STRIKING DEVELOPMENT
Canadian Ricketts steps in to lead TFC attack as conference showdown starts . . . he knows the score
Tosaint Ricketts can’t put a finger on the last time he was afforded the security he feels at Toronto FC.
“I don’t even know,” the 30-year-old Canadian striker said Monday. “I never really had that stability throughout my whole career, which is tough on a player, but it kind of moulded me into the man I am today.”
On Tuesday night in Columbus, he’ll be the man leading the attack in the opening leg of the MLS Eastern Conference final against the Crew. Focused and confident — and raring to get back on the field after a 16-day break — Ricketts doesn’t come across as someone who usually plays third fiddle behind Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, both serving one-game suspensions for infractions in their semifinal win over the New York Red Bulls.
Bearing the responsibility in high-pressure situations isn’t foreign to the Edmontonian. Ricketts has weathered his share of bumps throughout a professional career that has included stints in Turkey and Romania — where, on top of the stress of performing, there were concerns about whether he’d even be paid.
That desire for security was part of the reason why TFC was able to work out a deal with the striker, who would likely have racked up more than 1,003 regularseason minutes on a team that didn’t already boast two of the best strikers in Major League Soccer.
“That was one of the reasons he was really intrigued about coming back to Toronto — coming back to Canada and MLS — to try to find just some stability, to try to find the joy for playing the game again,” said Reds coach Greg Vanney.
“A lot of times you can end up in some other countries, in Europe or different places, and be bouncing around from club to club.
“It’s not as stable sometimes as people think it is, or great as people think it is. It’s easy sometimes to lose a little bit of your identity or passion for what it is that you do.”
In some ways, Vanney added, the striker took a risk by returning to Canada. Ricketts agreed to a base salary of just $63,000 U.S. in 2016, according to the MLS Players Union — what players just starting out often make. After featuring in17 games and scoring five goals last season, including two in Toronto’s playoff run to the MLS Cup final, he signed a new deal in February that nearly tripled his salary.
His game has grown along with his earnings, chipping in four goals and an assist despite role-player minutes.
“He’s been incredibly positive and he works hard every day, and I think he’s added little things to his game,” Vanney said. “I think at the age of 29, 30 you don’t change your game. You just maybe add little nuances to your game that you can sharpen up . . . I think he’s done a good job of doing that over the last year, year and a half.” Ricketts agrees. “Seizing the opportunity, seizing that chance,” he said. “You may only get one chance in a game and putting that chance away. I’ve gotten a lot better at doing well with that one chance I get.”
Ricketts, who will likely play just slightly ahead of midfield Victor Vazquez in Toronto’s attack on Tuesday night, will be getting his first chance of the post-season after remaining on the bench throughout the two-leg semifinal against the Red Bulls.
While Altidore is a burly, physical presence and the smaller Giovinco tends to dazzle with his skills on the ball, Ricketts — the Reds’ quickest player — stretches the field in a way that his teammates can’t, using his pace to cause problems behind backlines.
“It’s a different dynamic than what teams are used to dealing with,” Ricketts said. Toronto FC players remember what happened in the first leg of last season’s Eastern final against the Montreal Impact, when they dug themselves a three-goal hole. In the end, they needed extra time in the second leg — including a goal by Ricketts — to advance.
“Every time we step on the pitch we want to get a result, no matter if we’re home or away,” Ricketts said, adding the club should benefit from last year’s near-miss. “We’re going to go into Columbus looking to get a result.”