Toronto FC goalkeeper will miss a few games for the MLS club while away on national team duty for Canada at the Gold Cup next month. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
Soccer: John F. Molinaro
Toronto FC players, coach caught in a catch-22
Last Updated Friday, May 25, 2007
by John F. Molinaro
With its first goal and first win out the way, Toronto FC is set to record another first in club history.
When Toronto takes to the field Saturday against the Columbus Crew in Ohio, it will be without two starters: midfielder Carl Robinson and central defender Andrew Boyens.
Instead of battling Columbus, Robinson, from Wales, and Boyens, a New Zealand native, will square off against one another when their respective countries meet in an international friendly in Europe, marking the first time Toronto will not be able to call upon a player because of a national team conflict.
The club-vs-country dilemma is one that has bedevilled European soccer's glamour teams for years. Toronto will now get a small taste of what Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan go through every time the national teams of England, Spain and Italy schedule a friendly in the middle of the season.
May 26 is not an "international date" recognized by FIFA, meaning Toronto could have prevented Robinson and Boyens from missing the Columbus contest, but both players were given the blessing of coach Mo Johnston.
"I spoke to Mo about it. I told him I had been called up and he was very good to me and said if I still wanted to play for my country then he wouldn't stand in my way," Robinson told CBC Sports Online.
"If Mo turned around to me and said 'would you mind not going?' it might be a difficult issue, but he didn't say that because he knows how important it is to play for your country."
"It's an honour to play for your country, but having said that you don't want to miss games for your club, so it's a catch-22," added Robinson.
It's a sentiment echoed by Boyens: "Obviously, I'm torn. I want to play for my country, but I'm really enjoying it here and to miss games is too bad."
Robinson will also miss Toronto's June 2 contest against the Colorado Rapids. Wales plays the Czech Republic in a Euro 2008 qualifier in Cardiff that day, and Johnston can't prevent Robinson from playing - qualifying games for tournaments such as Euro are staged on FIFA-approved dates.
Nor will Johnston have any choice but to release starting goalkeeper Greg Sutton, defenders Marco Reda and Adam Braz, and midfielder Chris Pozniak, all of whom have been called up to play for Canada at next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The tournament runs from June 6-24 and the four players could miss as many as three games for Toronto, depending on how far Canada advances.
The loss of Sutton is a big blow. Backup goalkeeper Sedan Djekanovic, recently signed from the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL first division, is inexperienced and has yet to see any regular-season action for Toronto.
Johnston had discussions with the Canadian Soccer Association but couldn't convince them to allow Sutton to stay behind.
"Canada has the right to call me, so that's what it boils down to," said the Toronto goalkeeper.
Like Sutton, Montreal native Braz realizes the timing of the Gold Cup could not have been any worse. With just two wins in its first seven games and sitting in the Eastern Conference basement, Toronto can ill afford to lose a single player - let alone four - for any length of time.
Forward Andrea Lombardo will also be unavailable starting in mid-June as he heads off to Team Canada's training camp in preparation for this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup being held from June 30-July 22.
A lengthy run in the competition by Canada would not only rule out Lombardo for Toronto, but could also stunt his progress - the talented forward was recently promoted from the team's developmental squad to the senior roster after making his regular-season debut two weeks ago against the Chicago Fire.
It's not all bad news for coach Johnston, though. Toronto captain Jim Brennan, a national team veteran, was named to Canada's preliminary roster for the Gold Cup, but decided to turn down the invite.
"It's not that I don't want to play for Canada, because I love playing for Canada and I've enjoyed every single game I've played for my country. But at the moment my priority is here with Toronto," explained the defender.
Still, Brennan's choice to stay behind doesn't disguise the fact that Johnston, like Robinson and the others, is in a bind.
He obviously doesn't want to see his players miss any action, but at the same time Johnston believes there are benefits for Toronto, viewing national team games as an opportunity for his players to develop and improve.
"It's the national team and I think it's important for our guys to play for their countries," said the Scot, adding "it speaks to the quality of our players.
"It's a nice problem to have."
Johnston is right. It is a nice problem to have, but a problem all the same - especially for an expansion franchise with a 2-5 record.
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