It’s a massive advantage being the underdog, because there's no pressure, especially coming into a huge game.
Tonight (Wednesday, Oct, 1) we are aiming to be the first Canadian Premier League (CPL) team to ever win the Canadian Championship when we take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in the final at BC Place.
Against a team from the MLS not many people are expecting us to win, but without much pressure and only internal expectation you feel a lot more confident and usually play better as a result. Which makes us a very dangerous team coming into this match.
If there's any group that could do it, it's us.
And like our coach Martin Nash said ahead of the semifinal second leg, when we had a 3-1 lead — if we go and try to hold on to the game for 90 minutes, we're going to get killed. That's not the way to go out to any match, especially not a final.
It's a lot of guys' first final, me included.
But luckily enough, we have players who have beaten the Whitecaps in the past, when they were with Pacific FC and knocked them out of the Canadian Championship in 2021. So it's been done before.
Martin Nash has done a very good job at getting us prepared for this game, getting us mentally there, and making sure we're all locked in to seal the deal.
I think for a game like this, a lot of the guys are going to have a lot of motivation and because we have such little pressure on us, everybody's going to be able to go do their thing and give it everything.
This is a local rivalry but two very different leagues and clubs and we are aware we are also representing the CPL in this final, as Canada's domestic league.
We really want people to know what the league and club is about, and how it is creating a pathway and platform for players like myself, to play professionally in our own country, which didn't exist beforehand. This is the league where you can see some of the country's most exciting young and local players, so we are excited to reflect that quality and ambition with our performance.
The club and league has helped me so much to develop my game, being able to go out there each week in a professional environment and not just get to do the good stuff, but the biggest thing for me is that I've been able to make mistakes, and to learn from them. So I'll be forever grateful for this league and for Vancouver FC.
I remember having a conversation this time last year with my teammate Matteo Campagna, when we were both on the bench and not really playing, and even in the stands watching some days. We had a moment of realization, that this needs to be us next year, we need to be the ones people are looking at on the pitch, playing week in, week out. Taking the opportunity that was there.
I think this final is a testament to all the work we've put in to do exactly that – and there's individual stories like that throughout the team – which shows how far we've come. And that includes acknowledging the work put in by our previous head coach Afshin Ghotbi along this journey.
This is the battle to see what colour the city is going to be in the end.
And I think it gives us a chance to turn a lot of their white jerseys into black ones across B.C.
We want to turn them into Vancouver FC fans and to get behind the journey the club and league is on.
So for us to have that exposure Wednesday and opportunity, I think the group has embraced it, and we're ready for the challenge to bring silverware back to Langley.
.
– Thierno Maadiou Bah is a 21 year-old Vancouver FC player, currently having a standout season as one of the best young talents in the Canadian Premier League. In 2022 he was included in a provisional Canada U-20 roster, and has lived in Langley and played for the club for the past two years.
