TORONTO—Michael Bradley either has a great poker face or he’s just naturally wound very tight.
Or maybe he allows himself to get excited in private with his family and teammates, but doesn’t want to let his emotions get the better of him in public. Or just as plausible, he genuinely doesn’t view this as anything to get too terribly excited about.
Whatever Bradley is feeling, he’s not letting his guard down on the eve of what could be a historic day for Toronto FC.
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TFC are in a position to clinch a Major League Soccer playoff berth for the first time in franchise history, needing a victory at home against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday (at 5:00 pm ET). If Orlando City (hosting the Montreal Impact on Saturday at 7:30 pm ET) also drop points, the Reds will finally end their post-season drought.
Toronto can also guarantee a playoff berth if it ties Philadelphia, and if Orlando loses.
Eight years of playoff futility is going to come to an end for Toronto one way or another. It might not be this weekend, but it will end soon. Yet Bradley insists qualifying for the playoffs is simply the first step, and isn’t much cause to celebrate.
“We’re not putting the cart before the horse in any way. It’s up to us to step on the field and take care of business, and that goes for this weekend and the three games after that. The playoffs will be the first step along the way, it will be an important step… But at that point (when we clinch), it’s just one step along the way,” Bradley told reporters after Friday’s practice.
Bradley said there are no plans for him and his teammates to get together to watch the Montreal game later on Saturday and mark the occasion if the result goes their way.
“First off, it hasn’t happened yet, and second off, if it does, it’s just the first step along the way. Even if things were to go our way and we can get ourselves into the playoffs tomorrow we haven’t won anything yet; (we) haven’t done what we set out to do. When I came here it just wasn’t about getting into the payoffs. That wasn’t the end goal. To do the things that we all want, you have to be in the playoffs,” Bradley stated.
It’s an attitude that’s in sync with that of coach Greg Vanney, who said there is no champagne on ice in the fridge at his home.
“We have business to take of first. I’m not one to be too much of a planner ahead for these types of things because I think you’re setting yourself up if you do so. We will keep our focus and attention on getting the result on the weekend,” Vanney explained.
“I feel this is a group (of players) that sees us clinching as a step toward what we’re trying to accomplish, not the step.”
In other words, simply qualifying for the playoffs is an ends to a means. Nothing more.
Earlier this week, Vanney talked to reporters about how a playoff berth would finally help TFC get the monkey off its back and remove the heavy burden of the club’s history—a history that, to be charitable, isn’t so glorious—from off the shoulders of the current crop of players.
“For me, sometimes, I come into the locker-room and you can feel the weight of responsibility in the group,” Vanney admitted on Tuesday.
“You sense that they feel like there’s a big hurdle in front of them that they have to clear. I almost feel like once we clear it, it will be a relief and maybe we can even let loose a little more in terms of our personality and our emotions.”
Bradley, though, refused to be drawn on the club’s history, specifically on what separates this TFC team compared to previous versions that failed to qualify for the post-season when asked by one beat reporter during Friday’s media scrum.
“Guys, in case you’ve not got the feeling, I’m not in the mood today to be giving season recaps, because we’re not in the playoffs yet. If we do get into the playoffs tomorrow, things aren’t done. It’s not why any of us are here, just to say we got into the playoffs. If you’re looking for more from me today, I don’t have much,” Bradley said.
While Toronto is on the brink booking its spot in the playoffs, Philadelphia is all but mathematically eliminated, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference standings and eight points out with three games remaining. The Union are also coming off a shootout loss to Sporting Kansas City in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final.
Still, Vanney warns this is a dangerous Philly side.
“They’re a team that can play you quite well on transition, they get out and sprint and move forward, they’re very committed. They work hard and really go after it,” Vanney said.
“They have a very good counter attack and they have some very good players, so we have to be attentive and aware.”
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