Lifting a trophy is even better when it comes at the expense of your rival.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC get that opportunity Wednesday night at BC Place in the 2024 Canadian Championship final (10 pm ET | OneSoccer), with the winner also receiving a 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup spot.
Vancouver can hoist the Voyageurs Cup trophy for a third consecutive season, an opportunity not lost on head coach Vanni Sartini.
"It's a chance to call yourself the best team in the country, so it's a nice game to be in," Sartini said. "For us, the other thing is we won the last two times and it would be a historic thing to do three [in a row].
"In our locker room, we have a list of all the trophies in the history of the club. We're very proud when we see something that we contributed. That would be fantastic to have another one."
Toronto won the Canadian Championship four times from 2016-20 and have a tournament-record eight titles. However, TFC have fallen on hard times as of late and are trying to recapture their glory days.
"We've got a chance to get out there tomorrow night and do what these fans have been waiting for since 2019-2020," said Toronto head coach John Herdman. "It's been a while since we've got a trophy and gave our fans something to really celebrate about.
"But also it's a ticket into Concacaf. It will get you that next level of opposition, which is important for this group's evolution. ... The message is clear: It's a cup final, it all gets left out there – everything."
With stars like Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, Toronto have the firepower to win silverware in Herdman's first season.
"These are men that are used to winning," Herdman said of his Italian forwards. "They've put themselves [in position] tomorrow night to give themselves a chance to have some silverware for the fans, for the city and for themselves."
Vancouver bring plenty of quality, too. Brian White and Ryan Gauld remain highly productive in the final third, and new DP midfielder Stuart Armstrong continues to settle in.
With a trophy, continental berth and bragging rights on the line, a rivalry resumes.
"If we stick to our game plan, have no complacency, leave our egos behind and fight, I think we'll have a good chance of winning," said Vancouver wingback Ryan Raposo. "We have the quality, we have the depth to win."
Toronto are also chasing some revenge from earlier this season, when they lost 4-0 at Vancouver in early April.
"It's a final and we're up for it," said Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio. "We're going to bring everything and the team that shows up better will win."
