SB Nation Nutrilite Canadian Championship
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The Reds pick up an away goal and escape Vancouver with the score level, but with a slight advantage
Aron Winter's MLS debut has been a tad bumpier than his probably expected. Through 11 matches, or about a third of the season, Toronto FC has won just twice, has the fifth lowest point total and is boasting a -6 goal difference, which is the worst in the league. The Vancouver Whitecaps are also off to a pretty miserable start with just one win and eight points through 11 matches. Neither team seems to be likely participants in the MLS playoffs. With that in mind, Waking the Red believes Wednesday's first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship probably offers both teams their best chance at winning anything of substance:
The winners get a trophy, national bragging rights and at least two more important games to look forward to, the losers get to spend the next 5 months with only the Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifying to distract from what will be in effect, pre-season 2012.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have been among the top drawing teams in MLS this year with an average attendance of 19,987 during their first year in the league. But when they play Toronto FC in the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championships on Wednesday, they will probably be doing it in front of their smallest crowd of the season. The announced attendance may be solid since this is part of the season-ticket package, but there's likely going to be a lot of no-shows as they are also playing the match opposite the Vancouver Canucks, who are facing the San Jose Sharks in the NHL's Western Conference finals.
With hockey still very much national sport in Canada, even the prospect of seeing the country's two top teams square off for the national championship in soccer is probably not going to be enough. That has prompted 86 Forever to make a call to Whitecaps fans to be prepared to make up the difference:
Well, the rest of us will just have to be twice as loud, then. This isn't a crisis. This is, arguably, not even a problem. It's the inescapable reality of playing soccer in Canada in this country for at least the next generation.
Whether you call it the Nutrilite Canadian Championship or the Voyageurs Cup, this might very well be the two biggest games the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC play this year. Both teams are mired in so far disappointing MLS campaigns and the two-legged final that starts Wednesday at 10 p.m. (EST) represents a chance to not only win their national championship, but also to earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League.
As a way of previewing the series, I've asked our resident Canadians to give us a look at each of their teams. Benjamin Massey of 86 Forever will be providing the Whitecaps' angle, while Duncan Fletcher of Waking the Red will give us the Toronto FC perspective.
Waking the Red: I’d like to think very seriously. Entry into the CCL is a great prize that’s well worth qualifying for, and given how the MLS season is working out so far, a trophy and a cup run would be a much needed diversion. To the supporters at least, the tournament and title of Canadian Champions is also important in and of itself with all sorts of multi-layered regional rivalries in play. Going by the strong lineups Aron Winter put out against Edmonton in the semi final, it seems like he also understands the importance of the competition and the team is in it to win it. I’d be surprised and disappointed by anything other than the first choice team in both legs, let the B team play in the weekend’s MLS game in Colorado.
86 Forever: The Vancouver Whitecaps have always made a point of taking the Voyageurs Cup seriously. This year they've prioritized well above the league. Core players like Alain Rochat, Jonathan Leathers, and Davide Chiumiento were rested, either for the whole game or most of it, against New England to ensure they'd be fresh and ready to take on Toronto FC. The Whitecaps have made no bones about seeing the Voyageurs Cup as a seriously important event and are clearly looking forward to a visit to the CONCACAF Champions League in their first season of MLS competition.
Waking the Red: Toronto’s semi final was against NASL expansion club FC Edmonton, and TFC got a scare in the first leg as the first half was very even despite the Reds putting out a strong lineup. After Edmonton were reduced to ten men though, TFC’s experience and numerical advantage came into play and they rode their luck to get to 3-0, with two goals from Maicon Santos, and one from Alan Gordon and then killed the game off from there. Joao Plata got his first start in that game and was TFC’s best player, as he was again in the second leg, which was pretty much a formality and played out that way, a dull 1-0 TFC win probably most notable for the injury that has kept Alan Gordon out of the lineup since.
86 Forever: Vancouver made it to the final by getting through old rivals (and 2012 MLS expansion team) the Montreal Impact in the semi-final. Montreal head coach Marc dos Santos made a point of criticizing Vancouver boss Teitur Thordarson's lack of tactical creativity but before the first game, but Vancouver tore Montreal the figurative new one in their first game and were extremely unlucky to escape with only a 1-0 victory in Montreal. Of course, the luck rebounded in the second leg, where the Impact played ferociously. Montreal won 1-0 in ninety minutes and the tie went to extra time, where center back Mouloud Akloul got the eventual winner and the Whitecaps just dodged death when Montreal striker Ali Gerba headed a golden chance just past the post as time expired.
Waking the Red: Left Winger Joao Plata’s been the star of the show recently, bringing some much needed flair, creativity and energy to the attack. As well as his own skill, he seems to lift the rest of the team when he’s playing, he has very good chemistry with Maicon Santos and it’s alarming how much TFC’s attack has depended on him recently. Since switching to a ‘point back’ midfield three, Julian de Guzman in the defensive midfielder role has looked a lot better, as has Tony Tchani, now playing a more advanced midfield role and looking a lot more confident, providing a physical prescence in the last few games.
86 Forever: Which players in the Vancouver lineup you should watch really depends on who's healthy. The key player for the Whitecaps may be midfielder Davide Chiumiento. Chiumiento is a former Swiss league star who's struggled with fitness, been mercurial, put in questionable efforts, and also happens to be one of MLS's leading playmakers whose nickname, "The Swiss Ronaldinho", is fully earned when he's on his game. When he's on his game! Chiumiento dogged it in the first round against the Impact and has made noises in the media about being unhappy where he's playing. His fellow former Swiss league star, left back Alain Rochat, will also play a key role for the team in both defense and attack.
Waking the Red: Stefan Frei has been a busy busy man in goal, and he’ll no doubt be called upon many times to keep Toronto in the tie. The Central Defensive pairing of Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams is just about solid, but Julian de Guzman and the other midfielders will have to help out the full backs, especially whoever ends up at Left Back as defending from out wide has been a weak spot all year. Up front, TFC need Joao Plata to continue his recent inspired form, and hope some of the other forwards help out more than they have been.
86 Forever: The keys for the Whitecaps are mostly physical. Be healthy. Stay fit. Keep calm. Have loads of energy before what will be a fairly tepid home crowd. They've been victimized by a rough schedule in the past month and a half. But they must also be careful to play their game and not show the signs of panic they evinced against New England at times. The Whitecaps are a good team, but sometimes they need to remember it themselves.
Waking the Red: Stefan Frei; Richard Eckersley, Dicoy Williams, Adrian Cann, Dan Gargan; Julian De Guzman; Jacob Peterson, Tony Tchani; Nick Soolsma, Maicon Santos, Joao Plata. 4-1-2-3.
86 Forever: Who knows? The best guess, based on injury status and looks in the preseason, is a 4-2-3-1 arranged as follows: Nolly; Leathers - DeMerit - Akloul - Rochat; Koffie - Dunfield Salinas - Chiumiento - Teibert; Hassli
Nutrilite Canadian Championship: Toronto FC Grabs Early Advantage With Away Goal
Toronto FC got the equalizing goal from Maicon Santos in the 73rd minute and the Reds will now head home with a slight advantage over the Vancouver Canucks after their 1-1 tie on Wednesday during the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Toronto FC's home leg will be played next Wednesday at BMO Field, where the Whitecaps will have to score at least one away goal to have any chance of advancing.
"We did all right considering it was a road game," Toronto FC defender Adrian Cann said. "It was a battle out there. I thought Vancouver played well, we were fortunate to be able to pull back the goal to make it a tie. Going back to Toronto is going to be another battle. Knowing that we have the fan support in that atmosphere, it’s going to be a great night."
The winner of this two-game, aggregate-goal final will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League's preliminary round where they will face the qualifier from Nicaragua, either Real Esteli or Walter Ferreti. Toronto FC is the only Canadian team to compete in the continental tournament.
The Whitecaps took the initial lead on a goal from Eric Hassli in the 64th minute off an assist from Davide Chiumiento. It was Hassli's third goal this year against TFC and extended the Whitecaps' 10-match unbeaten run in the NCC. TFC has never beaten the Whitecaps in Vancouver.
May 19 11:35a by Jeremiah Oshan - 0 comments