TORONTO – Michael Bradley can’t help but shake his head over what he feels is the absurdity of it all.
Toronto FC’s captain has never been shy in the past about voicing his displeasure over Major League Soccer scheduling issues, and he didn’t hold back Friday when asked about the Reds’ fixture list next week that sees them play twice in three days.
TFC will face the Montreal Impact next Wednesday at Stade Saputo in the first leg of the Canadian Championship, and then return home to host the New England Revolution on Friday in MLS action.
[relatedlinks]
Playing back-to-back games in three days is common in world soccer, but a 48-hour turnaround doesn’t happen very often.
Needless to say, Bradley isn’t impressed with the situation.
"Total joke. Total joke. What more can you say? You’re trying to grow a league, you’re trying to raise the quality across the board, you’re trying to give the Canadian Championship the respect that it deserves because it’s a trophy and we want to win it. How, ultimately, that you get put into a position where you have to play two games in three days is beyond me [and] laughable," Bradley said.
Bradley later added: "How this gets allowed, you can’t help but shake your head."
TFC coach Greg Vanney confirmed that pushing the Friday match back to Saturday was not an option – the CFL’s Argonauts play their season opener the following Sunday at BMO Field, and that’s not enough of a turnaround for both events to be accommodated.
Vanney hinted that discussions of some sort took place to move the first leg of the Canadian Championship up a day to Tuesday in order to give TFC more time between matches. But he didn’t provide any details of how those talks went or who was involved.
"There were many, many discussions about possibilities to help us. The biggest challenge is the Wednesday-Friday. There were lots of discussions around trying to have that game on Tuesday … This is where we’re at now," Vanney said.
Part of the problem, too, is that Canada Soccer wants to get the Canadian Championship done and dusted before the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which kicks off on July 7.
Vanney put on a brave face on the situation while fielding questions from reporters about TFC’s schedule next week, not wanting to get his excuses in early.
But Vanney did admit it’s unlikely he’d be able to use any of his players in both games next week – the turnaround is just too short.
"I would have a very difficult time [doing that]. It’s the quantity of minutes [a player might play on Wednesday] … there’s a threshold there that if they cross it then they probably wouldn’t be available for Friday," Vanney said.
Sportsnet contacted both Canada Soccer and the Montreal Impact to get their take as to why next week’s first leg couldn’t take place on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.
When reached by Sportsnet, a Montreal Impact official could not offer any insight on the situation.
Canada Soccer offered this comment: “Each year the Canadian Championship schedule is set in consultation with all clubs and their respective leagues prior to the start of the competition to reach a consensus on the most suitable dates. This year the games were spread over Tuesday and Wednesdays to accommodate, where possible, the travel needs, game schedules in other competitions, and additional factors to which all parties agreed.”
[snippet id=3300009]
