The 2019 season could not have gone much worse for the Vancouver Whitecaps and newly appointed head coach, Marc dos Santos. Last in the Western Conference, only 37 goals scored, the second-worst points total and goal difference in the entire league. It did not paint a positive picture of what was to come.
And then Vancouver produced another lacklustre display in the season opener, roundly dismissed by Sporting KC. The team promised free-flowing offensive football, high pressing, and lots of chances in the preseason but produced very little of any. Their attacking combinations were improved from 2019, but they were individual moments and not sustained over extended periods.