TFC: New coach Armas likes what he sees in camp, so far
Toronto FC can count on roster continuity and an extended training camp in the buildup to the 2021 MLS season.
While Monday marked the first day most other teams were able to have their coaches and technical staff on field with players, Toronto has been in camp for close to two weeks — granted extra time to prepare for the Canadian Championship final later this month.
New head coach Chris Armas likes what he sees in terms of commitment to his style of play, which promises to be more aggressive and pressing.
“It’s been a great nine, maybe 10 training sessions over the course of two weeks,” Armas said Monday in just his third meeting with media since his Jan. 13 appointment. “It’s a heck of a group to work with.”
Should it get past Canadian Premier League titleholder Forge FC in the Canadian final — the date and venue have yet to be announced — TFC will play Mexico’s Club Leon on April 7 and 14 in a two-legged CONCACAF Champions League round-of-16 series.
The MLS regular season kicks off April 17, with TFC expected to take up residency in the U.S. again due to the pandemicrelated border issues that forced it to finish out the 2020 season in East Hartford, Conn. Florida is the frontrunner as the team’s new base, with Orlando and Tampa possible homes away from home.
Toronto fans will see a familiar group in action wherever the team plays, with 20-year-old Jordan Perruzza, a homegrown forward whose 2021 first-team contract was announced last August, the lone newcomer to this point
Gone are fullback Tony Gallacher (returned to Liverpool), centre back Laurent Ciman (retired, now an assistant coach with CF Montreal) and attacking midfielder/forward Pablo Piatti (option not picked up).
Forward Ayo Akinola, who missed a January camp with Canada, is still sidelined with the club yet to detail his condition. The 21-year-old had a breakout season last year with nine goals in 15 games.
Fellow forward Ifunanyachi Achara, whose promising start as a rookie was derailed by surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament last July, is still rehabbing. Midfielder Nick DeLeon and Brazilian fullback Auro are finishing off quarantine. And winger Tsubasa Endoh “also needs to get healthy,” according to Armas.
Armas has provided a few more clues to his approach, suggesting captain Michael Bradley will see action further forward and be around the ball more. The 33-year-old Bradley has played as a defensive midfielder in recent years, shielding the backline.
The coach says his team will also have flexibility on offence, able to use star striker Jozy Altidore in his traditional role as tip of the TFC spear or play with two strikers.
Altidore’s future became a topic of conversation again after U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter’s comments in late January about transfer interest in the 31-yearold. Armas indicated Monday that he wants to put that issue to bed.
“I’m seeing a winner every day show up and commit big time to the team and himself,” Armas said.