international competition. Players and staff returned to B.C. last week before heading to Costa Rica on Tuesday.
Over those four pre-season tilts, the team got better and better at executing the system Sorensen is trying to implement, said veteran defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We worked from the day one. We understand what he wants from us," he said.
“Of course, there's a big space for improvement also. But yeah, we'll try to be as good as possible in the first game. It's not going to be perfect, and we know that.”
Vancouver finished last season with a mediocre 13-13-8 regular-season record. The club won a third straight Canadian Championship title but limped through the end of the MLS season and was ousted from the playoffs in the first round by Los Angeles FC.
Thursday's game against Saprissa will be a test of Sorensen's changes.
The Whitecaps have never faced the Costa Rican club in any competition and Veselinovic has been asking around about the opposition.
"I heard they're a pretty good team. I spoke even with some friends that know them. They're pretty aggressive. They like to play direct," he said. "So, yeah, it's going to be super hard game because it's gonna be hot weather. They're good fans, and they've even played like six or seven games already in the season. So we need to be ready for that and to have a positive result before coming back home.”
Vancouver earned its spot in the tournament by winning last year's Canadian Championship, while Saprissa won a play-in series against Comunicaciones FC.
The 'Caps know they're facing some obstacles heading into Thursday's matchup. Saprissa has already started their season, and used to playing in the sweltering conditions expected in San Jose. The Costa Rican side has also won the CONCACAF Champions Cup three times, most recently in 2005.
They're all challenges Vancouver is looking forward to, said striker Brian White.
“When you get to play in these kind of games, these kind of competitions, it's another level," he said. "And I think everyone's going to be excited, everyone's going to be up for it. It’s going to be a tough challenge, obviously, and a bit of a different climate than we're playing in right now. But it’ll be a fun challenge.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
