Whitecaps: Is Sebastian Berhalter the best (non-Messi) player in MLS?

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If you are looking to name the Vancouver Whitecaps’ biggest star, there is no question it’s Thomas Müller.

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Most important offensive weapon? If it’s not Müller, it’s clearly striker Brian White.

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But if you want to understand how this team really runs, you have to look further back, to Sebastian Berhalter. There is not much shock at this point to know that it’s Berhalter who is the real engine for this high-flying Whitecaps squad.

Since coming to Vancouver four years ago, the 25-year-old American’s improvement has been steady. It’s even felt exponential at times. He arrived as a bit of a dice throw, the son of the American national team coach, a guy who had promised but hadn’t found any kind of role either in Columbus or Austin. He was such a cast off that Austin had no interest in keeping him, even though they were only finishing their first season.

By now, you know the story. He found playing time under Vanni Sartini, got better and better, then took his game to a whole new level in 2025 under Jesper Sorensen. He also became a special player for U.S. national team manager Mauricio Pochettino, who first picked him last summer. Berhalter has since won nine caps and scored a goal in his most recent appearance, a 5-1 defeat of Uruguay last November.

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He has six goals this season, which is the top-line item for him that stands out. But look at all the underlying numbers. He is a long way from the player Sartini leaned on to be a energy player when he first arrived.

Now he is an all-action man. Not only does he have six goals, he has seven assists. He’s a dangerous player at set-piece time, putting all kinds of dips and curves on his free kicks and corners.

Whoscored.com rates him as the best-rated midfielders in the whole league this season — other than Lionel Messi, obviously.

American Soccer Analysis has him at 34 key passes this season — just a handful of peers have done better this year.

On their own, this is all impressive stuff, but then you remember where Berhalter sits during open play: deep in midfield, partnering Andres Cubas in defensive midfield. The duo have proven the perfect partners for Sorensen’s double-pivot strategy.

He is lined up as one, but Berhalter isn’t actually a defensive midfielder. His fitness has him running all over, attacking into the box, creating space in midfield behind the brilliance of Müller.

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On Saturday against San Diego, he had 83 touches on the ball, just behind Triston Blackman’s 84 touches and Edier Ocampo’s 86. The difference was he nailed 91 per cent of his passes.

The Caps don’t defeat San Diego 4-2 without Berhalter driving the play the way he did. Müller and White were at their brilliant best, creating a slew of scoring chances, but it was Berhalter’s work behind them that set all the strings for the attacking duo to pull.

They don’t get to the top of the league standings without Berhalter.

More and more, Berhalter is developing into a poor-man’s Xavi. The Spanish legend ran the midfield for Barcelona and Spain from deep, making key plays all over the pitch and given the freedom to roam forward when opportunity allowed — which in both those teams’ systems was often.

The Whitecaps’ strength under Sorensen has been speed and fitness, essentially running other teams off the pitch both on and off the ball.

Berhalter’s been a marvellous roll of the dice by sporting director Axel Schuster. If you want to understand the kind of player that Schuster has been after since he arrived in Vancouver, it’s Berhalter.

A speedy, focused, high-intelligence player who also sets a standard for everyone around him.

He’s sure to keep playing a big role for the Whitecaps as they chase the MLS Cup.

Oh, and by the way, he needs a new contract.

His story is only going to get louder.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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