Okay, so all six Philadelphia Union net-busters against Toronto FC on the weekend were aided by howlingly weak defence. But it’s the fifth one that really left me scratching my head.
Philly corner kick from the left side, and the surprising East-Division leaders only bother to send two guys forward. Four TFC defenders watch the ball come in – and Danny Mwanga of the Union, utterly uncontested, sticks out a leg and hoofs the ball into the roof of the Toronto net.
How can four guys not even remotely cover two? On a corner kick?
Watching this, from the Toronto bench, was youthful defender Nana Attakora. One of the very few Toronto FC feel-good stories of a year ago, still unable to get a game under new coach Aron Winter.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
There’s been a lot piled on to this story already this year. Nana clearly and presently did not play well in his early opportunities. The bold, fearless stopper of a year ago has scarcely been seen. Indecision and lateness have been rampant, where poise and courage flourished a year ago.
There’s been talk that Nana doesn’t fit into the heads-up, attacking system Winter keeps saying he wants to play. Odd for a lad who, late in the 2009 season, scored as many goals (2) as the entire Toronto strike force following the early, forced retirement of Danny Dichio.
It could be more of a mind-set thing. Under Preki a year ago, there were no frills or complexities to Toronto’s strategy. Tackle opponent, hoof ball. Repeat. Winter has clearly given his back four more to think about, and Nana has not seemed to adjust well to his new, more complicated role.
Or maybe there’s an injury. And yeah, there’s a contract dispute going on.
But as that aching Philly Union massacre continued to unfold on Saturday, what kind of message was Aron Winter sending to Nana Attakora? There was only one substitute left for the second half, and when the bell finally rang for the brutalized Ty Harden, it was Alen Stevanovic who got the call – not Nana.
Two weeks ago, Winter dismissed concerns over Attakora’s contract, saying he has faith in the player, but not the way the player is playing. That doesn’t have to be a problem. Nana’s still relatively young, and this is a team investing long in player development. And maybe the last fifteen minutes of a 2-6 massacre isn’t the place to build a struggling lad’s confidence.
But it must have killed Nana to see his defensive teammates collapse like that – no cohesion, no communication, a bare minimum of even basic man-marking skills. And how much more painful to be denied any chance to get out there and try to rally the troops?
Of course, it wasn’t going to make any difference on the outcome. But what if Nana could have showed some grit and poise, and what if some of the on-field inspiration he offered so freely to TFC a year ago suddenly started to shine again? Yeah, the Philadelphias weren’t exactly trying all that hard by that time, but you can’t tell me the fans wouldn’t have got a serious boot out of a return-to-form performance from their too-long-missing number three?
Nana Attakora is in a sad footballing limbo just now. No contract, no playing time, no place on the Canada roster for the Gold Cup. He has a coach who clearly favours players he believes are playing well, and cannot get a sniff of the field.
I could understand this more easily if the rest of the TFC back line were particularly distinguishing themselves. They aren’t.
I find my mind looking fearfully back to last year, and Preki’s desertion and dumping of Sam Cronin. The poised, popular midfielder was hardly a global soccer star, but he will be a solid, contributing MLS regular for years to come. Preki didn’t care, and Toronto FC will be paying for that one for a long time.
Winter, to his credit, has at least spoken of Attakora with affection. Cronin barely got a disinterested grunt from Preki. But there has to come a moment when a clever, versatile contributor gets at least a chance to show that last year wasn’t a fluke.
It would have done my heart wonders to see a fired-up Attakora spending the last 15 minutes of Saturday’s massacre getting the occasional Philly front-man to pay his bill.
I’m left wondering just when, exactly, is this kid going to get a break?
Onward!
TFC fact: There have been five different MLS games this season when Toronto FC has scored two goals. In those matches, they have conceded thirteen.