MONTREAL – Major League Soccer has a very good thing going in the 401 Derby between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC, which is slowing gaining a reputation as one of the better rivalries in Canadian sports.
Another chapter in this heated and at times contentious series was written on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo where the Impact and TFC played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final. Matteo Mancosu’s opening goal was cancelled out by Jozy Altidore’s controversial equalizer at the 30-minute mark (more on that in a second) in a game that was pretty even, setting things up quite nicely for next week’s return match at BMO Field.
Earlier in the week, Toronto coach Greg Vanney talked about what makes TFC versus the Impact so special, and admitted that he enjoys the rather rude reception he and his team receive whenever they visit Montreal.
“I like that aspect of it; I like that it’s a bit unfriendly. It becomes you and your team, and us against them, and that’s what it should be about – that’s why these rivalries are so special,” Vanney said.
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Unfriendly is how best to describe what took place between these two rivals at Stade Saputo on Wednesday night. There were no nasty or reckless tackles, and no cheap fouls. No ref baiting, or overt acts of simulation in an attempt to get opponents sent off.
What there was, though, was plenty of acrimony, and players unabashedly squaring up against one another, with Altidore and Montreal’s Marco Donadel of Montreal most notably getting in each other’s face on more than one occasion. The lack of dirty play pointed to a mutual respect, even though a natural animosity exists between these sides, and it has to be said, the two cities in general, for a variety of reasons both sporting and cultural.
And you know what? That’s OK. Pro sports could use more of this type of rivalry that goes beyond the dimensions of the playing field, and MLS, in particular, could use a whole heck of a lot of it, especially when you consider that in some markets the league is fourth or fifth (or worse) in the sporting pecking order.
A certain level of blandness has set in, with too many coaches afraid to give honest answers to reporters’ questions for fear of giving their opponents extra motivation. Likewise, too many players suppress their character and personality so as not to offend anybody’s delicate sensibilities, going to great lengths to avoid being brandished as a classless braggart.
It shouldn’t always be like that. A little bit of colour and emotion is what makes pro sports far more interesting and fun to watch, a reality that’s clearly not lost on the Impact and TFC whenever they get together.
Pro sports could also use the type of ruthlessness that Toronto FC showed in tying the game up at 1-1 when Altidore slipped a shot underneath Maxime Crepeau that the Impact goalkeeper should have stopped.
In the build-up to Alidore’s goal, Montreal defender Laurent Ciman clattered into teammate Daniel Lovitz (a former Toronto player) who dropped to the ground in agony inside the penalty area. The referee didn’t stop the action, and TFC rightly played on, much to the outrage of Impact players, before Altidore equalized. Lovitz injured his knee on the play and was replaced by Hassoun Camara.
Vanney defended his team’s actions, saying they were under no obligation to stop playing. He even went so far as to say he wasn’t sure his players even saw Lovitz down on the ground, which, of course, Montreal coach Mauro Biello balked at when told of his counterpart’s comments.
Biello was clearly miffed not only at referee Silviu Petrescu for allowing play to continue, but also at Toronto for deciding not to sportingly kick the ball into touch so Lovitz could get examined by the team’s medical trainer. He went on to issue a not-so-veiled warning ahead of next week’s return match at BMO Field.
“In the end, that’s the choice they made, and if [we’re in that same situation] we know how we’re going to react,” Biello said.
Wednesday’s tilt marked the first meeting between Toronto and Montreal since last November’s epic Eastern Conference final, heralded as one the best playoff series in MLS history. The seventh-month sabbatical did very little, if anything, to soothe the tensions between the two rivals.
Aside from next week’s second-leg meeting, these sides will meet each other three times in MLS play later this season, and they could face off again in August in a one-game playoff to decide who advances to the CONCACAF Champions League as Canada’s lone representative. There’s also the chance they could reunite in the playoffs, which could potentially mean another two games.
Under normal circumstances, such frequent matchups within a single season would run the risk of watering down a rivalry. You get the sense, though, that there is little risk of that happening with TFC and the Impact. So long as they’re paired off, the encounters will always be intense.
“I don’t think either team wants to give an inch in this rivalry … Whenever two rivals play each other in meaningful matches where there’s emotion involved, it adds to the storyline and it continues to build,” Vanney said.
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