Toronto FC were 45 minutes away from making history, 45 minutes from not only shocking CONCACAF but from taking a giant step forward that would benefit all of MLS.
Then the bottom fell out.
Santos Laguna scored four second-half goals to down the Canadians by 6-2 on Tuesday and won their CCL semifinal series by an aggregate score of 7-3. Santos killed MLS’s hopes of having a representative in the final for the second consecutive year.
There are two things that came out of this result. First, Toronto FC fought harder and lasted longer than many gave them credit for. Secondly, MLS is still far behind the Mexican league level.
Now, Toronto FC is not exactly the bar for MLS teams. That bar has been raised and held there by Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy and a scant few others but for the most part the bar is set. That bar is still well below Mexico’s bar. Now, there are reasons for this. Mexican teams have no salary cap, greater resources, greater support from their communities and run unopposed in their media and within the Mexican culture. MLS clubs don’t enjoy the financial resources as their Mexican counterparts nor do they enjoy the other luxuries Mexican teams have.
Within those guidelines then, Toronto FC’s run was made more remarkable. Toronto FC got past the supposed juggernaut the Galaxy were and fared better than Seattle against the same Santos side – Seattle gave up two quick goals and all hope seemed lost afterward.
Toronto FC won’t be challenging for the MLS Cup title, at least few can see that happening. Their league form this season has been poor – losses to Seattle, San Jose and Columbus have marred the start of their season. And still, even while not being part of the cup contenders, Toronto FC nearly found themselves playing for a much bigger prize.
Now, while MLS is not quite the powerhouse league many would like to believe it is but when less-successful teams like Toronto FC can battle and scrap their way and find a modicum of success against teams like Santos, that has to bode well for both club and league.
Showing posts with label Santos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santos. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Toronto FC's Monumental Challenge
Toronto FC faces a monstrous challenge today. If Toronto FC is to become the first Canadian club and second MLS side to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, the task will be monumental.
Beat Santos at Santos.
Well, I take that back. They technically don't have to win. They can tie 2-2 or 3-3 or etc., and win the series on away goals. A 1-1 draw sends the match to extra time while a scoreless draw sends Santos through.
No way this match finishes in a goalless draw. This one has goals written all over it. Santos beat Seattle by 6-1 in Torreon last time out and Toronto FC has scored five goals in their three previous CCL encounters.
But Toronto FC will be missing Danny Koevermans and of course Torsten Frings. Without their two European standouts, the task of scoring goals and stopping Santos from scoring becomes even more difficult.
Still, nothing is impossible. Few gave Toronto FC a chance to get this far, and few gave them a shot of beating Santos at home. While they did not win the home leg, a 1-1 score is surprising to some and a decent enough result heading down to Mexico.
That Toronto FC is the last MLS club standing is a shock. FC Dallas and Colorado did not survive the group stage while LA Galaxy fans surely relished the opportunity of playing Toronto FC instead of Seattle in the quarterfinals.
Toronto FC may go down in flames and they may be swallowed up by the budding Mexican juggernaut in Torreon but the club has done itself proud and done MLS proud in this tournament regardless of the result. And if they do pull off the supposed miracle, they will surely have more MLS supporters in their corner come the final.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Escaping With A Draw
Toronto FC were strong against Santos Laguna in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal match, escaping with a respectable 1-1 draw.
Toronto FC were a bit unlucky not to get the second goal and take a victory down to Mexico. Santos went down to 10 men for the final quarter hour but Toronto FC were unable to take advantage.
Is this a great result for Toronto FC? Honestly, no. Toronto FC will need to win outright or draw by at least 2-2 in order to win the series. A 1-1 draw sends the match to extra time while a 0-0 draw or a Santos win eliminates Toronto FC.
Toronto FC now have one win and two draws from their CCL campaign while having just two bad losses to show for their league efforts.
What will make it complicated in the second leg will be the absence of Danny Koevermans. The Dutch striker was booked against Santos on Tuesday and will now serve a one-match suspension because of it. Pity, but Toronto FC have Ryan Johnson, Nick Soolsma and Luis Silva to pick up the slack. It's troubling but not disastrous.
I suppose down in the second leg that anything short of a 6-1 loss won't reflect too poorly within MLS. After all, one of the league's best sides fell by that much down in Torreon.
This team may not be a power but they also are survivors. Perhaps nobody outside their locker room believes in them, but that probably won't bother them much at all. That underdog mentality will only help the club down in Mexico, when nobody will give them a chance to do anything against Santos Laguna.
No Chance For Toronto FC?
Toronto FC and Santos Laguna. The two don't belong on the same field let alone in the same competition, right?
After all, Santos Laguna have won Mexican titles before - los Guerreros were the first Mexican team to win a short-season title, capturing the Invierno 96 crown. They may not be one of Mexico's Big Four but they are a well-respected team within their league and one of the few Mexican teams to have built their own stadium recently, a testament to the passionate support the club enjoys in Torreon.
Toronto FC meanwhile... well, they're just a sad sack of a club, or so the perception is. Toronto FC have yet to make the playoffs, yet to win an MLS match that matters, have gone through countless coaches and players in their short existence.
And yet, here they are, these two clubs from opposite ends of the success/respect spectrum, fighting for a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Toronto FC were not a hapless club against the LA Galaxy. Now there's a team that was heavily favored, was supposed to waltz through TFC, supposed to capture attention throughout the region and the world by making a CCL run and TFC did not care. TFC did not bat an eyelid. When the Galaxy overcame a 2-0 deficit to level terms late in the first leg, ensuring that a low-scoring draw would be good enough to get through to the semifinals, Toronto FC did well to keep a level head. When Toronto FC scored an own goal to tie the second leg and give the Galaxy the edge, the Canadians kept fighting, kept battling and scored, and did not let the high-flying Galaxy back into the match.
And it is Toronto FC who are deserved semifinal representatives. Remember, this is the same Toronto FC squad that tied Pumas at home in the group stage and punched their ticket into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win at FC Dallas. They earned their spot in the knockout rounds and earned their spot in the semifinals.
Now, their league form is terrible. Two losses by a combined 6-1 is probably most were expecting out of Toronto in their series against the Galaxy. But that matters nothing against Santos.
Of course the Mexicans are heavily favored to win the series. Mexican teams have dominated the CCL. Santos are in fine form in league and demolished Seattle by 6-1 to book their spot in the semifinal round. And with the second leg scheduled for Torreon on April 4, Santos has an advantage in this series too.
But nobody told Toronto FC that they were supposed to lose to the Galaxy. And I doubt they got the message that Santos Laguna should prevail here either.
After all, Santos Laguna have won Mexican titles before - los Guerreros were the first Mexican team to win a short-season title, capturing the Invierno 96 crown. They may not be one of Mexico's Big Four but they are a well-respected team within their league and one of the few Mexican teams to have built their own stadium recently, a testament to the passionate support the club enjoys in Torreon.
Toronto FC meanwhile... well, they're just a sad sack of a club, or so the perception is. Toronto FC have yet to make the playoffs, yet to win an MLS match that matters, have gone through countless coaches and players in their short existence.
And yet, here they are, these two clubs from opposite ends of the success/respect spectrum, fighting for a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Toronto FC were not a hapless club against the LA Galaxy. Now there's a team that was heavily favored, was supposed to waltz through TFC, supposed to capture attention throughout the region and the world by making a CCL run and TFC did not care. TFC did not bat an eyelid. When the Galaxy overcame a 2-0 deficit to level terms late in the first leg, ensuring that a low-scoring draw would be good enough to get through to the semifinals, Toronto FC did well to keep a level head. When Toronto FC scored an own goal to tie the second leg and give the Galaxy the edge, the Canadians kept fighting, kept battling and scored, and did not let the high-flying Galaxy back into the match.
And it is Toronto FC who are deserved semifinal representatives. Remember, this is the same Toronto FC squad that tied Pumas at home in the group stage and punched their ticket into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win at FC Dallas. They earned their spot in the knockout rounds and earned their spot in the semifinals.
Now, their league form is terrible. Two losses by a combined 6-1 is probably most were expecting out of Toronto in their series against the Galaxy. But that matters nothing against Santos.
Of course the Mexicans are heavily favored to win the series. Mexican teams have dominated the CCL. Santos are in fine form in league and demolished Seattle by 6-1 to book their spot in the semifinal round. And with the second leg scheduled for Torreon on April 4, Santos has an advantage in this series too.
But nobody told Toronto FC that they were supposed to lose to the Galaxy. And I doubt they got the message that Santos Laguna should prevail here either.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Galaxy-Santos? Epic Storylines
We're not daydreaming here at all. Well, maybe a little but we're looking ahead at the potential Galaxy-Santos matchup and, well, we like what we see.
That's not to say a Galaxy/Toronto-Seattle series wouldn't be grand. It would mean a lot to MLS to have another Champions League finalist, but the possible series between the Galaxy and Santos Laguna is brimming with storylines, possibly the grandest storylines of any potential matchup anywhere down the road in this tournament.
Consider...
* Herculez Gomez vs. LA Galaxy - The legend of Herculez was created at Home Depot Center. Gomez was one of the bright spots in a successful 2005 season, and the breakthrough kid won over hearts while consistently filling the back of the net. Gomez was dealt away a year later and after mixed success in MLS found his form in Mexico.
* Landon Donovan vs. Oswaldo Sanchez - Do we really need to say more? Well, okay. Donovan and Sanchez had some epic battles in previous US-Mexico games. A lot of back-and-forth and trash-talking has gone on, with Donovan usually having had the last laugh. Donovan scored on Sanchez in a friendly in 2007, afterward Sanchez slid into Eddie Johnson; later that year, Donovan buried a penalty kick past Sanchez in the Gold Cup final.
* Landon Donovan vs. Mexico - Santos is not representative of Mexico but anytime Donovan steps on Mexican soil (in a soccer capacity anyway) he instantly becomes Public Enemy No. 1. His reception in Morelia last year was hostile, and Torreon should be equally as inviting.
* David Beckham's first trip to Mexico - That was supposed to have happened when the Galaxy played in Morelia but Beckham was left behind in order to give him some extra rest - three games in eight days was too much for Becks in 2011. Beckham would presumably visit Santos and touch off a frenzy, as he did in Costa Rica and Honduras a year ago.
* MLS vs. Mexico - This is an ever-present storyline and one that will not cease to exist. How do MLS clubs fare against their Mexican counterparts? In this case, the question will be how does the top team in MLS, the one with the high-priced big-name stars, fare against a solid Mexican club.
I may have missed a storyline there somewhere but I think those would be plenty to grab attention on both sides of the border to begin with.
Of course, I'm not necessarily hoping this happens. In all honesty, I'd like to see another MLS team in the final, and an LA/Toronto vs Seattle series would guarantee that, but the games will have to be played before we can really start hammering out story ideas.
That's not to say a Galaxy/Toronto-Seattle series wouldn't be grand. It would mean a lot to MLS to have another Champions League finalist, but the possible series between the Galaxy and Santos Laguna is brimming with storylines, possibly the grandest storylines of any potential matchup anywhere down the road in this tournament.
Consider...
* Herculez Gomez vs. LA Galaxy - The legend of Herculez was created at Home Depot Center. Gomez was one of the bright spots in a successful 2005 season, and the breakthrough kid won over hearts while consistently filling the back of the net. Gomez was dealt away a year later and after mixed success in MLS found his form in Mexico.
* Landon Donovan vs. Oswaldo Sanchez - Do we really need to say more? Well, okay. Donovan and Sanchez had some epic battles in previous US-Mexico games. A lot of back-and-forth and trash-talking has gone on, with Donovan usually having had the last laugh. Donovan scored on Sanchez in a friendly in 2007, afterward Sanchez slid into Eddie Johnson; later that year, Donovan buried a penalty kick past Sanchez in the Gold Cup final.
* Landon Donovan vs. Mexico - Santos is not representative of Mexico but anytime Donovan steps on Mexican soil (in a soccer capacity anyway) he instantly becomes Public Enemy No. 1. His reception in Morelia last year was hostile, and Torreon should be equally as inviting.
* David Beckham's first trip to Mexico - That was supposed to have happened when the Galaxy played in Morelia but Beckham was left behind in order to give him some extra rest - three games in eight days was too much for Becks in 2011. Beckham would presumably visit Santos and touch off a frenzy, as he did in Costa Rica and Honduras a year ago.
* MLS vs. Mexico - This is an ever-present storyline and one that will not cease to exist. How do MLS clubs fare against their Mexican counterparts? In this case, the question will be how does the top team in MLS, the one with the high-priced big-name stars, fare against a solid Mexican club.
I may have missed a storyline there somewhere but I think those would be plenty to grab attention on both sides of the border to begin with.
Of course, I'm not necessarily hoping this happens. In all honesty, I'd like to see another MLS team in the final, and an LA/Toronto vs Seattle series would guarantee that, but the games will have to be played before we can really start hammering out story ideas.
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