TORONTO – On paper, and in graphic form, there is little hope of overturning that horrendous 4-0 first-leg deficit a week ago.
But for Toronto FC, who are set to play CA Independiente in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday night (8 pm ET | TSN, Univision Deportes, YahooSports.com) at BMO Field, all they see is that chance.
“By no means are we out of this,” Alex Bono said. “We have to believe we can make a comeback for the ages. We know what we have to do on our home field.”
Belief is an asset, but in a hole Greg Vanney said his side will look to the past, both good and bad, to dig themselves out.
“Those [experiences] prepare you for different circumstances,” he said. “We have to be open-minded, willing to adapt to the situation. We saw what our deficiencies were. The objective is to address those.”
Reinforcements – Drew Moor and Nick DeLeon – are available. Eriq Zavaleta is not yet ready and Jozy Altidore remains sidelined as he recovers from offseason foot surgery.
Altidore's absence, as well as the departures of Sebastian Giovinco and Victor Vazquez, have necessitated a different tact.
“We have to be better as a team,” Vanney said. “We're not going to come up with a ton of individual moments that are going to separate us. We need good collective moments we can repeat, which is what you see from the best teams.”
“Manchester City scores probably 70 percent of their goals by getting to the endline, squaring the ball back and somebody tapping it in. It's not an accident, they set that up,” Vanney added. “We need to set up our actions and not just rely on individuals. We are in that process of learning; we've adjusted our shape a bit.”
In search of that evolution, Vanney has morphed his side into a 4-3-3 and is looking to add elements from City and Atletico Madrid to their game, though he admitted with chagrin that the Spanish side's defensive nous was absent in Panama.
“You take little bits – principles, mentality, tactics – but it has to fit into a concept that is relative to our players,” outlined Vanney. “We saw progress over preseason, but we have to recognize how to apply [it] differently to each situation. We're still working through, 'If they do this, then we do this.'”
Conditions too could prove a factor: February grass in Toronto is a little less than perfect; temperature around kickoff will be below freezing with a substantial windchill.
Jonathan Osorio said he'd be wearing several layers, but was more interested in how many the Panamanians would be sporting and how they’d react to the conditions.
“Playing will be difficult for them,” Osorio said. “It's going to be a shock at first. We know it won't be comfortable and we have to take advantage of that; make sure that the game is uncomfortable for them. The weather could be bad, but if we don't bring the intensity it will give them life. If we can get on them early, it will be big.”
