Reds put on ice?
Abysmal playing conditions could hurt TFC in Champions League tilt
Hell hasn’t frozen over. But BMO Field has. Regardless, “a game will be played” here Tuesday night.
Chivas couldn’t have expected such miserable conditions — centimetres of every kind of frozen precipitation — upon arriving here Saturday.
The team has been stuck indoors at the BMO Training Ground as TFC’s embattled groundsmen work tirelessly to prevent BMO Field from turning into a potato patch.
It certainly adds another layer to a Champions League final that TFC’s upper echelon has billed as the biggest “moment” in club history.
Unfortunately, TFC’s “moment” arrives at a time when pitch conditions could benefit the visitors.
Coach Greg Vanney speculated to the Toronto Sun weeks ago that some of Sebastian Giovinco’s frustrations stem from his inability to “get places” on a mushy surface.
“There are some challenges out there on the field that are difficult when you’re a smaller guy who needs a lot of turnover to get places. It’s hard to accelerate,” Vanney said.
Players haven’t aired their grievances. They know their frustrations are, for the most part, the result of unseasonable weather patterns that have delayed spring’s arrival — conditions that could level the playing the field on Tuesday.
The Reds, at times, have looked better in possession on the road than they have at home. They need a quality surface to play out of the back and connect passes and get Giovinco and Victor Vazquez involved.
Chivas, on the other hand, is akin to the New York Red Bulls, a high-pressing team that anticipates mistakes and turns them into attacking opportunities the other way.
“I think this is going to be a tougher series than people think,” Vanney said following Saturday’s loss in Colorado. “Everyone looks at the last two (Mexican) teams we’ve been able to beat and thinks this series is going to be easier. I don’t think so.
“They’re always going to make the game difficult with the way they play,” Vanney continued. “This Chivas team is very disciplined. They’ll man-mark you. They’ll track you. Long strings of possession aren’t really what teams get against them.”
It feels and sounds like a match tailor-made for Jozy Altidore, whose health remains a concern despite Vanney saying he “couldn’t see” a foot bruise keeping Altidore out of this series.
Altidore has proven paramount in possession and shown an ability to slog through bad playing conditions, shrug off defenders to score in back-to-back series during this competition.
After making 10 lineup changes in the loss to Colorado, Vanney appears to have a full complement of players to chase a first-leg result before heading to Mexico for the third time. Vazquez could be held out of the lineup if Vanney goes with three at the back.
“I think they’ll try and get tight to guys and make it difficult for us to keep possession,” Vanney said. “If things don’t look good, they’ll probably commit fouls and slow the game down — all those things savvy teams do on the road.”
That shrewdness could include attempting to coax TFC’s key players into a booking. Michael Bradley, Altidore and Giovinco will miss the return leg if they’re cautioned.
While the Reds should have a close-to-full complement of players, Chivas enters this final without two key contributors. Starting goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota will miss Tuesday night’s game due to accumulation while veteran defender Jair Pereira received a two-game suspension for choking Red Bulls’ Sean Davis during their semifinal series.
Toronto FC is considering sending a squad of reserves to Houston for Saturday’s MLS fixture while TFC’s first team heads straight to Guadalajara for the return leg.
“I can’t name the team or identify if (I will be in Houston),” Vanney said. “But we’ll do what we have to do ... Chivas is going to be the most important game once this first one is done.”
The first one has set the tone for each one of TFC’s Champions League series.