VANCOUVER — Ali Ahmed knows his new Major League Soccer contract doesn't mean the hard work has come to an end.
Moving from the Vancouver Whitecaps' development squad in the MLS Next Pro League to the first team this season is simply a new beginning for the 22-year-old Canadian wingback.
“Just because I made the jump, that doesn't mean it's time to sit back and relax," Ahmed said. "Of course, I'm trying to absorb everything I can and learn. But you always want to fight for a spot.”
Ahmed is one of three former Whitecaps FC 2 players who signed MLS deals with Vancouver in November after getting a taste of the first team last year.
When positive COVID-19 tests swept two goalkeepers from the lineup for a road game against Charlotte FC last May, then-17-year-old Max Anchor was called up from the development team to make his MLS debut.
"It was really surreal," he said. "Everything happened so fast that I didn't really have a moment to, like, take a breath and take it all in.
"But after the game, I sat on the pitch, I FaceTimed my family. And that's kind of the moment where I was like, ‘Wow, that just happened.’ … And kind of had all the emotions flowing.”
Striker Simon Becher shone in his lone appearance for the 'Caps on Aug. 5, coming on in the 82nd minute of a matchup with the Houston Dynamo and scoring just six minutes later. Vancouver went on to win 2-1.
“That day was what you dream of. Not only (making) your debut, but scoring in your debut," Becher said. "I can't count how many times I played that out in the front yard with my little brother.”
After being selected 16th overall by Vancouver in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, Becher starred for Whitecaps FC 2 last season, tallying eight goals in 22 appearances.
Playing for the development team was an ideal springboard from college soccer into a pro career, said the 23-year-old Saint Louis University alumnus.
"It went a long way to help me be comfortable so that when that moment came, I wasn't really focused on the nerves of it, I was focused on playing how I can play," he said.
A solid second team is key to the MLS squad's success, said Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster.
Clubs across the league succeed one of two ways, he said: signing superstars, like last year's MLS Cup winners Los Angeles FC, or growing their own, like the Philadelphia Union have done.
"I see us more on the path of Philadelphia building our franchise than on the path of LAFC," Schuster said.
"If you want to be a developing club, that doesn't happen overnight. You have to build that step by step. And then you also need some proof that some players really do the step to provide an example to the next player that you want to sign. And I think we have done a few steps."
The connection between the development team and the first team is one that the 'Caps need to continue building, the sporting director said.
The MLS Next Pro squad is only one year old and, while it's good to see there's already players making the jump to the first team, there's still work to be done.
“This is the best way to develop players, to have them close by to show them the path and then to make them also very clear that this platform is meaningful and that they have to perform on that platform for that reason," Schuster said.
The Whitecaps are in for a busy 2023 campaign, playing not only in MLS, but in the new Leagues Cup, which features MLS teams and squads from Liga MX. They'll also look to defend their Canadian Championship title and, after winning the tournament last year, compete in CONCACAF Nations League.
The extra games will require extra bodies — and that could give Becher, Anchor and Ahmed a chance to shine.
“When there’s an opportunity, I want to be there to seize it," Becher said.
"So I think that's the mindset going into the year: be as comfortable as I can be, as fit, be ready, understand the system and what they want from me, so that if there is an opportunity, I'm prepared to take it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2023.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
