Kicks could come in record-setting cold
Toronto FC, Rapids will be facing frigid temperatures in Champions League tilt
Sebastian Giovinco exited the dressing room, took a few steps and did what his teammates likely wanted to do: He headed back inside as temperatures dropped to -9 C in the Denver area.
The Atomic Ant told a TFC staffer he’d be back for the start of pre-match training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. He didn’t want to knock the ball around before training, not before he had to.
“It’s like playing in f---ing Siberia,” another TFC player said as he entered the pitch.
Not quite.
Irkutsk, Russia, is forecast to be four degrees colder than Commerce City, Colo., on Tuesday night.
Still “insane,” according to one CONCACAF official who took in training.
Depends who you ask, apparently.
Michael Bradley said things were “good” as he exited the snow-covered field.
One of his teammates halfjokingly replied, “It’s not good” as he followed his captain into the dressing room.
The consensus: It’s less than ideal to play in near-record lows atop a nearly frozen field.
“There’s nothing any of us can do about it,” Bradley said ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League round of 16 fixture against the Colorado Rapids.
“We’ve waited a long time for our chance to get back at it and play in this competition. We’ll do everything we can to make sure we’re warm and stay warm, but it is what it is.”
Game-time temperatures could plummet to -10 C, making it the coldest game ever played between two MLS teams. A wind chill factor approaching -15 C will force players to don leggings, gloves and multiple long-sleeve shirts beneath kits to stave off the frigid conditions.
“I’m not sure there’s any team in MLS that has played in as many big games in cold weather the last few years as us,” Bradley added. “In a lot of ways we feel comfortable.”
Nobody else will. Postmedia has learned just 3,000 tickets were printed for Tuesday night’s opening leg. Of those, approximately 1,000 are expected to be used by Colorado supporters who will dress in as many layers as a Mount Everest summit team.
“One thing I caught at the end (of training) as guys were shooting was the balls started to get a little harder,” coach Greg Vanney added.
“It stings a little bit to put your foot through the ball as the ball gets a little bit frozen.”
Asked if extreme conditions could limit anyone’s inclusion in Tuesday night’s opener, Vanney said there isn’t anything from his standpoint that would keep anyone out.
While Gregory van der Wiel (awaiting the birth of a child with his girlfriend) and Chris Mavinga (abdominal strain) didn’t make the trip, TFC’s big guns, regardless of the weather, are expected to play.
“Once the game goes and the adrenalin starts pumping and guys start running around the field and it’s active and you immerse yourself in the game, some of that stuff can drift to deep in the mind,” Vanney said in an interview.
“But I don’t have an answer if it gets to -15 C because I’ve never played in that.”
The question, though, is whether playing in sub-zero temperatures and spells of snow is better than playing in Central America. Were the Reds fortunate to avoid facing Costa Rica’s Saprissa or Herediano in the opening stage of this tournament?
Was the draw “favourable?” “Yes and no,” Bradley said. “In terms of the round of 16, you could make the argument that it was favourable in terms of us avoiding the travel and conditions and everything that gets associated with playing in Cen- tral America.
“Obviously conditions here aren’t going to be simple. And we’re playing a team that had a terrible year last year and a new coach and a team that has a lot to prove. We understand the challenges that come along with that.”
But Bradley was quick to point out the draw wasn’t so “favourable” if you consider who the Reds or Rapids could meet in the Champions League quarterfinals.
“Whoever wins between us and Colorado is going to have to play (Tigres), the best Mexican team over the last three, four, five years. And it’s not even close.”
The idea of meeting a Mexican giant brought back memories of previous TFC runs through the Champions League — including games against the Galaxy and Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna.
“It’s made for some incredible nights over the last few years,” Bradley said.
“It’s hard not to think about what BMO could be like on a Tuesday or Wednesday night in April if we can take this thing down to the wire.”
They’ll have to “earn the right,” as Bradley put it, by knocking off the Rapids in what was mistaken Monday for “Siberia.”