ENCORING HEROES
It’s far too early to talk dynasty, but Reds might just repeat in market hungry for more
Best not to forget what comes first. What really matters.
So while Toronto FC has clearly set its sights on winning the CONCACAF Champions League this season, a project that began with a round-of-16 win over the Colorado Rapids and continues next week with the first leg of a quarterfinal collision at home against Mexico’s Tigres, going for a second consecutive MLS title matters more.
The Champions League is largely about vanity, about proving that MLS is growing up and the clubs in the Canada/U.S. league are capable of competing with the rest of the region. Mexican clubs have dominated CONCACAF, so beating Tigres would be a huge statement. The big thinkers imagine Toronto FC might win CONCACAF, and then someday be able to put to rest the general belief that Major League Soccer lags far behind the most prestigious European leagues.
Well, that’s way down the road. So far down the road you’d have to squint just to see it at all. Impossible dreams are good and all, as long as you don’t lose sight of reality.
The momentum created by back-toback appearances in the MLS Cup final, and the convincing victory over Seattle to win the title last December, is a very real thing in this town right now. Aside from the most hardcore supporters who have been with the Reds through the worst of times, this is a market still falling in love with TFC.
League play remains the priority of most of those interested in becoming supporters of this team.
About 23,000 fans were on hand Tuesday night for a 0-0 draw with Colorado, with TFC advancing on aggregate. A sellout audience of 40,000, meanwhile, is expected Saturday afternoon at BMO Field when the 2018 MLS regular-season schedule begins with the Columbus Crew in town. Sure, they’re apples and oranges, but both are fruit. If you’d reversed the dates, you’d probably have reversed the crowds as well.
Success in the Champions League would be nice. But another MLS title is what the fans want, and what this team needs to accomplish above everything else. People are talking boldly about a dynasty. The closest to that we’ve seen in this league would be D.C. United, which won three MLS Cups in four years from 1996 to 1999, and made the final the other years. The L.A. Galaxy also won three in four years.
So there’s a great deal of work to be done in Toronto before the dynasty conversation even begins.
That said, becoming a truly dominant MLS team could take TFC places nobody could have imagined back in 2012 when the franchise hit rock bottom. There’s still lots of room for growth in this market. TFC jumped past the CFL Argonauts into the No. 4 slot in the GTA last year, and with baseball’s Blue Jays quite possibly set to take another step back after making the playoffs in 2015 and 2016, there are more fans out there to win.
All the stars are back from last year’s TFC championship team, and we can now say they’re bona-fide stars on the larger Toronto sports landscape. Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco, Victor Vazquez. These are now names that are known to more than just TFC season-ticket holders.
They weren’t all at their best on a soft field Tuesday against an outgunned Colorado squad that delivered a slightly better effort. But it certainly appears this Toronto team hasn’t lost any quality and may be able to simply pick up right where it left off last season when it registered a 20-5-9 record and then swept through the post-season.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has positioned TFC to be one of the biggest spending teams in MLS, and the off-season additions look to be quality talents. Brazil’s Auro, just 22 years old, arrived on loan from Sao Paulo in the off-season and is looking more at home with each outing. Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe, 24, came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute for Marky Delgado on Tuesday and looked immediately dangerous, adding a versatile left foot to the attack.
We’ve yet to see 30-year-old Dutch defender Gregory van der Wiel, who is looking to revitalize his career in North America. He may be the replacement for the departed Steven Beitashour, but others have their eye on that spot as well. It seems clear there’s going to be lots of internal competition within the TFC roster, always helpful for a champion looking to avoid becoming stale, bored or complacent.
Coming off a very short off-season, TFC is remarkably healthy, although it was a concern to see Altidore again clutching his ankle on Tuesday night. Greg Vanney doesn’t have another player quite like the American striker, so keeping him healthy is a priority.
Where is the challenge going to come from? Seattle played TFC in those last two MLS Cups and should be strong again. Everyone’s talking about Atlanta United, which set all kinds of attendance records last season and aggressively added talent in the off-season.
But TFC remains the betting favourite to repeat. Health and focus, more than other clubs, appear to be the obstacles Vanney needs to navigate around. The early start to the Champions League may benefit his team by having given Toronto meaningful competition before the 34-game MLS campaign begins.
You can’t say TFC is the most exciting team in town — not ahead of the Leafs, with all their young stars, and the first-place Raptors have lots of skill and individual talent. This is a city blessed with winning teams right now — did we mention the Argos are reigning Grey Cup champions? — and every team is elbowing for their share of the GTA’s attention.
Toronto FC certainly has a lot of people watching for a post-championship hangover. The team says it won’t happen. They’ll get to start proving that Saturday. Damien Cox’s column appears Tuesday and Saturday