ROLLING WITH IT
Jozy Altidore says it will take more than a turned ankle to keep him out of next week’s MLS Cup,
Jozy Altidore’s night may have ended prematurely when Toronto FC was crowned MLS’s Eastern Conference champions Wednesday, but the Reds striker was adamant he would be available for next Saturday’s final.
“I’m playing the MLS Cup final, doesn’t matter what the ankle is,” Altidore said immediately after Toronto beat the Columbus Crew1-0 to advance. “You’re not taking that game from me.”
Altidore rolled his right ankle and was pulled from the game in the 68th minute Wednesday, but not before scoring the only goal on a bum leg. The joint was swollen after the game.
“He’s doing OK,” TFC coach Greg Vanney said Thursday. “They’re treating him. I think it’s going to take a day or two just to see, really, how he turns a corner. Obviously he’s a little sore today so we’ll see over the next couple of days. I think it’s going to be tough to keep him back.”
Altidore’s contribution in the East final wasn’t a surprise to his coach. Asked in late October who he thought might turn out to be an unsung hero of the playoffs for Toronto, Vanney predicted a lot of guys would step up, the first being Altidore. “That’ll set the stage for everything that’s going on up at the front part of the field,” the coach said.
Asked a month later what exactly gave him such confidence, Vanney pointed to Altidore’s track record — he scored five goals and added four assists in last year’s playoffs, he had career highs in goals and assists during this year’s regular season, and he now leads the team in game-winning goals in 2017.
The coach also saw a change in the striker following the United States men’s national team’s failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, despite Altidore saying on Wednesday that what happens in Toronto has nothing to do with his international duties.
“I thought he came back and, once he got himself on to the next thing, that there was just going to be a different motivation to win this now and to make a statement,” Vanney said, calling the striker “unstoppable” when he uses his strong and powerful play to his advantage.
The only statement Altidore made off the field Wednesday was his plan to play next weekend, driven in part by an obsession to repay the Reds’ fans faith.
“This city means a lot to me,” he said. “I came here, I didn’t know what to expect. I’m sure a lot of people didn’t know what to expect from me . . . I think it’s a beautiful love story because I fell in love with the city and I think the fans have fallen in love with me. I hope it’s the last club I play for.”
The love the fans have shown Altidore and captain Michael Bradley, also a member of that American national team, is a far cry from the frosty reception the pair has received south of the border.
Vanney pointed to a moment in the first half of the Columbus match that saw Bradley make a recovery tackle on Crew midfielder Justin Meram that, the coach said, “saves us in that moment.”
“I think maybe 15 seconds later the crowd is chanting, ‘Michael Bradley,’ ” Vanney said. “What a special moment for him, to have that support. I know they know they have it in our stadium, but when you get it like that, it’s a reminder and a special thing.”
Vanney wasn’t sure if Bradley heard the personalized chant as he was immersed in the game, but he hoped he had. “For me, I heard it just on the periphery of what I was doing and thought, ‘He needs something like that and that’s a great thing for him.’ ”
Three more Reds’ players felt a little love Thursday when the MLS announced its Best XI for 2017.
The regular-season champions were the best-represented team with striker Sebastian Giovinco, midfielder Victor Vazquez and defender Justin Morrow earning spots. Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United each had two players selected.