Welcome back to Kicking Off! Our new series taking Eli Mengem around the world to discover and document the amazing footballing stories you may not know about, but should. So far we’ve been to Ireland, Northern Norway & Barcelona… But for episode 4, it’s our biggest episode yet!
As we sent Eli to Vancouver for 2 games in 1 week to find out how Canada’s third biggest city has become it’s soccer capital, with the Whitecaps arguably the most exciting team in the MLS on and off the pitch, with record results, crowds and their new star Thomas Müller. But this story goes far deeper than what’s happening now, as the city is home to one of the oldest, richest and most unique soccer stories in all of North America that goes back half a century.
A massive thank you to everyone in Vancouver for their help on the film.
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20 Comments
Locals do not call it 'vancity' 😂
Good One
wow thanks Eli for yet another great documentary. as a TFC supporter, I hope they choke again this MLS playoffs 🤭 but i think I have a little bit more respect for VanCity now… much more than I have for lowly Club de foot.
It's hard to say this as a Philadelphia fan, especially after getting whooped by the Whitecaps in the regular season. But now that we're out of the playoffs, and Vancouver is going to it's first ever Conference Final, and what a way to get there, I'm rooting for Vancouver to win the whole thing. I just don't want Miami or San Diego to win it when there's a team with actual culture and history in the Finals
All of this history and dominos falling into place to build what the city has become, and to share my name with the man who scored both goals for the victory over Tampa Bay, makes me feel more proud of my name
It is bandwagon fans. I was at the Salt Lake game at BC Place after the Inter Miami win but before the Champions League final loss against Cruz Azul. The atmosphere was dead even though Van won and played well. The stadium was also like 1/3 full. Interest will instantly dwindle when their form drops again and the big games aren’t as frequent. Is nice to see them doing well though!
Considering this is also the host city for 2026 World Cup, it's time for cure what left on 2022 World Cup!
This could have been a 20 second video : Germans LOVE Nature. Go Caps! ⚽️🧡🇨🇦🍻🙄
😉
This episode was awesome, especially after beating LAFC last night and on our way to the Western Conference Final
In 1979 my family hosted new Whitecap player Trevor Whymark acclimatize to Vancouver. As a kid I thought we did awesome because he scored 2 goals to win the NASL "Soccer Bowl" Yes this Victory made Vancouverites want to support infrastructure growth for the city to evolve. However the impending handover of Hong Kong to China that began in 1984 ,resulted in foreign real estate investment in Vancouver that would change the City forever far more that local sports. The clash between the two sides continues today
loved this, thank you!
Thank you for this ep… as a Whitecaps fan for 8 years, I was really hoping you guys would interview Vanni Sartini, our former coach. His era marks the turning point in the Whitecaps' rise in modern times. He used a group of nobodies to build this buildup play system for the team, play high-prossession plays, and found Gauld and White (they even extended their contracts). Those are not all common in MLS, actually. Even though he left the team, his impact is still felt today.
7:10 wait a second… Is that the original version of the FIFA 99 training ground? 😮😮😮
Been watching Copa 90 for over 10 years now. Love all the episodes! Bumped into Eli at the Russia World Cup and had a good chat. Great to bump into him again at BC Place! Amazing that he came to Vancouver to cover the beautiful game here! Must watch documentary for all football lovers in Vancouver! Full of local stories of the game. MLS cup is ours in 2 weeks! Go CAPS! 💙🤍⚽️🔥
Thank you featuring my beautiful city and its soccer culture.
I was disappointed that you didn't play out a Whitecaps goal celebration. Calling out the player's name (typical), Announcer "Thank you" and the supporters, "You're Welcome!" It's a classic Canadian bit of humour.
not soccer!!!! its football!!
Eli should lowkey go to mtl AND Toronto for a video like that too 🙏🏽
Excellent as always Copa90!
The dude from EA says most of the development team for EA FC are huge football fans…well if thats true why do you think its acceptable to give us a below average gaem every year?
I'm a Toronto FC fan and even I'm rooting for the 'Caps. It may have something to do with them snagging Mueller from Bayern (my European team), but they're really deserving of the success. Seeing a team like Toronto FC having been so heavily mismanaged since winning an MLS Championship makes it a lot easier to cheer on the competition!