Toronto FC returns to BMO Field Saturday, on the heels of their successful road swing, for a pair of difficult looking home games sandwiched into a short week ahead of the upcoming mini-break for the first weekend of the Gold Cup’s group stage. First up is co-league-leading Real Salt Lake and then on Wednesday is Eastern Conference leading Montreal.
To say what RSL head coach Jason Kreis has done so far in 2013, with the newest edition of his Royals team, is impressive is an understatement. Already considered one of the best young coaches in MLS due to his success at turning around a once flailing young franchise and leading them to an MLS Cup Championship and subsequently the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, Kreis is now in the process of cementing himself as an as close as you can get to sure thing by rebuilding his old team on the fly and staying successful.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Much was made of the fact that, due to budget constraints, Salt Lake had to part ways with players the calibre of Will Johnson, Jamison Olave, and Fabian Espindola during the off-season. All three were staples of the team that hadn’t missed the playoffs since 2007 and it’s not like they were completely past their sell-by date: Johnson is on the fringes of becoming a legitimate Player-of-the-Year candidate in Portland and Olave and Espindola are significant pieces in a powerful (if inconsistent) Red Bulls side.
RSL themselves, however, were always quick to point out that they were actually still returning 14 of their top 19 players, in terms of minutes played, from 2012. Further, many of the players expected to step up and fill gaps in the line-up were already at the club and had been groomed over the previous two seasons. That, a handful of smart acquisitions, and a core of flexible and dependable non-star MLSers such as Chris Schuler, Tony Beltran, and Ned Grabavoy, who supplement the big names like Morales, Saborio, and Beckerman, has allowed the club to keep rolling right along.
It’s a style of managed transition and long-term vision that has always been dreamed of but never achieved in the tumultuous world of TFC.
Still, to succeed so early and (so far) so thoroughly is remarkable. The Lakers head to Toronto the hottest team in MLS on current form: four wins and a draw from their last five league games, undefeated since May 11th in all competitions, and comfortable winners in their US Open Cup quarterfinal over lower-league Carolina in midweek. For the first time in three seasons RSL won’t be competing in continental play but they seem poised to make a run at all or any of the three major domestic trophies available to American MLS teams.
One player enjoying the renewed success in Utah will be all too familiar to Toronto supporters. Joao Plata is revelling in the super-sub forward role he’s been given by Kreis and, linking up excitingly with the always dangerous Javi Morales, has re-found the form that made him so popular at TFC in 2011.
In fact, Plata’s success has somewhat stolen playing time from young Colombian forward Olmes Garcia. A major transfer acquisition in the winter – RSL paid a transfer fee – Garcia has been far from unsuccessful so far with four goals already from somewhat limited minutes. With regular forward Alvaro Saborio away on Gold Cup duty with Costa Rica it will be interesting to see if Kreis hands the other starting position beside Robbie Findley to Plata, Garcia, or second round SuperDraft pick Devon Sandoval. Picked 29th overall in the draft Sandoval has already made 11 appearances in his rookie season.
Concerning TFC’s forwards, word from training on Friday was not encouraging as multiple sources indicated that Robbie Earnshaw might be unavailable due to a problem with his calf. That might mean a start for Danny Koevermans who looked ready enough in his substitute appearance at the conclusion of the draw in Houston.
Alternatively, TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen may prefer to continue his conservative approach to the big Dutchman’s return and hand a start to the energetic Jeremy Brockie in a more like-for-like switch. Even forgotten-man Justin Braun is available again and, like Koevermans, potted a goal in the Red’s Reserve match win over Montreal in mid-week. Braun was an offensive spark during the spring, before a surprising attempt to convert him into an impromptu left midfielder, and provides a different, more physical option up top.
Toronto FC has done well so far in the month of June and may even be moving closer to a settled side. Two matches against two quality MLS teams is a chance to establish, for home fans, that the latest rebuild is actually starting to take but, as always, the danger of another false dawn looms.