Canadian Championship Three-Peat
Ali Ahmed is one of those who always have another level in matches like these.
The crushing knee injury occurs with the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder readying himself to face his hometown team, Toronto FC in Wednesday’s Canadian Championship final.
“Someone, for sure is going to be like, ‘There’s a little bit more,'” added the 23-year-old Torontonian who had a TFC academy trial.
Now, it insane to think of them as my competition. In the end, it’s just another game. However, that was until we asked the striker to choose his favorite fixture to play in and he admitted: “You can’t take it away from the north London derby!
only the second time ever, the ‘Caps are aiming to lift the Voyagers Cup.
But they also won four times from 2009-12 and three more times from 2016-18.
Toronto isn’t looking to spoil a third-straight three-peat for , though.
Head coach John Herdman says the team would be just as excited to face anyone if a trophy was at stake.
I think the rivalry piece, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of us. He added: “It’s a final of a cup. “Just keep our eyes on the prize of trying to lift some silverware for this club.”
Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini says the hate other clubs feel towards each other is what helps make soccer so great, particularly in Canada.
But that is the beauty of having a rivalry. It’s awesome to have someone that as a fan on the sports side you dislike,” he said. ”I think that is the beauty of football; this kind of rivalry. So it’s mystery and hype, the Canadian Championship is kind of an expression of all that.
2-0 aggregate win over Canadian Premier League side Pacific.
Toronto advanced on away goals after trailing Hamilton-based Forge FC of the CPL 2-1.
Sartini said TFC is coming into the final where the ‘Caps were at back in the 2022 tournament. It was a battle between two new coaches, with both teams right at the fringe of the playoff hunt in MLS.
That could make Toronto more dangerous than ever given the right mind frame, the coach said.
“Tomorrow, I think they will come, I would say, 120 not 100 per cent,” he said. ‘If so, then that is why I think it will be an open match and the best defence would be a team remembering to be at their best to win.’
Toronto lost 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, while Chicago was defeated 4-1 by New York City. The L.A. Galaxy played their long-lost legend and gutted the Whitecaps by a score of 4-2, ending Vancouver’s five-game run in all competitions without a loss.
In MLS action, the ‘Caps are 13-9-7 and seventh in the Western Conference while TFC is 11-17-3 and eighth in the East.
Toronto has already lost to the Whitecaps, 4-0 early in April.
“Taking the job on and coming into Vancouver last time, I think it was pretty humbling,” Herdman said.
We have been here a long time, and I think our team collectively now know one another in terms of we put ourselves into this position and so there is fire,” he added.
In that April contest, captain Jonathan Osorio knew TFC was a team still in search of an identity.
“It has been a very long time, many games have passed,” he explained. “Both teams are, I think in different places now… where they are on their form and their rhythm and what they’re playing for in the league, et cetera. It will be a whole new game.
Tags: (Three-Peat) (Three-Peat) (Three-Peat)
