Cruz Azul embarrass Vancouver Whitecaps in historically lopsided Concacaf final | OneFootball

The Vancouver Whitecaps played at Estadio Olimpico for only eight minutes before they trailed to Cruz Azul in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup final on Sunday night.

By halftime, it was simply a matter of trying to escape a historic venue turned haunted house with a shred of dignity.

When it was mercifully over, Cruz Azul was a 5-0 winner. And what had been one of the most refreshing stories in MLS this season had taken a very dark turn as Vancouver capitulated by the largest margin of defeat in a Concacaf major club final since Club America hammered Cuba's Pinar del Rio 8-2 on aggregate in the 1990 championship series.

The tournament back then was unrecognizable compared to the 27-team behemoth knockout event it has become, one with plenty of storylines, drama, and yes, even unpredictability over four months.

But set a venue still most famous for the unthinkable way in which Bob Beamon shattered the world long jump record in 1968, the match transpired as if Vancouver had taken a quantum leap backward into the late 1990s, where the only way MLS clubs could even think of competing against Liga MX's far more established sides was by hosting the entire tournament on American soil.

It all unraveled quickly

Ignacio Rivero opened the scoring on eight minutes before the onslaught really began with three goals between the 28th and 45th.

Angel Sepulveda scored the middle goal of those three in the 37th, then added a second in the 50th to complete his nine-goal, tournament Golden Boot tally. In the process, he made sure Los Cementeros exceeded the margin of Alajuelense's 4-0 victory over Costa Rican rivals Saprissa in Leg 2 of the 2004 final.

That such humiliation befell a Vancouver side that had given two of the better performances in Mexico in MLS history was cruel. The Whitecaps were exceptional in their 2-2 draw in Leg 2 of their round of 16 clash with CF Monterrey back in late March and showed impressive resolve in reaching the same score in their Leg 2 quarterfinal match against Pumas UNAM. In both cases, manager Jesper Sorensen's men would advance on the away goals tiebreak.

There will be pain

But knife twisting is inherent with this competition, though usually it manifests in excruciating defeats rather than comprehensive ones.

Real Salt Lake and the Montreal Impact lost their final second legs at home after earning draws in the away legs in Mexico. Toronto FC fell short from the penalty spot after reversing a one-goal deficit in Leg 2 of their 2018 final at CD Guadalajara.

Only Columbus' 3-0 defeat at CF Pachuca in a one-game final last season approaches this level of carnage, and in that case, we were led to believe the Crew had dealt with a wave of food poisoning in the match buildup.