Reds more than sum of their key parts
Toronto FC-defender Nick Hagglund was peppered with questions this past week about suspensions handed out to star teammates Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, and took one for the team.
“We’re not just three guys,” said Hagglund, with the Reds enjoying an extended break before opening the Eastern Conference final a week from Tuesday. “We’re not just the (designated players) of our team. We’re a whole team, with the coaching staff, and we’re ready to go.”
While the designated-player model has served Toronto well in the three years that Giovinco, Altidore and captain Michael Bradley have been aboard, the perception remains that the Reds aren’t much without them.
Infractions in their Eastern semifinal win over the New York Red Bulls rule out Giovinco, TFC’s leading scorer and league MVP candidate, for the conference final opener in Columbus, while Altidore was also hit with a one-game suspension pending an appeal.
Altidore was assessed a straight red card after an incident with Sasha Kljestan of the Red Bulls in the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms at halftime of last Sunday’s deciding leg. An independent panel handling the appeal has been reviewing video and other evidence, but has yet to rule.
Defender Eriq Zavaleta says that taking designated players away from any Major League Soccer team is bound to change the dynamic, but adds that Toronto FC has had success before without Altidore and Giovinco. He points to a May 26 game against Columbus in particular, where strikers Tosaint Ricketts and Ben Spencer led the line in their place and Toronto came up with a 5-0 win.
“I think there’s more continuity than people understand,” Zavaleta said. “There’s a great spirit within the group, and confidence within the group that no matter who steps on the field that guys are going to do their job.”
Giovinco, Altidore and Bradley have missed 20 games combined this year, because of injuries and international duty — one more than in 2015, but seven fewer than last year. The offence, however, is deeper than ever before.
Giovinco, Bradley and Altidore accounted for 69 per cent of the team’s regular-season goals in 2015, and 45 per cent of their assists in 2016.
This year, they were responsible for just 42 per cent of TFC’s 74 goals, and 22 per cent of 63 total assists — lows for the trio, but three-year highs for the club. The Reds also got goals from a club-record 15 different players.
Goalkeeper Alex Bono echoed his teammates’ sentiments about the outlook for the East final opener: losing Giovinco and maybe Altidore hurts, but any notion that the Reds will falter as a result is “untrue and unfair” to the rest of the lineup. The 23-year-old Bono won’t even refer to teammates who spend most of their time on the bench as “depth” because he thinks they’d be capable starters on other teams.
“We have, for me, the three best (designated players) in the league … but to say that we’re way worse off or that we’re going to be in trouble, I think, is completely wrong,” said Bono.