'It's all about timing' - Vancouver Whitecaps' Brian White on his unexpected journey to the USMNT, his rampant run through MLS and why its OK to be a late bloomer

It's the summer of 2021, and White is enjoying one of the few moments he gets to breathe as a professional athlete. He and the rest of his New York Red Bulls teammates were given the weekend off, which meant the New Jersey-born striker could head down to the Shore with his girlfriend and friends to relax. He returns feeling energized, but he also returns to some information that would change his life: He'd been traded.

After several years right on the fringes of a breakout with the New York Red Bulls, White had been sent to the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was an emotional move for White, as he had spent a large chunk of his life in the Red Bull system. While at Duke, he played for the Red Bulls U-23s in the PDL, winning MVP and Golden Boot honors in 2017. The club drafted him in January 2018, and he spent the next three years playing for both the club's second and first teams, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors after scoring six goals during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

His hopes of playing a big role for his local club all ended after that Shore trip, though, and White can admit now that he didn't really know what to think.

"I came back on a Monday because I was supposed to play with the second team on Wednesday," he recalls. "We had training on Tuesday and I came over to find out that I was being traded to Vancouver. They wanted me to leave on that Friday to fly out there because the team was in Salt Lake at that time, and I was able to get it moved to Saturday.

"It wasn't easy. It's not something I knew was going to happen," he adds. There were no conversations, and I never asked to get traded. It happened out of the blue for me. My girlfriend, we were both living in Hoboken, and I had to explain to her that I had to move to Vancouver in four days, which was a bit of a shock to the system. It's a blessing, though, because one door closed, another door opened, and you get an opportunity to reinvent yourself."

That's exactly what White did upon arriving in Vancouver. Over the last four years, he's gradually evolved into a player who is arguably MLS's most fearsome striker. The keyword there is 'gradual', though. None of this has happened particularly quickly.

After netting 12 goals during the second half of that 2021 campaign, he took a step back in 2022 with just seven in all competitions. 2023 was a return to form, as White netted 20 in 43 games before scoring 16 last season.

"I always had the support of the club, and that meant a lot to me personally," he says. "That helped me get through tough times and learn through those kinds of periods where you're not your best. You still have to have the confidence to try and get out of it."

This season, he is on pace to have his best season yet, with six goals in his first eight games. White may not really want to step into the limelight, but when you score the way he has, the limelight finds you.

A lot of the game's great strikers have signature celebrations. Not White. It's what made the fact that he did the Griddy after scoring the opener against Austin FC so damn funny for those that know him - it was totally out of character.

Prior to the game, White had promised some kids that, if he scored, he'd do it. It took him just 13 minutes to keep that promise.

"It's a pretty popular request," he says with a laugh, "But it's a request I usually deny because I can't really do it."

The thing is, White didn't stop there. He added a second, then a third, then a fourth. By the end of it all, the Whitecaps had won 5-1, and White had made history with a four-goal outburst.

"You see players have breakout games or extraordinary games, and Brian had one today," head coach Jesper Sorensen said after witnessing White's demolition of Austin FC. "You see that occasionally, but not very often."

White is able to recall the goals rather quickly. The first goal felt "frozen in the air", he says. After Daniel Rios' heel flick, the ball just stayed right where he needed it to be. The second was a case of muscle memory and just hitting the ball hard. The third just sat up for him, as did the fourth. Everything just seemed to go White's way over the course of 90 minutes.

He ran out of celebration ideas after that Griddy, because how could he possibly have expected to need four in one game?

"I think after you score the third goal and you see that chances are still coming, you feel a little different," he says. "I just felt like 'Oh, I'm shooting everything' and I knew that everything's going to go in."

Through 13 games in all competitions, White now has 10 goals this season. That includes six in MLS, putting him just behind league-leader Tai Baribo's seven. He's added four in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, too. There were two against Saprissa, one against Monterrey, and one against Pumas. Only Angel Sepulveda and Lionel Messi have more goals in the competition this year, and it's Messi's Miami that will be in White's sights in the semifinal round starting this week.

Miami will no doubt be preparing for White, but he's far from the only one. White may be leading the charge, but he's also just one piece of a Whitecaps team taking MLS by storm.

The Whitecaps often go overlooked by those who follow MLS. Part of it is certainly those late kickoffs, which prevent many on the East Coast from seeing just how good this team is.

"Even my dad can't watch all of the games," White says with a smile.

There's no overlooking them this season, though. The Whitecaps might just be MLS's best tea,m and when you're playing at that level, it has to be acknowledged.

Through nine games, the Whitecaps lead the Supporters' Shield race with 20 points, headlined by a plus-11 goal difference that only Charlotte FC is even within touching distance of. They've made it to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semis, taking down two Liga MX teams, which were favored, on their way. The Whitecaps have also won three consecutive Canadian Championships and, given the dysfunction in Toronto and Montreal in recent years, they're the favorites to make it four this season.

"It's definitely getting us a lot more attention," White says. "The style of play that we've been playing, not just the standings, but I think everyone can appreciate how we play and the quality of players that we have. I think it's exciting for the club and exciting for the fans but, at the same time, it's about doing our business. It's easy to see the power rankings and say, 'Oh, we're No. 1', but that doesn't mean anything, you know what I mean? We felt it didn't mean anything when we were 10, 12, or 14, so it doesn't mean anything now. I think we just have a great group that is so determined to put the Vancouver Whitecaps on the map."

Jesper Sorensen has become a catalyst for the Whitecaps since taking over as manager this offseason from the beloved Vanni Sartini. Sartini laid the foundation that turned the club into a perennial playoff contender, but under Sorensen, the Whitecaps appear poised to take the next step - especially with White in top form.

“He will, most of the time, be measured by his goals, but for me, that’s not the key measure I will put on him," Sorensen said of White earlier this month. "He creates a lot for his teammates. He’s always a threat to the opposition and also opens up space for other players."

White leads the way with those goals, of course, but he has plenty of help. Four Whitecaps players already have multiple assists, headlined by Jayden Nelson's four. Ten different players have already found the back of the net this season for this surging Whitecaps group.

"I think, for a number of years now, if you talk to guys that have come into the team or guys who have left, they can't speak highly enough about the club," White says. "We have a really good group. Everyone's bought into the gameplan we want to implement, the ethos, the style of play. Everyone enjoys that style. When we keep the ball, we attack with numbers. When we lose it, we go to win it again. It's a fun way to play, and everyone's bought into it and, when you win games early on, you start flying and that momentum just snowballs."

It's snowballed White right into the USMNT picture, taking him further than even he could have realistically expected.

Walking into the USMNT's annual January camp, White was in a weird place. On one hand, he was one of the veterans of the group at age 29. As he looked around, he was surrounded by a group of youngsters with far less experience than him. On the other hand, though, White was incredibly nervous as he hoped to earn his second USMNT cap.

His first came at the 2024 January camp, with Pochettino now in charge, this one was different.

"There were definitely nerves," he admits. "You want to impress. This is an opportunity to show your game and prove that you deserve a chance to be with the national team for the Nations League, qualifiers, or Gold Cups. So, yes, going into it, I was a little bit nervous, but they're such a great staff that they make it all feel really easy, even if everything on the training field is so intense. You see the level and the demands that they want from players, so you know what you need to do to earn another shot to get back in."

White certainly took his chance. He scored his first international goal against Costa Rica, netting in the 3-0 win. That was enough to earn a ticket to the Nations League, where he joined Patrick Agyemang and Josh Sargent as the strikers. Sargent started the first game, and Agyemang started the second, but with the USMNT chasing a goal against Canada, Pochettino turned to White to try and get it. It never came, but it was certainly a show of confidence in that 29-year-old striker from the USMNT's coach.

"Everyone wants to play in big games for the national team, real meaningful games," White said. "To be involved in the Nations League was great. Obviously, it didn't go the way we planned, but it felt special to be a part of games that really had some meaning."

There are more meaningful games on the horizon. The USMNT will reconvene for the Gold Cup this summer and, after those Nations League defeats to Panama and Canada, it'll feel more important than ever. And then, of course, there's a World Cup a year away. All players will have an eye on that.

For strikers, your USMNT eligibility is almost solely defined by goals. Right now, few are scoring at the rate White is and, if he can keep doing that with Vancouver, the 29-year-old's unlikely rise to the national team might just continue.

"For me, it's all about how well I can play for the Whitecaps," he says. "How can I help my team win? Whatever happens outside of that, great, but I'm enjoying my time here. This is my fourth year here, and it's become like my second home. I love this team, love the city, and I'm enjoying my football and whatever happens outside of that happens."

On Thursday, the Whitecaps take on Inter Miami in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. Despite falling short in the playoffs last year, Miami has been a buzzsaw in 2024. Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba - it’s a roster of icons, and they’ve steamrolled most of MLS.

But the Whitecaps have White. And while that may sound odd when stacked up against names like Messi and Suárez, right now, it’s true. Brian White is in the form of his life, and with him leading the line, Vancouver has every reason to believe it can compete.

"Not only is it Miami, but it's a semifinal of the CONCACAF Champions Cup," White says. "It's an opportunity to go play for a trophy, and that's what everyone plays for. You want to play in championship games and win trophies, but it's obviously a really tough test with Miami and the players they have. It's a chance for us to prove where we're at as a team. It's going to be exciting for the city to come and see this game. Hopefully, it can be a special experience."

Nearly everything has been special for White lately - the USMNT buzz, the four-goal game, the deep Champions Cup run, and now this matchup with Messi and Co. It’s the kind of moment he dreamed of back when he first packed his bags for Vancouver. A life the 20-year-old college kid from Duke couldn’t have imagined as he searched for his identity on and off the field.

In many ways, everything has changed. White has matured into a standout striker - once overlooked, now undeniable. He’s catching eyes across North America and scoring against just about everyone.

But in some ways, nothing has changed. The spotlight hasn’t altered him, and it won’t. After years of hard-earned growth, White knows who he is, who he isn’t, and - more than ever - who he can be. He’s ready for whatever’s next.

"I'm just a normal guy who loves playing soccer," he concludes. "There's nothing about my game that's particularly flashy, and I think that's kind of a representation of who I am. I just love playing soccer and hanging with my boys on the team. I'm just enjoying the life that I've got right now."