Thomas Muller has denied that the Vancouver Whitecaps have a “loser mentality” and hopes a successful end to the season can help the team enjoy similar popularity in the city as the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
The Whitecaps, who sealed a high-profile move for Müller mid-season after he left Bayern Munich as a free agent, are second in the Western Conference.
They are level on points with leaders San Diego FC, with Saturday’s trip to Orlando City meaning a game in hand.
Should the Whitecaps win in Florida, they will approach their regular season finale against FC Dallas as favorites to become the West’s top seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
But before the Whitecaps won the Canadian championship last week with a 4-2 final victory over Vancouver FC, Muller suggested the team’s fans weren’t demanding success.
Asked to clarify those comments Thursday, Muller told reporters: “You’ve talked about it, or you’ve written it. I haven’t talked about a loser mentality. I haven’t talked about a loser mentality.”
“I said they accept that they don’t win. That’s very different. You make headlines, that’s very nice.”
“It’s not about the teams; it’s more about the people of Vancouver. They may accept that sometimes the Canucks don’t do well, or the Whitecaps. That’s what I mean.”
The Whitecaps have not progressed beyond the first round of the play-offs since 2017 and have never reached the Western Conference finals, and Muller believes that needs to change to raise the club’s profile.
“Who should be the second team in town? We play in the top flight of our sport and we are doing very well this season, so it has to be the Whitecaps,” he said.
“You know, in football we chase the ball for 90 minutes, but in hockey they do it on blades! It’s madness, but beautiful madness. The Canucks look sharp this year, so quick in transition, strong defense, big goals. I’m looking forward to this season! If I wasn’t playing football,… pic.twitter.com/DVEEP9htMu
— X – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 9, 2025
“That’s what I said and that’s what I want to change – to make people more interested in the Whitecaps too.
“The next two games have nothing to do with our playoffs, but we want to keep our seed or get the top seed, and game after game you want to [winning] habit in it.”
Orlando is assured of a spot in the postseason, but Oscar Pareja’s team knows a win this week would put them four points ahead of the eighth-seeded Chicago Fire and keep them from falling into the play-in spots.
The Lions drew 1-1 with the Columbus Crew last time out, but have several players on international duty this week, while the ‘Caps are coming off a 4-1 loss after the San Jose earthquakes.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Martin Ojeda
Ojeda (16 goals) and Marco Pasalic (12) combined to score 28 MLS goals during the 2025 regular season. That’s the most of any Orlando player in a single year, surpassing Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire’s 27 combined goals in 2023.
Pasalic scored the Lions’ equalizer against Columbus last week, but is on international duty with Croatia this week, leaving Ojeda to carry the attacking load.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Sebastian Berhalter
Berhalter recorded his team-high 11th assist of the season last time out against San Jose.
That’s the fourth most assists ever by a Whitecaps player in a single campaign, with only Ryan Gauld (15 in 2024, 12 in 2023) and Pedro Morales (12 in 2014) having more.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Vancouver has avoided defeat in four of their previous five meetings with Orlando (W3 D1), although the teams have not met since a 1-0 victory for the Lions in April 2019.
Orlando has not scored multiple goals in any of the three home games against the Whitecaps, although that has been the case during both teams’ meetings in Canada.
The Whitecaps’ 4-1 win over San Jose last week marked the fifth time they have scored two or more goals in their last six games in MLS.
Vancouver has recorded 18 regular season multi-goal games in 2025, the second most in a single MLS regular season, behind 20 games in 2018.
So entertainment should be on offer as Orlando scored their 60th goal of the regular season last time, bettering their previous MLS record of 59 from last year in the regular season.
All eyes on the Den
https://t.co/1wFE02ba02 pic.twitter.com/7XZCSd6Msq
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) October 10, 2025
Their 119 goals since the start of 2024 rank fourth in MLS, and with eight wins and four losses at home this year (four draws), they are slight favorites.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Orlando city – 42%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 31.3%
Draw – 26.7%
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