Canadian expectations heading into this summer’s Gold Cup are low.
Rightfully so, with the disappointments of another failed World Cup Qualification in the rear view – 8-1 still rankles immensely – and a squad comprised largely of young and inexperienced players; not to mention the
But perhaps there lies a glimmer of hope in the selection of several MLS-based players who have been turning heads this season.
One could make an argument for several of the Canadian MLS contingent as candidates for awards come season’s end or at least a round of hearty applause as surprise performers of the season.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Will Johnson
Most people were aware of how solid of a player Johnson was, a hardworking piece of the dominant force that was Real Salt Lake, since joining the club in 2008, helping them rise from expansion strugglers to perennial performers.
His trade to Portland in the off-season, with an unknown amount of allocation money going in the other direction, was interesting, but nobody could have predicted how integral to their success he has been under Caleb Porter.
Portland had an underwhelming expansion season in 2012, finishing at the foot of the Western Conference on 34 points, good enough for eighth place – in front of only Chivas.
In 2013 they have rocketed to the upper reaches of the Western Conference, having already collected 30 points – through 17 matches – while progressing to the Semifinals of the US Open Cup, a year removed from that dramatic loss to amateur club from the fifth tier, Cal FC, in the Third Round (the first in which MLS clubs were involved).
Johnson has been integral to that success, playing every minute in the league and sitting out only one Cup match – against Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Named captain by Porter prior to the start of the season, Johnson has taken that role to heart and – alongside Diego Chara at the base of the midfield – has been the driving force for their success this season.
He has already surpassed his career best in goals (currently on six, having previously scored three in 2009 and 2012) and equaled his tally of three assists (again in ’09 and ’12); one could easily make that argument that he has been the most valuable player in the league this season and will likely factor in the consideration for that award comes season’s end, unless of course the wheels come off.
It should come as no surprise that Johnson was named the captain of this Canadian squad – a position he will likely hold for years to come – and his inclusion will ensure that, however deficient they may be in other areas, they will not lack for heart and determination. It will be a good chance for him to pass on his experiences to the younger members of the squad in preparation for future endeavours.
And he hits a pretty fierce free-kick.
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Russell Teibert
Nearly as impressive as Johnson’s rise has been the meteoric coming of age for Vancouver’s Teibert.
After spending two seasons glued to the Whitecaps bench, amassing barely more than six hundred minutes – most of which came under Teitur Thordarson at the start of 2011 – Teibert was given a fresh start after the first month of the season and he hasn’t looked back.
Since then he has appeared in all bar one of Vancouver last twelve league matches, racking up two goals – his first as a professional; a brace against Los Angeles, no less – and six assists, encapsulating a run of helpers in four straight matches.
Part of his emergence must be credited to his deployment as an inverted winger in coach Martin Rennie’s 4-3-3 style formation, where he can use the threat of pace to force defenders onto their heels before cutting onto his preferred left foot to deliver quality service, such as this cross against New York finished off by Kenny Miller.
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If his blistering form continues, he will undoubtedly be in consideration for this season’s MLS Breakout Player of the Year award come season’s end.
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio, who joined the Toronto FC preseason roster for a February trip to Florida as one of three academy players called up to the first team with little fanfare, has turned himself into such an integral part of the side over these four months that his absence was part of the reason for Ryan Nelsen’s anti-CSA tirade.
First as a regular substitute (making an appearance in all but one of Toronto’s MLS matches) and now as a starter (in the last four), Osorio has been one of the few bright spots in this current rebuild of the struggling franchise.
A tenacious two-way midfielder who rightly treats the ball as a precious thing, rarely misplacing a pass or turning over possession, Osorio has contributed three goals – good enough for second in club scoring behind only Robert Earnshaw.
Admittedly, he has looked better as a substitute, where he enters unfettered with defensive duty, called upon to inject life into a sputtering attack.
Each of his goals gave TFC a chance at the points, twice putting them in winning positions – the other drawing the side level - only to cruelly be cancelled out by late strikes from the opponents.
His interplay in the midfield, in particular with Luis Silva, has breathed a measure of life into the stodgy, predictably direct Toronto attack, and the thought of him linking up with Johnson, Teibert, Julian de Guzman, and Samuel Piette at the Gold Cup, not to mention the likes of Atiba Hutchinson in the future, bodes well for the future of the National Team’s midfield.
Plus he is capable of moments of sheer class, such as this lovely finish against New York, tucking this loose ball in just under the bar.
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Quietly he has made a case for himself as a definite Rookie of the Year candidate, though without the fanfare of many competitors.
Nana Attakora
Returning to the league after a year spent abroad – with FC Haka in Finland – Nana, though thought of mainly as a third-string centre-back for San Jose, has been integral to their limited success.
Quietly he has been a dominant force, filling in for either Victor Bernardez or Jason Hernandez whenever injury, suspension, or international duty made space for his inclusion.
In fact, in the seven matches he has started for the Earthquakes, they have only lost one, amassing a record of three wins and three draws versus two wins, six losses, and three draws without him starting – they lost the one match he subbed into.
He has looked big and physical - going blow for blow in an entertaining battle with Canadian National Team-mate, Doneil Henry, though it ended with Attakora concussed after a clash of heads – while equally fast – snuffing out Chris Pontius and the breakaway speed of Colorado’s forwards – and tactically aware – stifling Montreal’s Marco Di Vaio, limiting him to one shot (he averages nearly four per match).
Attakora has even looked supremely confident on the ball, striding out of the back, getting on the end of set-piece deliveries, and picking up an assist.
He will have a battle on his hands to win back a starting position when he returns to his club after the tournament, what with American International, Clarence Goodson, joining and Bernadez and Hernandez fit and raring to go.
But the prospects of his lining up alongside David Edgar or Toronto’s Henry is mouthwatering; they will not be beat in the air. Though there is some concern that those concussion issues have resurfaced, as he was placed back on the injured list for this past Saturday’s match.
Doneil Henry
Henry, recent red cards aside, has blossomed into a very sturdy centre-back in his fourth season with Toronto, rendering Danny Califf, heralded in the off-season as a key acquisition, redundant, and pushing Darren O’Dea over to left-back.
His call-up – and absence from Toronto’s match against Montreal - alongside that of Osorio, has inspired this silly and bizarre deflective rant from Coach Nelsen and President Kevin Payne regarding the National Team’s flexibility with the whims of the clubs.
All six of the young defender’s starts have come in Toronto’s last seven matches – he missed one with a red card suspension – ensuring he is match fit and ready to go, if called upon, at the Gold Cup.
He is dominant in the air and unexpectedly tidy on the ball, racking up pass completion figures that have some questioning the veracity of the statistics compiled for the league offices.
Still just twenty years of age and with a lot of improvement still ahead of him, he will be a contributor to the National Team for years to come, on both sides of the ball.
No one can forget his powerful game-winning header in the surprise U-20 win over the Americans in CONCACAF Qualification back in March of 2012, while his sweeping finish in the first leg of Toronto’s series with Montreal in the Voyageurs Cup showed a talent in front of goal that none could have projected.
Ashtone Morgan
Morgan has found his third year as a professional a trying one, after a very impressive campaign the previous season.
Limited to a mere five starts - and two further substitute appearances, some could argue that he has suffered a set-back in his development, but it could also be seen as a learning experience.
When he dashed onto the scene under Aron Winter at the end of 2011, it was as a flying wing-back, whose sole responsibility was to push up field, providing width and energy to that side of the pitch – a role he flourished in.
Under Nelsen, he has been tasked with a more defensive role – never the stronger side of his game – and suffered moments of indecision, fighting his natural instincts to get forward and finding himself targeted as the weak side of the Toronto defense.
The lack of playing time is an issue, but he looked good in Canada’s friendly against Costa Rica – and his partnership with Teibert on the left against Denmark was one of the few encouraging signs from that horrible, horrible day.
Kyle Bekker
After drawing the plaudits from around the league for his displays at the MLS Combine and being selected third-overall in the draft by Toronto, Bekker has struggled to make the transition from the college to the professional game.
He has not featured in the league for TFC since the end of March, making his only start in their first game of the season and subbing in at the end of the next two matches.
Struggling to get up to the pace in the hustle and bustle of MLS midfielder, perhaps the Gold Cup, with its potentially less physical and slightly slower rhythms may be the perfect place for him to kick start his career.
It can’t hurt for a player such as him to spend some time with Johnson and de Guzman and TFC could definitely use a creative, calming influence in their midfield.
Simon Thomas
Vancouver’s third (now, fourth) string keeper has not seen any action in the league, though he has reportedly looked solid in reserve and U-23 matches.
He was loaned out to FC Edmonton, but will remain in Vancouver to train, only travelling east when necessary.
Thomas was impressive enough in those January matches to earn himself at spot at the Whitecaps and on this National Team roster, and though he is the youngest and least experienced of the trio in camp, Colin Miller has expressed that the spot is up for grabs to whoever looks best in training.
Those eight players – the first five in particular – are the beginning of a fairly decent MLS starting eleven.
Part Two, looking in a similar fashion at those left off the squad will be out tomorrow.
Watch Canada's 1-1 draw against Ventura County