Toronto FC aims for top spot in Champions League
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 | 1:28 PM ET
CBC Sports
Marco Velez, right, and his teammates from Toronto FC will look to eliminate the Vancouver Whitecaps from contention in the Canadian Champions League on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)Both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps have plenty to play for when they clash Tuesday in the Canadian Champions League (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 4 p.m. ET).
Toronto will be playing its first home game of the competition and can move into a tie with the Montreal Impact for first place with a win.
Vancouver, having lost its first two contests to Montreal, needs a win just to keep alive its slender hopes of winning the tournament. A loss or tie on Tuesday would eliminate the Whitecaps.
Toronto FC sits in fourth place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference at 6-5-3. Both Vancouver and Montreal play in the 11-team United Soccer Leagues First Division (one level below MLS).
Even though Vancouver plays in a lower league, Toronto FC coach John Carver has warned his players not to take the Whitecaps lightly.
"I know that Vancouver have had a good season, but they haven't had a lot of success recently," said Carver. "They're obviously not a bad side or they wouldn't be where they are in the league.
"I thought they were unfortunate not to get something from the game when they played in Montreal and it was the same the other night when they were at home to Montreal. They did very well and they could have got back into the game before the Impact got their second. Vancouver will be like a wounded animal. They've got to win the game and it should be an open game."
Montreal leads the Canadian Champions League with six points from three games. Toronto is in second (three points) but it has two games in hand on Montreal. Winless Vancouver is in last place.
The top team in the final standings of the round-robin competition will be Canada's representative at the CONCACAF Champions League, an international club competition that crowns the best pro team in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The CONCACAF Champions League winner then goes on to play at the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan in December 2009 against continental champions from Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.
Italian giants AC Milan won the 2008 FIFA World Club Championship.
The next game in the Canadian Champions League sees Toronto FC visit Vancouver on July 9.
The tournament wraps up on July 22 when Toronto hosts the Montreal Impact (CBC Bold, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET).
