York United fans are accustomed to seeing Roger Thompson lead the team out of the tunnel on matchdays, with the bright captain’s armband adorning one arm showing that he is their leader on the pitch, and an integral figure off of it as well. On September 17 at York Lions Stadium, however, Thompson wasn’t the player at the front of the line — that responsibility was given to teammate Max Ferrari.

Ferrari was celebrating a big milestone for the club, becoming York’s all-time record appearance-maker with his 77th game played for the club — a number that has since risen to 78 — and Thompson let him know the day before that he wanted him to be the captain for that match. Since signing for York United (then known as York9 FC) ahead of the 2020 CPL season after stints with League1 Ontario side Aurora FC and the Humber Hawks at the college level, Ferrari has become a fan-favourite and one of the club’s key players, and this was one of the ways they honoured that.

“For Rog to do that is just a great move by a great guy,” Ferrari said a few days after the match. “He’s also been there since the start for me and he’s just been that that big brother figure for me, where he’s always got my back no matter what. For him to do that, and for me to lead the boys out with him in the lineup too, is a special feeling.

“It just felt weird, because I still think of myself as a young player and having been in this league with not as much experience as the other guys, for me to wear the armband — and lining up against Manny Aparicio, a guy that was my captain my first year — was pretty cool.”

Ferrari surpassed York’s former star left back Diyaeddine Abzi when he made appearance number 77, something that he says was special as the pair are good friends. Since he also made that record-breaking appearance at York Lions Stadium, and since he’s a local player, he was able to do so with loved ones in the stands.

“I got to do it in front of my family, friends and teammates I’ve met this year, but also guys that I’ve been with from the start,” Ferrari said. “It was a special moment for me. Obviously, the game didn’t go the way we wanted, but yeah, it was a cool moment for myself.”

As he eluded to, the match itself was one that many York fans will probably want to forget. Pacific FC, led by Aparicio, came away with a 4-1 victory — a comprehensive victory after which Martin Nash called out the team for not being up for it. Nash said that “there was a lot of guys that I felt didn’t make the bare minimum requirements of a professional footballer”. It was a warning that if the Nine Stripes don’t start playing better, they could very well miss out on the CPL Playoffs.

Despite losing 1-0 to Cavalry in the following match — a much better performance from York, but with nothing to show for it — York are still in the playoff hunt with two matches left in the regular season after other results around the league went in their favour. On Sunday, York hosts Atlético Ottawa in the match that will make or break their season. If they win, they’ll move two points above Ottawa, into the fifth and final playoff spot. If they lose, they will be officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Ferrari says that the team will be disappointed with anything less than qualifying for the postseason and a crack at the North Star Cup.

“Since we started the season, since I came back from injury, our goal and my goal as a team and as a player is to make playoffs and go on a run, and nothing other than that,” he said adamantly. “I think it would be a disappointment if we don’t make playoffs and once we make playoffs I know our team and, other teams, they know that we can go on a run.

“We’re a team that we’ve done well against everyone this year and we have the guys, the mentality, the players, to do it and nothing less than a run in the playoffs would be something that I’ll look for.”

Ferrari and York have had just one taste of playoff action in their five-year history, an away game in 2021 at the home of their rivals Forge FC. Woobens Pacius opened the scoring nine minutes into that match, but Michael Petrasso equalised late in the opening half, making the game 1-1 — the score it would stay until the 66th minute when Joshua Navarro restored the Hammers’ advantage.

Noah Verhoeven scored an own goal a few minutes after Navarro’s goal, giving Forge the 3-1 advantage they would hold for the rest of the 90 minutes, and knocking York out of the final four. It was a great season for a young, talented York side, and that game is both a fond memory, and one Ferrari wishes he could go back and have another go at.

“For me that 2021 year, I think I had a really good year, I got to show what I can do, but at the end of the day I had a lot of stuff where I look back on and I wanted to do better, whether that was goals, assists, and results,” he said. “I still think back to that playoff game we played against Forge in Hamilton, losing that game. I think there was a lot left on that field, and guys felt that back coming back to 2022.

“People wanted to prove that we deserve to be back into the playoffs, at the end of the day we didn’t make it in 2022, but that same mindset went throughout the club and we want to prove to people that we’re a playoff team and we can compete for titles here.”

Despite guiding them into the playoffs, the club and head coach Jimmy Brennan went their separate ways at the end of the season, and Brennan was replaced by Martin Nash — the second head coach in York history. While Ferrari didn’t play as much as he would have liked due to injuries, he felt that the new perspectives helped him to continue to grow as a player.

“We had a great guy in Nashy come in, and (assistant coaches) Mauro [Eustáquio] and Barry [Smith], and those guys helped me a lot,” Ferrari said. “Going into it I think I obviously just got unlucky throughout the season with a bunch of injuries, but as a club perspective, as a team perspective and player perspective, you kind of go into it wanting more.

“Last year I think I only played 14-15 games and my goal for this year was to show myself, prove to myself and prove to people that I can get back to what I was and to play the games, and get games, stay healthy, and get results for the team and for me.”

One of his biggest strengths as a player has been his versatility, showing an ability to play at either fullback position, higher up the pitch as a winger on either flank, or in a hybrid wingback role. Being a bit of a Swiss army knife is his specialty, and allows him to stay in the lineup consistently, even if that means not locking down one single position.

“It’s something I adopted right when I came to York, and it was something that was my passion and desire,” Ferrari explained. “I just want to play games at the end of the day and win games, whether that’s playing in my natural role as a winger or learning to play as a fullback.

“This year I’ve played a full time fullback and I’m loving learning it and I’m loving playing. I think I’ve played half the games on the left, half the games on the right — it’s something for me that I’m still learning. It’s my first full year and whether that’s my position moving forward or I go back to the wing, or I’ve got to play somewhere else, it’s something I’m willing to learn and I’m willing to compete.”

Ferrari joined York ahead of the 2020 CPL season. While teams were starting to ramp up their preparations for the new campaign, Covid-19 hit, and many things around the world came to a half, including the league’s second season before it even kicked off. Not wanting to go dark for a full year, the CPL opted to play games inside a bubble environment on Prince Edward Island, which took place from August.

It was there where Ferrari made his professional debut against expansion side Atlético Ottawa, coming off the bench and picking up an assist for fellow debutant Lowell Wright’s goal in a 2-2 draw. Ferrari admitted that he was not as fit as he probably needed to be heading into the season, and said that having a few months to train and work on himself personally was actually a positive thing in the long run.

“Those four months helped me a lot in the sense that I got really fit after seeing a month of York, I realized how consistent you have to be at this level,” he said. “The vets — guys like Manny Aparicio, Chris Mannella, Joe Di Chiara, Mike Petrasso — those guys were really hard on me from the start and that helped me a lot because they knew that I had to be on it, they saw the potential I had and they were really hard on me.

“That time before the bubble was really beneficial for me, where I was running 10 kilometers every day, working out every day and it was big for me, mentally and physically.”

Petrasso is a player that Ferrari has looked up to for a long time, and is proud to now be able to call a close friend of his after four seasons alongside him at York. Ferrari was inspired growing up by Petrasso, after he went to Queens Park Rangers in England after impressing in the Toronto FC Academy and playing several years overseas.

Working with Petrasso, who has taken on a leadership role with the Nine Stripes, has benefitted him on and off the pitch, he said.

“I would say he’s one of the guys I looked up to because he was one of those young Canadians that broke through the scene,” said Ferrari. He’s the best guy, he helped me from day one — whether it was something that I needed to improve on, or noticed I was doing something well, he would always let me know.

“We built a relationship in these past four years where I’d like to call him one of my best friends, so he’s been great for me and I think York’s been great with that from day one with everyone. I can name 10 to 15 to 20 vets that have helped me out and done something.”

Ferrari is under contract for one more year at York after signing a three-year deal in 2021 to keep him at the club through 2024. While he said it’s impossible to not think about the future, and that he does have aspirations of playing at a higher level, he’s focused more on York and his personal development.

“I take that one year at a time,” he said. “I signed my three-year extension in 2021. I always want to prove myself and other people, and whether that’s the next step and moving on or playing for York, I’m that type of guy that I’ll do whatever the coach wants me to do.

“I want to win games. Everyone has the desire to move to the top leagues, so for me it’s getting better every day, and that’s on and off the pitch as a person and as a learner of the game. I would love to push myself and try to reach my goals.”

Still only 23 years old, Ferrari is taking on more of a leadership role with the club, and says he has matured a lot as a player and as a person since signing with the club at 19. He acknowledged that he still has learning to do, and with that will come increased growth to add to the year-over-year improvements he is striving for. Off the pitch as well, he is thankful for the people that make the club tick, and the opportunities they have provided.

“At the end of the day with this club it’s great to see it grow, and getting to know a lot of people behind the scenes and people I would like to say are on the ‘front line’ I guess, coaches and players,” Ferrari said.

“Everyone has been so good to me from the start. For me to to make this 77th appearance, the most in club history, it’s a special moment.”