Vancouver Whitecaps FC are coming off their most thrilling and crucial victory of the 2021 season, and they might have an epic pep talk in the halftime locker room from interim head coach Vanni Sartini to thank for it.
Needing three points as they looked to continue their late-season surge into Western Conference playoff contention, the Whitecaps had their backs against the wall during their Wednesday evening road matchup with the Portland Timbers, finding themselves down 2-0 at intermission.
That's when Sartini gave an inspired speech to his players before they re-took the field where he even predicted the impending comeback, which the Whitecaps shared on their official Twitter account.
Check it out below:
The rest is history, as they say, with the Whitecaps equalizing through goals from Deiber Caicedo and Brian White before Cristian Dajome's 82nd-minute penalty kick sealed the 3-2 victory.
It was some top-level motivational work from Vancouver's interim boss, who has the team cruising since taking over following Marc dos Santos' midseason departure. With Wednesday's victory, the Whitecaps vaulted above the Western Conference's playoff line (into seventh place), one point clear of Real Salt Lake with 43 points from 30 matches.
