You have to love these North American nights.
In what other competition would your team take on an almost completely unknown entity to kick off perhaps the most important stretch of the season?
The CONCACAF Champions League offers mystery, intrigue and bewilderment in spades, and on Thursday night Toronto will embark on their second group stage foray in three CCL tries. First up is Tauro FC, a side with a really cheap-looking logo yet surprisingly flashy website, who should provide all three of the aforementioned factors that make this competition so exciting.
The Panamanian side is the clear underdog of the group, with Pumas UNAM, FC Dallas, and Toronto all having bigger budgets and higher profile players. But if fellow Panama outfit Arabe Unido's performance from last year was any indication, Tauro won't be a pushover, especially not at home.
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That's not to say that Arabe Unido was a good team. They weren't.
Of course, TFC still struggled against them mightily and even lost the away leg in comical-yet-highly-suspect fashion.
It would be unfair to judge all of Panamanian club soccer on that Arabe Unido side introduced to audiences last year, but then there is so little information out there that it's hard not to make assumptions based on the company which Tauro FC keeps.
So what do we know about Tauro?
Well, they are one of the most-decorated teams in recent Panamanian football history. They are currently third in the league after five rounds, just two points behind San Francisco FC (who lost out to Seattle in the CCL preliminary rounds a couple of weeks back).
Tauro have also recently placed four players on the Panamanian national team, although none of them made the Gold Cup roster.
In other words, they won't be pushovers.
Toronto's new-found "depth" will be tested, as both Torsten Frings and Eric Avila have been ruled out. Frings misses the match due to yellow card accumulation in the preliminary stage, while Avila is cup-tied by virtue of being on FC Dallas' 30-man roster for the competition (which also rules out Maicon Santos for Dallas).
Both Frings and Avila have shown to be very influential in their time with TFC, especially Frings who has taken on the captain's role in the truest of senses. The German's leadership will be sorely missed in an environment in which anything goes, although it's hard to imagine that the shenanigans could reach the same heights as in that infamous Arabe Unido match.
If anything, the atmosphere will be muted compared to what Toronto experienced in the qualifier versus Real Esteli. The cavernous Estadio Rommel Fernandez should keep the small Tauro crowd far from the action on the pitch. Speaking of which, the field conditions will be a massive upgrade in Panama City compared to the cow pasture in Esteli, which should theoretically allow TFC's skilled midfield and attack to keep the ball on the ground.
The pressure is now on TFC to perform, as all four other MLS teams came away with victories in their opening matches. More importantly, FC Dallas became the first ever MLS side to win in Mexico, by defeating Pumas 1-0 on Wednesday night. What that means is that Pumas will likely be looking to make up those lost points wherever they can, so Toronto will need to maximize points against Tauro to remain competitive in what is already turning out to be a dogfight for the top two spots in Group C.
Away matches are always tough in CONCACAF, be it in the club game or with national sides. For a team in transition like Toronto, who will be missing their new talisman, getting a positive result is a doubly tough ask.
It's certainly not impossible, though. Just ask Cruz Azul.
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Air woes: The charter company hired to bring Toronto FC to Panama "bailed" on their arrangement on Tuesday at around 3:00pm, causing TFC to scramble for a new charter on very short notice, according to tweets from TFC Senior Director of Business Operations Paul Beirne.
TFC's front office managed to get the team aboard an 11:30am Wednesday flight, but not before much consternation and countless a new-found appreciation for air travel to/from Central America.
Scout's honour: Paul Mariner mentioned on Sportsnet Radio FAN 590's "Brady and Lang in the Morning" that TFC had a scout watching Tauro in recent Panamanian league play. That should put to rest any fears of TFC brass not taking the Champions League seriously.
Tauro FC v. Toronto FC
Thursday, August 18, 2011. 8:00pm EDT.
Estadio Rommel Fernandez. Panama City, Panama.
Watch: Setanta Sports (free preview until Sept. 12), CONCACAF TV (requires registration)
Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.