One of the most exciting aspects of the Toronto FC squad that ended the 2011 season was the positional flexibility of the majority of the players who were on the roster in the final months of the campaign. While the fluidity of Torsten Frings, who switched regularly from playing in the midfield to leading the backline, was the most highlighted instance of this characteristic, forward Ryan Johnson just might the player who best exemplifies both the flexibility that Head Coach Aron Winter had when filling out his starting lineup and that core philosophy of Dutch football in which players switch positions on the fly during the run of the play.
The tactical and positional flexibility of a number of Toronto’s core players was one of the key variables inherent in Toronto’s breakthrough win over FC Dallas in the CONCACAF Champions League that allowed TFC to qualify for the Knockout Stage of the competition for the first time in the history of the club. Johnson, who had previously played as both a left and right sided forward and as a target man centre forward in his short tenure with the team in 2011, played a key role as midfielder in that match, with a tactical assignment geared to shutting down Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez in the middle of the pitch towards stifling the Texas side’s vaunted transition game. And according to Johnson, position flexibility is now a core competency for all of the players on TFC.
“That was something that Aron wanted. He wanted players that can play multiple positions. Because when you are playing our type of system, you are just naturally going to find yourself in a different position and you're going to have to cover for somebody else. And if you can't handle that other position during the short time that you have to cover for somebody else, it's going to cause problems for the team. So you need players who can play in multiple positions and who can play good football, because with this system it's not cut and dry - a lot of changes happen on the fly and you have to be able to react quickly,” says Johnson.
Asked about the phenomenal performance that he put forward in a mostly defensive assignment against Dallas and Hernandez in particular, Johnson believes it was all just part and parcel of being given a specific tactical assignment and putting in the mental and physical effort to realize the required result to the best of his ability. He also believes that game provided a great harbinger of things to come for TFC in 2012.
“I just wanted to put as much pressure as possible on him, because he is the captain of the team and one of those guys that makes his team tick. So I wanted to put pressure on him and throw him off his game as much as possible. And at the same time, I wanted to break forward and create as much offensively as I could. That game just shows that when you prepare for things correctly, it shows what can happen. And I think now that we have the team together and will add some more quality and then have a full year together under our coach, that's going to be a consistent thing all throughout the year. There will be some drops, but if we play like that, there is no question that we will be in the playoffs next year.”
Another impressive aspect of Toronto FC’s performance in their season defining victory over Dallas was the manner in which they high pressured the opposition every time they had the ball. And while he admits that it is impossible for any team to play at that tempo in every match during a very heavy MLS schedule, Johnson would like to see TFC play with that high energy tactical approach more often next season
“You have to pick your spots, but I personally like to play high pressure because it forces the other team to make mistakes and a lot of the goals that happen are off of team's mistakes. So if you sit back and let teams get their confidence and allow them to play the ball around and you sit back in your half, I think you are just asking for disaster. I think the more you push up and the more pressure you put on teams, the more positive the results will be for you. Yes, you are gambling, but I think it's a good gamble and that's the way I like to play.”
One aspect of the game in Toronto will need to be better overall at in 2012 is defending, with their approach to opposition set plays being a particular area that the team will have to tighten up. The back line received much of the criticism levelled at the team over the course of the past season and Johnson believes putting the blame solely on the team’s back four is unfair.
“Defending starts with the forwards for me. I hate watching games and seeing forwards not helping the team defend, because defending is such an important thing given that if you don't concede a goal, you won't lose the game. That's number one and it starts with the forwards helping the defenders to defend. I don't think all of the blame can go to the back line because with a lot of the set pieces other players weren't marking and things like that. With the formation that we play and the system that we play, if a midfielder loses the ball in the wrong spot, it causes problems for the defenders. So a lot of times the defenders are put into situations that are hard for them to deal with because a mistake is causing them to have deal with a 5 on 3 or 2 on 1 and other bad situations. Defending is not easy at all. Sometimes those guys don't get enough glory because the glory goes to the forwards and the guys who are scoring goals. Defending is the hardest job on the field.”
With their qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League, TFC will need to be ready to go at essentially full capacity in March, when most MLS teams will just be working their ways back to match fitness. And Johnson believes that the professionalism that he and a number of the team’s veteran players imparted to the younger players on team in the second half of 2011 will need to be first and foremost on the minds of all of the players as they use the offseason to both recuperate and get themselves ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
“It's up to each individual player to do what they are supposed to do during the offseason. It's pretty much on you. They will give us offseason programs and workouts and, if you stick to that, you will be fine. A lot of the guys have been in this league for a while and they know what to do during the offseason. At the same time, you need the weeks of rest and have to make sure you are not doing anything stupid and wrecking your body. All of those things are important and for us coming back a little bit early (due to the Champions League games) you will definitely have to take this offseason and really calculate what you will need to do from week to week.”
With Toronto competing in both the MLS and the Champions League down the stretch in 2011 and with the team enduring an exhausting travel schedule in the final months of the campaign, Johnson is quick to emphasize how important proper rest will be for the team as it readies itself for an early start to 2012.
“It's really important. Your body is what makes everything happen. It's why you have a job and that's the number one thing that you have to take care of when you are playing all these games in such a short period of time. As the year went on, with all of the games I was playing in, I didn't get much rest and playing so many ninety minute games is definitely going to catch up with you. So I definitely was playing on adrenalin a lot of the time.”
Ultimately, as he heads into the offseason with the team coming off the high of the Champions League result, Johnson feels very positive about the state of Toronto FC and firmly believes that the Reds have only scratched the surface of what they are capable of as a particular group of players playing a sophisticated system under Aron Winter. And while is going to take the next few weeks to recharge and recuperate, Johnson is not shy in saying that he is excited about the opportunity to have a full preseason with TFC and a chance to give the team the opportunity to train consistently and work on the aspects of the game that they still need to improve upon.
“It's huge to now have a full preseason, as well as a goal like the Champions League that should propel us to a good start in the league as well. To play with players that you don't know a lot about - especially with having players from overseas mixed with MLS players such as me - it's hard to play with players that you don't know anything about. And that's what we were all thrown into in the first month that we were all here. I barely knew the guys names that I was playing with and that kind of environment is one of the hardest things in which you can play in. But as the season went on, we started playing a lot better, started winning games that people weren't expecting us to win, getting results on the road and at home. All of that took time with the team that we had in the second half of the season. So when you can really execute the game plan, everything then goes smoothly because we all knew what we were supposed to be doing. When we first got here it was more just play and hope for the best. So it's going to be good to have a full preseason with all of us together and not having to worry about such drastic changes happening with the squad.”
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