TORONTO – Although Greg Vanney didn’t take offence to the question, it did seem to startle him a little bit.
Toronto FC makes its return to the CONCACAF Champions League this week after a lengthy absence when it takes on the Colorado Rapids in the opening leg of the round of 16.
Tuesday night’s tilt at Dick’s Sporting Good Park marks TFC’s first CONCACAF Champions League appearance since 2012 when it bowed out in the group stage. Toronto reached the tournament semifinals the year before under Dutch coach Aron Winter. TFC was a train wreck under Winter, starting the 2012 MLS campaign with nine consecutive losses, and went on to finish last in the league as it failed to qualify for the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year.
Fast forward to the present day when TFC is the envy of MLS after a spectacular 2017 in which it won the MLS Cup, the Canadian Championship and the Supporters’ Shield, and set the record for most points in a single regular season. Now the Reds are set to compete in the Champions League. Not only will Toronto be representing MLS and fighting for the league’s pride, it will also see how it measures up against some of the best teams in CONCACAF.
This backstory led one local reporter to recently ask Vanney if this is where the club belongs, with the elite clubs from across North and Central America, and the Caribbean?
TFC’s coach left no doubt with his answer.
“After last year and winning the Canadian Championship, and based on where we’ve been the last 18 months to two years, we belong in this event. Now it’s a chance to experience this and measure ourselves, but we’re very keen and aware that our goal is to try to win this championship,” Vanney said.
That’s easier said than done, though.
Only two MLS sides have ever reached the CONCACAF final (Real Salt Lake in 2011, Montreal Impact in 2015). Mexican teams have won the Champions League every year since the inaugural tournament in 2008-09, with seven of the nine finals being all-Mexico affairs.
Still, Toronto FC GM Tim Bezbatchenko believes the MLS champs can be competitive.
“From a talent perspective, I think 100 per cent we can compete [in the Champions League]. … We’re as equipped as any team ever in MLS [has been] to compete in CONCACAF and possibly win it, and that’s our goal,” Bezbatchenko said.
Club president Bill Manning acknowledges the difficult path ahead for TFC in the Champions League, but he’s also confident they can go on a run in the tournament.
“You had two [MLS] teams go to the final in the last six, seven years. Last year, Dallas and Vancouver both made it to the semifinals. I think we’re stronger than either one of those franchises a year ago. I think it’s there for us,” Manning said.
TFC will have to make do without a pair of defenders for Tuesday’s game. Chris Mavinga (minor injury) and Gregory van der Wiel (his wife is pregnant) did not travel with the team to Colorado. Van der Wiel signed with the club earlier this month and has yet to make his competitive debut for Toronto.
Van der Wiel is expected to be the Reds’ starting right fullback this season after free agent Steven Beitashour signed with LAFC in the off-season. With the Dutch international unavailable for Tuesday’s game, Brazilian Auro, another defender who recently joined the Reds via a loan deal from Brazilian club Sao Paulo, could start versus the Rapids.
If TFC is to go far in the Champions League and defend its MLS Cup title, it will have to rely on its depth like it did last year.
“With the addition of Gregory and Auro, we have two very good options in that [right fullback] spot. In a season where we’re going to play a lot of games and hopefully compete on a lot of different fronts our ability to have options and depth all over the field is going to be so important. Both Gregory and Auro have come in [here] in a very short period of time and established themselves in a good way,” Toronto captain Michael Bradley offered.
The return match in this aggregate series is slated for Feb. 27 at BMO Field.
NOTES: Toronto FC begins the 2018 MLS regular season on March 3 versus the Columbus Crew at BMO Field. It’s the first time in franchise history that the Reds will start a new MLS campaign at home… After enjoying a bye week, Toronto will then travel to Montreal to take on the Impact on March 17 in Week 3, before playing back-to-back home games against Real Salt Lake and D.C. United.
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