Creative Cooper key cog for TFC

Panamanian midfielder’s attacking flair meshes well with Giovinco and Altidore

Before Toronto FC took an interest in summer signing Armando Cooper, the Panamanian midfielder knew little about the Reds.

Most of the information he had gathered came from when his team in Panama, Club Deportivo Arabe Unido, faced Toronto in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2010.

Neither squad advanced through the group stage that year, although TFC did finish ahead of Arabe Unido in the round-robin, besting them by five points.

The run in the major tournament was a highlight in Toronto FC’s decade-long existence, a rare bright spot for the club when it comes to on-field success; it missed out on advancing but just two points.

But by the time Cooper joined the Reds on loan from his second stint at Arabe Unido in late August, Toronto FC had begun to turn things around. They went undefeated in September.

“From the moment (I) got here there was expectations to make the playoffs and then, from there, take it one step at a time,” the midfielder said through a translator Tuesday, four days before his new team takes the field for the MLS Cup final against Seattle Sounders.

That belief was very much in line with Cooper’s own objectives.

“(I) made a personal goal to make it to the Eastern Conference finals and win it.”

The 29-year-old is a large part of the reason the Reds remain in the running to reach its goal.

Although he only played in six of a possible 10 games in the regular season, including four starts, Cooper has solidified his spot in Toronto’s lineup in the post-season, starting every game.

He also has one playoff assist and scored his first goal in a Reds uniform during the second leg of the Eastern Conference final against Montreal Impact.

Cooper has an attacking flair that has served the likes of strikers Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore well since his arrival.

He has cemented his role in the team so solidly that when coach Greg Vanney decided to pull a creative midfielder from the lineup in that game to be replaced by Will Johnson’s more gritty game, he took out Jonathan Osorio instead of the Panamanian.

Cooper credits his varied career — he has played in Panama, Argentina, Romania and Germany, as well as represented his national team — with helping him to adapt to the new side quickly.

And he appreciates that while Vanney expects him to play a defensive role, he’s allowed freedom on offence to open up the attack and find space for himself.

Cooper hopes to impose himself in that role against Seattle, another team he doesn’t know much about. The Reds’ only game against the Sounders this season was a 1-1 tie at home on July 2, long before the midfielder came to town. Cooper’s knowledge of Seattle comes from video and Vanney’s shared insight. He’s OK with that. “(I’m) the type of player who likes to experience things first hand, on the field.”

“(I) made a personal goal to make it to the Eastern Conference finals and win it.” ARMANDO COOPER TFC MIDFIELDER