Mic'd Up: The former Canadian national team player backed Vancouver for MLS success, but says Miami might have found a groove
Kaylyn Kyle is Canadian and proud. And she finally has something to shout about in MLS. The Whitecaps were supposed to struggle this year. They fired their coach before the season started, and had their star man pick up a serious injury. There are rumors that the team could be sold – and, perhaps even relocated.
So much for all of that. The Whitecaps are among MLS Cup favorites, and after winning the first of their best-of-three opening round series against FC Dallas, certainly look the part.
"It's such a great organization," Kyle, the Apple TV studio analyst, tells GOAL. "The ownership is amazing. The fan support is amazing. And I think that's the one thing is, they've shown up through the good, the bad and the ugly."
Thomas Muller is their star man. The former Bayern Munich forward has taken to MLS more effectively than most would have imagined. With him pulling the strings and grabbing the goals, they have a real chance. But his presence here alone is far more symbolic, Kyle argues.
"He was always going to suit Major League Soccer to perfection, and he's done just that," she says. "He's likable, and the fact that he chose to go to Vancouver tells you everything you need to know. Because no really global superstars ever choose to go to the Vancouver Whitecaps."
Of course, there will be some stiff competition here. Inter Miami made their first game look easy. LAFC will be there. FC Cincinnati look good. But this is the fun of MLS playoffs. They're chaotic. They're unpredictable. But, like with Vancouver, they can also make the unlikeliest of stories come to life.
Kyle discussed the Whitecaps, MLS playoffs and the Canadian men's national neam in the latest edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL taps into the perspective of analysts, announcers and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Getty Images SportON MLS PLAYOFFS
GOAL: MLS playoffs, what have you made of them so far?
KYLE: Home teams are absolutely dominating. Eight of the games that have already kicked off, all eight of the home sides have won in dominating fashion. Also the big stars stepping up in big moments. You know, we've seen Kevin Denkey, we've seen Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller. But it's been very entertaining. So it's going to be really interesting to see how these best-of-three-games series go.
GOAL: Were you expecting that?
KYLE: It was funny. Something like 68 percent of the teams usually win if they do have that home field advantage in the best-of-three series. And then there was an amazing stat. The top four finishers in the regular season in their conference, one of them goes on to win MLS Cup. The last time that a team outside of that was back in 2010, which is insane to think and insane to see. But this is what makes Major League Soccer so funny. Obviously, we saw Inter Miami get knocked out last year by Atlanta United. So anything can happen. But so far, the home team is looking pretty good.
AdvertisementGettyON MLS CUP FAVORITES
GOAL: Let's talk favorites. Cincinnati look pretty good, but who have you got?
KYLE: I don't think that's a bad shout. I have Vancouver, I have LAFC, and I have Inter Miami. I had an LAFC vs. Inter Miami final, but I could also see a Vancouver vs. Inter Miami final. Genuinely, the only thing with Inter Miami against Nashville – I'm interested to see how Nashville do in the second game, because they just played really scared in the opening match. Which I wasn't really ready for, because I didn't think BJ Callaghan would come up with that sort of game plan against Inter Miami. And Inter Miami's defense actually looked good for once, which was weird. I'm really interested to see how that looks going forward.
ImagnON VANCOUVER
GOAL: Talk to me about Vancouver: Is there a little bit of national bias there?
KYLE: It's not even national bias. It's a team that I obviously grew up with, throughout their academy. They took a chance on a small town girl from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, so they have so much love in my heart. It's such a great organization. The ownership is amazing. The fan support is amazing. And I think that's the one thing is, they've shown up through the good, the bad and the ugly.
They win the Canadian championship, but like, they've never really had powerhouses like a Thomas Muller within their squad. Tristan Blackman winning defender of the year. Then you have Ryan Gauld, who's been out injured, but he's back fully fit now. Add Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter, and I think it's a team that finally we can say they have a deep squad. And I never thought I would be able to say those words.
GOAL: With Muller, did you expect him to be this good?
KYLE: He was always going to suit Major League Soccer to perfection, and he's done just that. He's likable, and the fact that he chose to go to Vancouver tells you everything you need to know, because no really global superstars ever choose to go to the Vancouver Whitecaps. There were inklings about Chicago maybe in the mix for him and other teams in Europe, Saudi as well. And so when the news broke, I'm like, no way.
And just speaking with people on the ground in the city, former national team teammates, friends, colleagues, are like, "this city's transformed." And even they opened up the upper bowl, which they never do for games. You see it with the Vancouver Canucks when they've gone on big runs in the playoffs in the NHL, that it just galvanizes the city. And Canadians, we love supporting our sports teams. You look at the Toronto Blue Jays right now in the World Series. It's really, really cool to see, and I really hope they do well. Because I love the manager, I love the players, and obviously I love the city.
ImagnON CANADA AND THE WORLD CUP
GOAL: Lastly, on Canada and the World Cup? What do you make of the prep? And what are your expectations for Jesse Marsch's side?
KYLE: It was interesting, because I've been following them around. I spoke to the manager, and he was like, "If we make it out of our group in a certain situation, we'll end up playing our next two games in Vancouver." So they'll have that home field advantage, which would be huge. I think they're well managed. I think this is the best group of Canadians that we've seen on the men's program.
Now that they've got Qatar kind of under their belt, they have the experience of what it means to play in a World Cup, the different competitiveness of what a World Cup brings. And then obviously having Alfonso Davies back fully healthy and fit will be huge. And then you have, you know, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, the players in that squad that have that European experience and have that World Cup experience. It's going to be brilliant for our Canadian side to see, and I really hope they make it far.