TORONTO – Homecoming is only a few short days away for Toronto FC, as the team prepares to open the new 30,000-seat BMO Field on Sunday against the Houston Dynamo. But having survived a seven-league-game road trip, the Reds travel once more before kicking off a summer of soccer in Toronto, with an Amway Canadian Championship clash against the Montreal Impact (7:30 pm ET, Sportsnet World).
TFC head coach Greg Vanney said he’ll be “mixing it up” for Wednesday's clash with the Reds' bitter rivals, bringing a team consisting of some younger players that have yet to see much MLS action. He recalled Jordan Hamilton, Jay Chapman, Chris Mannella and Quillan Roberts to the first team from Toronto FC II, while Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley and Jackson did not make the trip. Mark Bloom, Steven Caldwell and Joe Bendik continue to recover from injuries.
Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio (pictured) will most likely feature, though, in a game he’s looking forward to playing, too.
“It’s a game against our rival and those games are always special, no matter what,” Osorio told reporters at training Monday. “It’s the start of a competition we really want to win. We want to get into the [2016-17 CONCACAF] Champions League and show not only the MLS what we can do, but North America.”
One star name not omitted from the list is team captain Michael Bradley, who says the Canadian Championship – and the Voyageurs Cup trophy that comes with it – is very much a priority for TFC this season.
“For all of us, part of pushing this club forward and continuing to improve as individuals and as a club is winning,” Bradley said in training last week. “Last year, we weren’t able to win the Canadian cup, so this year, that’s something that’s very important to us. We want to first take care of business with Montreal and then, whoever it may be in the final, we want to be the ones holding up that trophy and give ourselves a chance to see what the Champions League is all about.”
It’s that Champions League spot that has Toronto FC dreaming. After watching the Montreal Impact make it all the way to the final, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion to Mexico's Club América, Osorio says he wants to have a shot in that same match.
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“It was exciting to see a team, not only from MLS but from Canada, make it to the finals,” Osorio said. “It shows you that if you put in the work and you’re good enough, it’s not impossible to get to that stage, or even win. Hopefully, this year, we can do something similar.”
But, despite Montreal losing in the final against América, Osorio isn’t expecting to face a down-and-out Impact team. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“I think they’ll put out a strong team, because they’ve got a taste of what it’s like to get that far,” Osorio said. “They believe and know that they can do it again. They’ll take this competition very, very seriously.”
