Vancouver Whitecaps 2024 MLS season preview: Is an MLS Cup run finally on the cards?

How do you make the jump from good to great?

That is the task facing the Vancouver Whitecaps this offseason after a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference and a successful defence of the Voyageurs Cup in 2023.

Axel Schuster and Vanni Sartini have successfully changed the perception of a club that was not taken seriously just a couple of years ago.

But as challenging as that turnaround has been, the next step is even more difficult — particularly in a conference that has had just three different champions over the past nine years.

State of play

No Canadian team, MLS or CPL, enters 2024 with a more settled core than the Whitecaps.

This team is built around Brian White, Ryan Gauld, and Andres Cubas, all of whom have proven themselves among the best in MLS at their positions. Sam Adekugbe and Tristan Blackmon are quality starters and there is a capable supporting cast beyond them.

MLS veterans Damir Kreilach and Fafa Picault have signed to diversify the attack — a clear priority after a high-powered LAFC team ended Vancouver’s season.

What do they need?

The obvious need is at right wing-back, where Richie Laryea has returned to Toronto.

The question now becomes whether Schuster goes after a different player in that position or if Sartini, as has been alluded to, switches Ali Ahmed out of midfield into a wide berth.

The Champions Cup tie with Tigres ended in a familiar fashion, with the Whitecaps performing well but lacking the ruthlessness offered by the cast of superstars on the Mexican side.

That result has added to the feeling that if Ahmed can replace Laryea, the club might be better off pursuing another forward or attacking midfielder with their open designated-player slot.

To what extent the Whitecaps are willing to push the boat out when it comes to budgeting a signing like that remains to be seen. But it is becoming difficult to escape the feeling that this team, though it offers much to be admired, keeps butting its head up against a ceiling as currently constructed.

Burning question

What do the Whitecaps have in Ahmed?

There is inevitably a focus on outside additions during the offseason but sometimes the best solutions come from within.

Sartini managed Ahmed carefully last year, rotating him in and out of the lineup. His performances in his first full season in MLS, as well as his quick adaptation to the international level with Canada, suggest he is ready for more.

A recent interview in Italy would indicate that Sartini thinks so.

Ahmed has missed the start of the campaign after surgery on a sports hernia and his absence was felt against Tigres.

Outlook

There is often a fixation on how you take the next step in the playoffs on the back of an early exit of the type the Whitecaps suffered last year.

Whether they have done enough on that front is a legitimate question but it is also true that in the pursuit of it, regular-season improvement can go a long way.

The Whitecaps did not win any of their first five matches last season. In 2022, it was one win in their first eight games.

The 2023 campaign also saw Vancouver draw 12 games, half of which were at BC Place. In five of those six draws at home, the Whitecaps scored one goal or fewer.

Sartini’s team has reached a stage in its development now where a strong start to the season and a couple more wins on home turf are reasonable expectations.

If they can deliver on those two fronts, a top-four finish and a much different playoff pathway come into view.