VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Vancouver Whitecaps announced the dismissal of coach Vanni Sartini on Monday, just over two weeks following the team’s exit from the MLS playoffs.
Sartini’s firing marks the tenth change in coaching within the MLS since the commencement of the 2024 season. He initially stepped in as interim coach in August 2021 after Marc Dos Santos left, and he was officially appointed head coach that November.
This past season, Vancouver recorded a balanced performance with 13 wins, 13 losses, and eight draws. The team managed to impress in the postseason by defeating Portland 5-0 in the play-in match but ultimately succumbed to Los Angeles FC in a three-game first-round playoff that concluded on November 8.
Expressing his sentiments, CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster remarked, “My urgency to effect change is undeniable. I needed to make a professional decision to provide the greatest impact and facilitate our advancement.”
Sartini, 47, hailing from Florence, Italy, concluded his tenure with an overall MLS record of 44 wins, 40 losses, and 32 draws, while in all competitions, he tallied 57 wins, 51 losses, and 39 draws. He began his journey with the Whitecaps as an assistant in 2019 before taking over the under-23 team in September 2020.
His time as head coach was not without controversy; he faced a six-game suspension at the beginning of this season, a $20,000 fine, and was mandated to complete a league-endorsed behavioral assessment. This penalty stemmed from remarks he made against referee Tim Ford after a season-defining playoff loss, where he joked about being a suspect if something were to happen to the official.
The Whitecaps have yet to secure an MLS championship since their inception in 2011, with their most significant playoff achievements seeing them reach the quarterfinals in 2015 and 2017. However, they managed to clinch their third consecutive Canadian championship, overcoming Toronto with a penalty shootout victory after a 0-0 draw.
Schuster added, “I took considerable time to arrive at this decision, and it was not made lightly.”
This season has seen numerous coaching changes across various teams, including Nashville’s Gary Smith on May 16, Atlanta’s Gonzalo Pineda on June 3, Dallas’s Nico Estévez on June 9, and several others, culminating in Miami’s Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s departure on November 19.
New appointments have included B.J. Callaghan for Nashville on July 3, Gregg Berhalter for Chicago on October 8, Nico Estévez for Austin on October 25, and Bruce Arena for San Jose on November 7.