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For Marc Dos Santos, Saturday’s exhibition soccer game against LAFC at Banc of California Stadium is the definition of a friendly.

It’s his first game against the Black and Gold since leaving the team after one year as an assistant coach under Bob Bradley.

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“It’s a place that is special to me, it’s a place has helped a lot, where I have a lot of friends who treated me very well,” the Whitecaps coach said this week.

“I have not one bad thing to say about LAFC. So it’s exciting to go back and see all of those friends I have there.”

For the players, it will be anything but friendly, as players from both sides will come out studs up, keen to earn their spots in their respective starting 11s. Saturday’s match — a 5:30 p.m. kickoff — will see Bradley field a squad that’s likely to be his Major League Soccer starting lineup on March 3 against Sporting Kansas City. The same for Dos Santos — minus one or two players.

“That’s our last test,” he said. “That’s the game where a lot of players are going to stay longer on the field.”