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Posted by
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March 17, 2017 |
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VANCOUVER, B.C - The rivalry continues tomorrow afternoon at B.C. Place Stadium as Toronto FC visits Vancouver Whitecaps FC in an early season match for two winless MLS clubs. Greg Vanney's TFC side have earned a pair of draws to start the season, while Carl Robinson's, Whitecaps have one point to show from a pair of matches. Bragging rights will once again be on the 'fine lines' as both fan bases will be hoping for all three points.
Paolo Tornaghi is expected to start in-goal for Vancouver with David Ousted serving a suspension. Tornaghi has one previous MLS start with Vancouver, as the 'Great Dane' has earned the bulk of minutes for the Caps. The Milan native is expecting a bit of nerves, but it's all good as he prepares for Toronto.
"You know when you expect to play," said Tornaghi. "Of course you have that little bit of nerve and tension, that helps you to get one hundred and ten percent in your training. When you know that a game is coming, you always feel tense, and that helps you to be better."
While Red Nation Online is confident that Tornaghi will be in net tomorrow, Carl Robinson was in no way tipping his hand regarding his eventual starter vs Toronto FC.
"If I decide to go Paolo, or Spencer (Richey), because both of them will be involved. It's an opportunity for either one of them, and I've got one hundred percent faith in Paolo, you know that. He's been at the club while I've been here, and I brought him back here even when we thought he might go somewhere else. I'm very confident in both my keepers."
Vancouver has an extra bit of an incentive vs Toronto FC. The Reds claimed the Amway Canadian Cup last season at B.C. Place. The now departed Will Johnson, scored a late goal to seal any cup hopes for Vancouver. The Whitecaps have not forgotten about that.
"In MLS you have only three Canadian teams," said Tornaghi. "It's always a nice rival to play against. I think we have a little bit something open from last year with the Amway Canadian Cup, so now we have the opportunity to get a kind of revenge. We are ready to go."
Whitecaps FC centre-back, Tim Parker wasn't willing to label Vancouver and Toronto a massive fierce rivalry. It may be more exaggerated in the press, among fans, and old sentiments from the past, but it still matters to people.
"Yeah, I think it's kind of a Canadian rivalry thing," said Parker. "I don't know if they're a direct rival, but the cities don't really like each other very much. I think it kind of has to play a big part of what this game means to the city."
Carl Robinson was complimentary of Toronto FC and fellow Manager, Greg Vanney. It's not easy to turn around and get back into MLS regular season play after a long and gruelling run to the MLS Cup Final. Toronto has marquee players that Vancouver will have to be cautious of, even with the injured Sebastian Giovinco unavailable.
"I've got tremendous respect for them as an organization," said Robinson. "Greg's done a great job there in getting to the MLS final last year, and arguably being one of the coaches of the year, Greg. He's got some fantastic players, headlined by Michael Bradley whose a top player. It's a game of football. We here in Vancouver play with passion, we've got pride as they have, and it's a derby game, because we're both from Canada. It's a game we can get three points out of. I'm sure it'll be emotionally charged, they'll be mistakes, they'll be tackles, they'll be refereeing mistakes, as there usually is. They'll be all sorts of things."
His counterpart weighed in on the potential rivalry between the two club.
"I think there's a Canadian rivalry," said Vanney. "All of us want to try to be the best team in Canada. I think a lot of that is shown in the Canadian Championship. We saw that last year. That tournaments is also an opportunity for us to show some depth in our team, and to try and work towards a trophy. There's less of a rivalry in the MLS grand scheme of things, because we're in different conferences, we're vying for different playoff standings. At the end of the day, they're another Canadian team, and we want to be the best team in Canada."
In any rivalry you must have a villain. That honour seems to have gone to Toronto FC striker, Jozy Altidore. The controversial penalty he earned last weekend against Philadelphia caused quite a firestorm. Altidore, also has a history with Vancouver fans. You may recall an infamous photograph of a Whitecaps FC fan flipping her middle finger at Altidore, as he celebrated a goal in Toronto's 3-1 season opening win in 2015.
What kind of fan reception does Altidore expect at B.C. Place?
"I don't know," said Altidore. "I look forward to going into different atmospheres. It's always fun playing in front of fans, whether they're for you, or against you. You have the opportunity to be a pro, and to do this, it's fantastic. I'm hoping for a really good performance from our team."
Often times when a player is jeered and booed by opposition supporters, it can bring out the best in them. Altidore could be fuelled by any potential fan animosity. Coach Vanney is hoping to see his top scoring threat step up in the absence of Giovinco.
"He'll probably be saluted the same way he saluted them," said Vanney when asked about Altidore's reception tomorrow. "It's good for the rivalry, it's good to have that. It'll probably bring Jozy some motivation, and it'll get the crowd fired up, which makes for a good day, and a good game."
It's early in the season, so it's not a must win match for either team. However, both teams want to pick up a win heading into the international bye week. Vancouver has the most motivation, and Toronto FC will want to show that last year was no fluke. It's always an exciting match when these teams get together, Saturday should be no different.
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