Composure key for Whitecaps in Concacaf Champions League quarters
Defender Ranko Veselinovic says the Vancouver Whitecaps must stay composed and not be intimidated by a loud hometown crowd, or any antics on the field, when they face Mexican powerhouse Pumas UNAM in Wednesday’s quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Defender Ranko Veselinovic says the Vancouver Whitecaps must stay composed and not be intimidated by a loud hometown crowd, or any antics on the field, when they face Mexican powerhouse Pumas UNAM in Wednesday’s quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
“We know what to expect from Pumas,” Veselinovic said Tuesday before the Whitecaps got on a flight to Mexico. “They’re playing at home. They’re going to try to force their way of play on us, but we have to be smart.
“It’s going to be a beautiful atmosphere, but we need to cancel it out and just focus on our performance. If we do things that we did all season I think we have a pretty good chance to go through.”
The Whitecaps and Pumas battled to a 1-1 draw at BC Place Stadium in last Wednesday’s opening leg of the two-game series.
The second game will be played at the 72,000-seat Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City. To reach the semifinals Vancouver must beat Pumas or use the away-goal advantage to advance in a high-scoring draw.
The Whitecaps have some experience playing in hostile Mexican environments. Vancouver defeated CF Monterrey in the round of 16 last month. The teams settled for a 1-1 draw in the opening match in Vancouver but the Whitecaps advanced winning the two-game aggregate series 3-3 on away goals.
It was the first time the Whitecaps advanced past a Mexican club in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Head coach Jesper Sorensen said his team has shown they belong on the same field as Pumas.
“I expect a game that will go back and forth,” he said. “The home team gets animated by the crowd and has good spells. We usually have opportunities to overcome it and take over the game ourselves.”
Pumas, who compete in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football, bask in the same tradition of success as baseball’s New York Yankees and the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. They have won seven Liga MX titles, three CONCACACF Champions Cups and a Copa Interamericana.
The Whitecaps lead Major League Soccer’s Western Conference with a 5-1-1 record.
Vancouver took the lead in the opening match on a goal by striker Brian White in the 71st minute. Pumas midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla tied the match in the 87th minute.
The game saw some chippy play. Several times Pumas players fell dramatically to the turf clutching body parts.
Midfielder Ali Ahmed, who also plays for the Canadian national team, said the Whitecaps can’t be tricked by the Pumas antics.
“It’s different,” he said. “The Mexicans, they’re really experienced in the small things, whether you breathe on them and they go down. They’re smart. They’re good at wasting time, small things like that.
“They’re really aggressive and that brings the best out of me. The games are really intense. It’s fun. I like those type of games.”
Sorensen said players will need to keep their emotions in check.
“We have to play with a warm heart but a cold head,” he said. “We know it’s quite different than MLS, it’s refereed a little bit different. That’s not something we’re going to whine about. It’s something we have to accept and be ready for.”
The Whitecaps will be playing without captain Ryan Gauld (knee), fullback Sam Adekugbe (quad strain), defender Mathías Laborda (hamstring strain), defender Belal Halbouni (illness) and forward Jayden Nelson (left hamstring strain).
The Whitecaps and Pumas also have some history. In the 2024 Leagues Cup Round of 32 the Pumas defeated Vancouver 2-0 at BC Place in the first ever meeting between the two clubs.
The winner will move on to face MLS rivals Los Angeles FC or Inter Miami CF in the semifinals.
This marks the first time since 2023 that Vancouver reached the quarterfinals stage of the tournament and the second time overall, having reached the semifinals back in 2017.
Veselinovic, who is playing in his sixth season in Vancouver, is thrilled with the opportunity the club has.
“It would be a beautiful thing for this club, for the fans for the players,” he said. “We were eliminated previous years in an early round.
“With these Mexican teams it’s always a great challenge because they’re good teams. I can’t wait for the game. I hope we can celebrate as we did against Monterrey.”
The CONCACAF Champions Cup features the best teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean to crown a regional champion, and to qualify for the next FIFA Club World Cup.
