SoccerCanadian pride rests with Toronto FC

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To achieve maximum effect, it should be delivered and accepted with a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude, accompanied, perhaps, by a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders to underscore the premise that the team has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

With 90 minutes of the regular season remaining, TFC indeed has everything to gain. In my opinion, though, it also has much to lose.

While entry into the post season for the first time would be an achievement in itself, the bigger picture offers us a different perspective. A Canadian team in the playoffs is good for Canadian soccer. Whether or not it’s good for business at MLS HQ in terms of viewing figures and potential revenue is irrelevant.

TFC can offer Canadians hope

What the Canadian game needs, and continues to need, are positive stories, which engage and excite the fans and encourage them to rally round the flag, proud of what this country can produce on a soccer field.

Only last weekend, for example, two Canadian teams went toe-to-toe to determine the champion of the United Soccer Leagues. Sadly, the scheduling overlapped with Toronto FC’s crucial game against Real Salt Lake, but the deciding match up between Montreal and Vancouver was no less significant.

For the first time in USL history (a league dominated by American teams) the Playoff Final was contested in two Canadian cities. Furthermore, for the second time in as many seasons, a Canadian team lifted the trophy as the Impact replaced the Whitecaps as top dogs.

If ever there was a story of triumph over adversity, the resurgence of Montreal during 2009 surely embodies all the requisite qualities. Who would have guessed in the dark days and weeks following the dismissal of John Limniatis as coach that this team could navigate a path out of the doldrums and once again scale the summit within a few short months?

Now centre stage has been vacated, and the spotlight falls exclusively on the men in Red. This is their moment to deliver a polished, professional performance, not to fluff their lines as so often in the past. This is the moment when confidence, belief and absolute commitment must overcome nerves, anxiety and disorganization.

This is not baseball where Canada’s team cannot compete on a level playing field with the Yankees. This is not hockey where the world’s most famous team has become a byword for underachievement. This is Major League Soccer – an organization where parity is paramount. Every franchise is just about as good (or as bad depending on your point of view) as every other.

A chance to correct past mistakes

Toronto FC must not waste this chance as it has wasted others. It still irks me this team failed to live up to its responsibility in the CONCACAF Champions League, meekly bowing out in the qualifying stages after upsetting the odds, and Vancouver fans, to clinch the Canadian Championship. Montreal did a magnificent job in the inaugural year only for TFC to drop the baton.

I, for one, am sick and tired of Canadian teams being little more than peripheral makeweights in US dominated Leagues. Away from the broadcast booth I am a fan of Canadian soccer and I desperately want it to succeed. Success demands attention and publicity which, in turn, leads, crucially, to credibility.

Toronto FC has built itself a platform and populated its roster with a solid Canadian contingent. Dwayne de Rosario, Julian de Guzman, Jim Brennan and Adrian Serioux have all come home after years away while Nana Attakora has the potential to anchor the Canadian national team for years to come.

Finally, incredibly, this team can use the platform to leap to the next level with one big push in the Big Apple. More importantly, this is the moment at which Toronto FC can push soccer to the very top of the sporting agenda. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

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