Words: Chirag Sharatkumar

All Image Credits: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Last year, Jeevan Badwal made a little bit of history. At just 19, the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder became the first Canadian-born South Asian player to score in Major League Soccer. Not too shabby for a kid from Surrey. Not that Surrey, you fools—Surrey, British Columbia, from the great sporting nation of Canada. 

Since that brilliant start, things haven't really slowed down for Jeevan. There's been an MLS Cup-final showdown with Lionel Messi and about half a dozen other Barcelona legends, a call-up to the most Canadian of off-season training camps—Camp Poutine—and the small matter of scoring yet another sensational goal, one of many, we're quite sure, against the Seattle Sounders last week. 

Ahead of the Whitecaps' annual Vaisakhi match against the Portland Timbers this weekend, we caught up with Jeevan to talk about his journey through the Whitecaps academy, being a South Asian role model, what it's like losing a final, the Punjabi-Surrey community, why Seattle keeps ending up on the wrong side of his highlight reel, and loads more. Crack on. 

What was it like breaking through the Whitecaps academy into the first team? 

It was a complete game-changer for me. The level is so different. In the academy, you can dominate, but that doesn't always mean much because the first team is a whole different game—playing with professionals, adapting, and just working hard. In the academy, one of the hardest things is seeing other players go ahead of you. Seeing guys get opportunities that I didn't get was tough, but you have to stay humble and keep pushing. 

And for me, Paul bhaiya (brother) from Surrey has helped me for a long time. I still train with him in the off-season to this day. He was in my shoes years ago, but didn't have the resources to go as far, and now he does so much for the community and for players like me trying to get better. 

South Asian kids are often encouraged toward more stable routes like school, rather than sport. Was that something you felt growing up? 

It wasn't really that much pressure for me. I'm lucky because I have great parents, and my relatives and the whole Surrey community have helped me a lot along the way. Even now, I'm still in school and doing it online. I think if you do well in school, you'll do well in sport; it balances out like that. Right now, my mornings are usually for school stuff, and then later on, I'm at training.

Even just seeing these players—Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, Busquets, Suárez—was unreal. I used to watch them on TV, and now I'm sharing the pitch with them. I think I'll look back some years later and think, "Wow, I was in a final against those guys." 

What was your family's reaction as you went closer to turning pro? 

Oh, my mom was the most excited. From the beginning, she's been one of the main people behind all of this. She drove me everywhere, as any mother would for their kid, but she's just done so much for me.  My dad wasn't as excited. For him, it was always about staying professional and thinking about how I could go even further. My parents balance each other out really well that way. 

Now I also see my younger brother Manav following the same path, and I see a lot of myself in him. I'm really happy to help him, and he can always look up to me. Hopefully, he'll become better than me, and maybe we'll even play for the Whitecaps together someday. 

You're one of the first prominent South Asians to ever play in the MLS. What does that mean to you? 

That's crazy to me, man. Representing the South Asian community in MLS is an amazing feeling. There aren’t many of us, and being one of the first is unreal. For me, it's just about showing people that it's possible. If I can do it, why can’t someone else? It's a big burden, but I'm lucky to have the community behind me.  

You also see so many South Asian kids with talent at the grassroots level, but where does it go?  Somewhere along the way, they fall off. I got lucky in that sense because I've always had supportive parents and older players from Surrey who maybe didn't get as far to help me along the way. But there's so much ability out there in our community, and I just hope my journey can spark something and make kids believe they can do it too. I'll try to be the best role model, and hopefully, the next generation ends up being even better than me. 

You ended last season as Western Conference champions and reached the MLS Cup final. Even though the result against Inter Miami didn't go your way, what was that whole run like for you personally? 

The experience was awesome! Going into my first season with the first team and being part of that run was amazing. Winning the Western Conference and going all the way to the final was incredible. Obviously, losing it sucked, but even just seeing these players—Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, Busquets, Suárez—was unreal. I used to watch them on TV, and now I'm sharing the pitch with them. I think I'll look back some years later and think, "Wow, I was in a final against those guys." 

Last year was special, but now we've got a new season ahead, and we're fully locked in on that. We've started well; there's obviously been some ups and downs, but our main goal is to get to the final again and win it this time.

Earlier this year, you were called up for the CANMNT's off-season training at Camp Poutine. What was it like stepping into that environment for the first time? 

Man, it was so cool! Getting the call from Jesse [Marsch] was awesome. I was ecstatic, and my parents were so happy too. It was amazing being around players from different clubs and learning about Jesse's methods and how he wants Canada to play. He's a great coach, super excited, always on the go, and he's always trying to get something out of you, whether you're on the pitch or not.  

It helped me a lot going into the season, too, because the things Jesse was telling me were the same things Jesper [Sørensen] has been telling me at the Caps. Two good coaches telling you the same things must mean you're doing something right, so now it's just about going into the season full blast. 

You scored a stunner against Seattle in the Concacaf Champions Cup last week. When you hit a ball that cleanly, do you know straight away it's going in, or are you still hoping a little bit? 

Haha, it depends on the person. For me, I'm just hoping and watching the ball. There's so many good goalies and defenders out there that something can still happen at the last second. Even my goal against Seattle, Stefan [Frei] got a hand on it, but I hit the sweet spot and thankfully managed to pick out the corner. 

What do you hope the next few years look like for Jeevan Badwal? 

One of my biggest goals is to play for Canada. I've played for the youth teams already, and in the off-season, but the dream is, hopefully, to go to the World Cup one day. Representing Canada—especially being from Surrey—would be huge for me and for the community. 

Another goal is to play in Europe. Maybe the Premier League, which is obviously one of the best leagues in the world. But honestly, every league in Europe is top, and it would be a great challenge and something I'd love to experience.