Vancouver Whitecaps FC have named Jesper Sørensen their next head coach, the club announced Tuesday.
Sørensen arrives with 16 years of professional coaching experience in his native Denmark, most recently leading Danish powerhouse Brøndby IF from 2023-24. He is under contract through 2026.
Before his stint with Brøndby, Sørensen took charge of the Danish U-21 national team, as well as FC Fredericia and Silkeborg IF. He also spent time as an assistant at Aarhus GF.
The 51-year-old replaces Vanni Sartini, who was dismissed in late November after three-plus years in charge of the Whitecaps.
"Jesper is known for his competitiveness, adaptability, and leadership, qualities that have proven to bring the best out of both his players and staff," said sporting director Axel Schuster.
"Throughout his career, he has delivered immediate success with his teams, whether that was securing promotion or competing for titles. His ability to improve individual players while also implementing a flexible, high-performing tactical system will be key to our continued growth. Jesper is the right leader to take us to the next level."
Danish pedigree
While in Denmark, Sørensen posted a career coaching record of 99W-74L-55D. He led Brøndby for 73 matches, finishing with a 37W-19L-17D record.
Sørensen also won promotion to the Danish Superliga during his first head coaching stint with Silkeborg in the 2013-14 season.
"I am tremendously excited to join Vancouver Whitecaps FC. It's a wonderful opportunity and I'm very grateful," said Sørensen.
"I'm here to help the team, win football games, as well as work with the players to get them better and we will do it together."
Next step
Last year, Vancouver finished eighth in the Western Conference and ousted Cascadian rivals Portland Timbers, 5-0, in the Wild Card game before falling to LAFC in their Round One Best-of-3 Series. They also won the club's third-straight Canadian Championship title.
Sørensen will have plenty of talent to work with, as the Whitecaps' core roster remains largely intact. Striker Brian White returns for the 2025 season, as does the Scottish midfield duo of Ryan Gauld and Stuart Armstrong. Defensive midfielder Andrés Cubas, center back Ranko Veselinović and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka are other key returners.
Vancouver open their 2025 MLS schedule on Feb. 23 at Portland (4 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). On Feb. 20, they'll enter the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup against Costa Rican powerhouse Deportivo Saprissa.