Thomas Müller has played in more than his share of big matches, as you’d surmise from his 35 career trophies, an all-time record among German footballers.
So his words of wisdom and motivation rang out like a bell as his Vancouver Whitecaps FC prepare to duel San Diego FC for a place in MLS Cup presented by Audi in Saturday night’s Western Conference Final at Snapdragon Stadium (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV).
“All the world is watching – more spectators, more people watching you getting the job done, or not,” Müller told reporters in a Thursday afternoon media availability before the ‘Caps flew south.
“That fires me up, to be honest, to get the job done when everybody's watching: Can they do it? And I want to be with my group and then sustain this pressure and get to the next round and get through it.
“Just show up. That's it. And that's what I want to do, again and again and again.”
It’s one more example of the galvanizing stardust the Bayern Munich icon brought to British Columbia over the summer.
“The good thing about Thomas is that he can affect things in so many ways, and he doesn't have to play like a brilliant player to affect his teammates and his team positively,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen.
“It's not that we rely on magic, but we rely on coherence … Having also that kind of quality on the pitch always helps everybody have strong belief.”
Best of the West
Precious little separated San Diego from Vancouver during the regular season. The two ball-dominant, slick-passing sides finished deadlocked atop the table on 63 points, requiring the wins tiebreaker to award SDFC first place, a last-gasp turnabout thanks to Decision Day drama for both teams.
Now that their side of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs bracket ran chalk, everyone’s expecting a similarly skin-tight affair across 90-plus minutes.
“Every game is like a cup final now, and you know a small mistake can send you home,” noted SDFC attacker Amahl Pellegrino on Wednesday. “So you just have to be prepared for everything and really be focused.”
Another bumper crowd is expected at Snapdragon, where SDFC, spearheaded by the excellent Anders Dreyer, have crafted a deep connection with their fans on this postseason run at the tail end of a remarkable, record-breaking inaugural campaign.
Cultural connection
Head coach Mikey Varas alluded to that growing bond as he once again sought to debunk the idea that his team’s assertive, possession-centered game model equates to flash or fluff following a hard-earned 1-0 win over stubborn Minnesota United FC in the Conference Semifinal on Monday.
“The narrative that other cities or other teams are the hard-working, blue-collar teams, and that we're the team that comes and plays exciting football, needs to be put to bed,” Varas declared on Wednesday.
“Because the typical San Diegan makes a lot of sacrifices, works really hard so that they can live here. I don’t think a lot of people know that. They see the sunshine, they see the good vibes, they see the beaches, but they don’t see how much sacrifice is undergone, and I think our team exemplifies that … our collectivity being our superpower.
“These guys have given everything, every second, this entire season since day one, to be as prepared as possible for the moment that we’re going to confront right now, and we’ll be ready to go for it.”
The latter phrase also describes the efforts of the Snapdragon groundskeepers. They are working overtime to replace the grass playing surface that looked the worse for wear in Monday’s game, which took place just 48 hours after use by San Diego State University’s football team, SDFC’s gridiron co-inhabitants.
“If they need help over there, I can come in 45 minutes! So that’s good news,” said Pellegrino, jokingly offering to lend the turf crew a hand. “Of course it wasn’t the most ideal pitch to play on.”
The Aztecs are enjoying a fine season of their own and could host the Mountain West Conference’s championship game on Dec. 5. Should SDFC and New York City FC win this weekend, that event would clash with the MLS Cup final.
So Los Niños, Snapdragon, SDSU and the San Diego Padres have already agreed to hold the Aztecs’ football game at Petco Park in that scenario, in order to allow the MLS expansion side what would be an historic moment in year one.
Final decisions
As much as they’d prefer to host this one on their own BC Place turf, Vancouver ride a rare sort of momentum into Southern California, thanks to last weekend’s breathless Conference Semifinal shootout win over LAFC.
There, they defended a 2-2 scoreline through extra time shorthanded, first with 10 men via a Tristan Blackmon red card and later with just nine due to Belal Halbouni’s knee injury, which was initially feared catastrophic but is now projected to sideline him seven to 10 weeks instead.
“We were fortunate,” said Sørensen of the instant classic’s “emotional roller coaster” effect. “It's like you crash, but survive, and then you end up on the other side and you have this relief, and also this boost of energy from it.”
Despite being substituted in the semifinal after what appeared to be a hamstring tweak, Müller said “there are no question marks at all” about his own health for Saturday. Sørensen & Co. do have a selection dilemma at center back, however.
Without Blackmon and Halbouni, VWFC must either shift last week’s hero Mathías Laborda from left back to a central role and start rookie Tate Johnson on the corner, or perhaps hand a club-debut start to Joedrick Pupe or Sebastian Schonlau. Both are experienced European veterans, yet have played just four minutes combined since arriving in the summer transfer window.
Sørensen was predictably cagey about that choice, preferring to emphasize the resilience his ‘Caps have cultivated in a marathon season which began with a stirring run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final marked by several gutsy comebacks.
Saturday marks their third cup final of the year; they’ll be ready, too.
“We are ready to suffer on the pitch,” said the Dane, who’ll seek to blunt the influence of his talented countrymen Dreyer and Jeppe Tverskov, lineup linchpins for SDFC.
“People really have a strong belief in what we're doing, and the way we play, and also in their teammates, and that we have done it before means so much, right? So we have the belief that we can always do it again.”
