Whitecaps hoping Canadian Championship four-peat can spark fall ambitions: "We want to go further"
It was a reminder of what a trophy can mean for a group.
While it’d have been easy for the Vancouver Whitecaps to take the 2025 Canadian Championship final lightly, as they took on a Vancouver FC side they were expected to beat, they still had to take care of business on the pitch.
Ultimately, trophies aren’t given out, but are instead earned, and the Whitecaps knew that they needed to put in a strong 90-minute performance to ensure they’d complete a special Canadian Championship four-peat and lift the Voyageurs Cup. 
Fittingly, the one player who knew that better than anyone certainly rose to the occasion in this one, and powered his team to the trophy - Thomas Müller.
Knowing that he could become the most decorated German player of all time with a victory, one that would give him his 35th trophy as a player, Müller put together a masterful performance in the Whitecaps' victory, scoring one goal and assisting another en route to a 4-2 win.
He was one of many Whitecaps to shine in this game - Ali Ahmed was also fantastic on a day where he scored two goals and won a penalty - but Müller felt like the figurehead for his team’s overall performance, stepping up when they needed him to.
GOAL 🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
Ali Ahmed opens the scoring for the @WhitecapsFC and the hosts have an early lead 🤩
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/RmzvvkAkre
Yet, it was a good reminder of why the Whitecaps signed Müller in the first place. He has been a huge boost for the club off the pitch, bringing them a superstar of a calibre they’ve never had, but it was made clear when he announced that his biggest impact was hoped to come on the pitch instead of in the marketing department.
GOAL 🔵🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
Thomas Müller doubles the lead for the @WhitecapsFC 🔥
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/FK3VBAfND8
In a game like this, even if it was a game the Whitecaps were heavily favoured to win, Müller made sure that there’d be no doubt his side would leave victorious on the day, giving them the Canadian Championship four-peat and him his vaunted trophy #35.
“It’s an unbelievable number, and it’s unbelievable for one player to have had that kind of success,” Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen said of Müller. “Everybody can see that he doesn’t want to slow down. He’s not here to create a new, relaxed lifestyle for himself; he’s here to play and to try and bring championships to this club in Vancouver.”
What that shows, though, is that if there was any doubt that Müller would perhaps consider coasting when he came to Vancouver, that can be quickly put to rest. His own play in this final speaks for itself in that regard.
“He can’t play any other way than the way he played; he was so engaged, he wanted to make sure that everybody was focused and on top of things, and he drives himself forward along with his teammates,” Sørensen continued. “That’s why he has the number of trophies that he has now, and why he’s been chosen to play in (so many big games), because coaches know that he won’t just bring something himself, but he’ll also make sure that those around him are focused and clear of what’s ahead.”
Of course, for the Whitecaps, it’s not as if Müller came in and single handedly won this final, though.
This was still a very good Whitecaps team before his arrival, and while his signing has seemingly elevated them to becoming an even better one, they’re a strong group with impact contributors across the board.
The moment @whitecapsfc became TELUS #CanChamp champions for the fourth year in a row 🥳🏆 pic.twitter.com/tfJChY6ZzZ
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
One such contributor? Ryan Gauld, who, before Müller’s arrival, had been the figurehead of this team for the past few seasons, pushing them to another level since joining in 2021.
Unfortunately, he’s not been able to enjoy the Whitecaps' growth in 2025 as much as he’d have hoped, having been out since March with an injury, but there’s no doubting his importance to this group despite his absence.
It’s a credit to the growth of the Whitecaps under Sørensen that Gauld’s absence has mostly been a forgotten story - in past seasons, it might’ve been the main one - but there’s no doubt that the Whitecaps are better when he’s in the lineup.
Because of that, the last 10 minutes of the game will have been quite special for the Whitecaps, as Gauld stepped onto the field for the first time since suffering his injury on this same BC Place turf all the way back in March.
Already a feel-good story, as it allowed Gauld the feeling of playing in a final and lifting another trophy while kick starting his return to action, Gauld just happened to add his own twist to the story in the 83rd minute, slotting home a goal to cement his team’s victory, putting the cherry on top of a special night for his side.
“It feels almost as good as winning this cup,” Ahmed said of Gauld’s return. “He's a great guy, so you feel for him. He's been out for a long time while we’ve been having fun, so we’re happy to have him part of it and have him as we go chase the next one.”
GOAL 🔵🔵🔵🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
IT JUST HAD TO BE. Ryan Gauld scores on his return from injury to seal the Voyageurs Cup title for @WhitecapsFC 🏆🏴
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/CRRvA9JAkJ
Having received a rapture of applause when he came on, it was a moment Gauld won’t soon forget, and for good reason, as it marked the light at the end of what’s been a long tunnel for him this season.
“It was nice to hear that recognition, and to add a goal to that was really nice,” Gauld said. “But more importantly, this is all about the work these boys have put in the whole season, and it's nice to have a trophy to show for that. Hopefully, now there'll be more trophies in the future.”
Speaking of Gauld’s last point, though, that’s the big sentiment the Whitecaps seemed to emit at the end of this final - they’re hoping it’s the start of what’s to come.
In their past three Canadian Championship triumphs, there was a feeling that those wins were the pinnacles of the Whitecaps' seasons, a sentiment that’s justified by the fact that they were then unable to follow it up with success in the MLS Cup playoffs, for example.
This year, though, it feels like this trophy is just the start of what the Whitecaps are aiming to achieve. After falling short in the Concacaf Champions Cup final back in June, they believe they can make a deep run in the MLS Cup playoffs this fall, helping erase the pain of past heartbreak.
Therefore, while this latest Voyageurs Cup trophy is a moment worth celebrating for the Whitecaps, marking an important milestone in what has been a very long season to date - they’re hoping their campaign doesn’t end anytime soon.
The @WhitecapsFC lift the Voyageurs Cup trophy for the fifth time in their history 🏆🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/ji7EcgZxIA
Just look at Müller’s comments from after the game - despite being minutes removed from having lifted that record 35th trophy, he was already looking ahead to the next one, giving a small glimpse into the mentality of a serial winner.
One can only imagine how that mentality can now rub off on his teammates - certainly, in a final like this, they showed glimpses of it, and will look to show more as they now chase the bigger goals they themselves have spoken of.
“It’s very good to get this winning feeling, to confirm that we can sustain ourselves in tough moments,” Müller said of this Voyageurs Cup win. “I know that the Canadian Championship, we’ve now won it four years in a row (...) but you still have to finish the job.”
“That’s always a good feeling to confirm for yourself and your teammates that you can figure out how to do that, and I hope in this last chapter of our season, it gives us the feeling that we can get something bigger.”
“I think in the last few years, the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs was always the last stage for us, so we want to go further now.”
