VANCOUVER—As the Vancouver Whitecaps prepare to host Tigres UANL on Wednesday in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, all the clichés apply for the home team.
It’s a now-or-never, do-or-die, nothing-to-lose, leave-it-all-on-the-pitch game—or, as Vancouver coach Carl Robinson dubbed it, “mission impossible.”
The odds are stacked against the ‘Caps—who lost 2–0 to Tigres in the first leg—because they’re facing the highly-touted Mexican league champions, and because they’ll need to win by three goals to advance to the CONCACAF final.
But the upside to having nothing to lose, of course, is the possibility of a surprise performance, and at the very least, the strong likelihood of an entertaining game, as Vancouver should take an aggressive approach on home turf.
“It’s very difficult, but we can do it,” said Whitecaps midfielder Matias Laba, who scored twice in his team’s 4–2 win in MLS over the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday. “If we get an early goal, maybe we can do it.”
Striker Fredy Montero, who likewise scored on Saturday—Vancouver’s first victory of the MLS season—echoed Laba’s sentiment: getting that early goal will be vital to Vancouver’s chances of pulling off a seemingly impossible upset.
“We don’t worry about what they’re going to do,” Montero said of Tigres’ approach. “We know they are a top-level team in Central America, and North America, and we are looking to score the first goal as soon as possible. Then we have to believe that we can go and score the second one.”
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The Whitecaps received a confidence boost from their win over the Galaxy; they should also get a boost from the conditions at home. The team announced this week that the BC Place roof will be open for Wednesday’s match. The temperature is currently forecast at 9 degrees when the game kicks off at 7 p.m. PT. It should feel more like 7 degrees, and there’s the possibility of rain. Familiarity with those conditions—not to mention the dreaded turf—could give Vancouver an edge over Tigres.
While Tigres are a formidable opponent stacked with talent—including strikers André-Pierre Gignac and Eduardo Vargas, and midfielder Guido Pizarro—the Mexican side isn’t invincible. The team suffered a loss at home on Saturday, falling 1–0 to Léon in Liga MX (Mexican first division) action. And Tigres will be without speedy winger Jurgen Damm, who picked up an injury in a World Cup qualifier last month.
Vancouver announced three changes to its 23-man CONCACAF roster this week, adding Marco Bustos, Russell Teibert and newcomer Tony Tchani to the mix as replacements for Kekuta Manneh (who was traded last week), Erik Hurtado (who suffered a foot contusion in the first half of Saturday’s game versus L.A.), and Cole Seiler.
Tchani made his debut in a Whitecaps jersey on Saturday, entering as a 64th-minute substitute. The six-foot-four Cameroon native was an imposing presence in midfield, allowing Laba the freedom to get forward and score two goals (the Argentine had previously scored just two goals across 112 MLS appearances).
“I think I did OK,” Tchani said of his debut. “I’m always harsher on myself. I’m always getting feedback from the coaches, because I don’t think what I do is enough.”
Tchani refused to accept that his arrival on the pitch was a turning point for the team, which had been down 2–1 when he entered the game. But the box-to-box midfielder fills a hole in the Whitecaps’ roster, and he could once again allow Laba the freedom to attack if he features on Wednesday. Tchani, for his part, said he’s never even been to a Champions League game before and will be looking forward to the experience, whether or not he participates.
“Maybe I could help more in attacking, help the team in this part of the field,” Laba said of his sudden scoring prowess.
The Whitecaps will need all the goals they can muster versus Tigres.
“We’ve got an unbelievable opportunity on Wednesday night to try and over turn those two goals,” Robinson said of the deficit his team faces.
Vancouver’s odds of advancing may be a little grim, but the home team plans to make a game of it—which should make for an entertaining match, whether or not fans inside a chilly BC Place end up witnessing the impossible.
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