Mexico trip is all about attitude and altitude adjustments
Friendlies south of the border offer Reds an opportunity to implement tactical changes
Toronto FC returned home from Los Angeles on Sunday, but it wasn’t long before the Reds were off again, headed to Mexico on Tuesday for more pre-season training.
The time in California gave the Reds the chance to get outside and work on their fitness, talk about the principles by which they are looking to play this year and make such everyone is on the same page, coach Greg Vanney said on Monday.
In Mexico City, where the Reds will play matches against Liga MX squads Club America, C.F. Pachuca, and Cruz Azul as well as a local team, Vanney plans to up the ante.
“Now we’ll get a little more specific in some of the tactical things, use the couple of games that we play to hone in on some of those and we’ll start game planning and preparing for Colorado, try to have ourselves in the best possible shape and preparation as we start in a couple of weeks.”
When the Reds face the Colorado Rapids in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League on Feb. 20, they will be battling their Major League Soccer opponent as well as altitude. Mexico City is also at altitude, which Vanney hopes will help the team start the process of adapting before it goes to Denver.
While Toronto brought 39 players to California, fewer travelled to Mexico; 20 to 24 players will get the vast majority of minutes down south.
“Ideally when we hit a season we want all the players to be able to play two matches at 90 minutes so they get a feel of what a long game looks like,” Vanney said.
By travelling to Mexico, the Reds are also preparing for the possibility of a competitive match against a Liga MX side in future rounds of the tournament.
“It’s an experience as much as anything now for the next couple of weeks,” Vanney said.
ROOM FOR MORE: Despite securing abig-name signing in defender Gregory van der Wiel last week, general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said the club still has Targeted Allocation Money remaining. He said on Monday the team is looking to make “one or two more signings to really complete what we’re trying to do.”
HEALTH CHECK: TFC returned from California relatively healthy, with the exception of striker Tosaint Ricketts, who is battling a thyroid issue that kept him out of much of the camp in Los Angeles.
Still, Vanney is optimistic he is on the mend. The 30-year-old Canadian told the coach he is feeling better and his energy levels are balancing out.
“From a doctor’s perspective, we don’t want to push his cardio too hard until we can get him feeling
normal, but I think he’s in process with that and he’s doing a lot better so we’re going to take our time. But he’s moving in the right direction,” Vanney said.
THE TRIAL CONTINUES: The decision on trialist Tsubasa Endoh is going to go down to the wire. The midfielder is doing well, Vanney said, but his future will depend on the team’s internal player count and what role he would play.
“It’s just a matter of where he’ll fit in in the big picture and at what moment and all that kind of stuff,” Vanney said of Endoh. DEALING DOLLARS: TFC announced Tuesday it acquired $225,000 (U.S.) in general allocation money from DC United in exchange for $337,500 in targeted allocation money.