The Soccer Centre in Vaughan is about a 20-minute drive from Toronto's BMO Field, but it may as well be a galaxy away from the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. While Poland, Argentina, Uruguay and the United States are preparing for knockout round action over the next two days at Toronto FC's home field, Toronto FC's U-20 contingent was taking part in a short practice to get back up to MLS speed.
Forward Andrea Lombardo, midfielder Cristian Nunez and defenders Nana Attakora-Gyan, Gabe Gala and Stephen Lumley were back practicing with other members of the TFC reserves plus defenders Miguel Canizalez and Marco Reda, both of whom were recovering from injuries.
Goalkeeper coach Carmine Isacco, who was on hand to supervise, said the practice was intended on one level to get the players "mentally refreshed."
"We saw some things we needed to tweak with the U-20s," Isacco said. "Technically they need to improve on stuff. We wanted ... them back to the simple things and just to get them back into the rhythm."
It was a lack of scoring rhythm that led to Canada's early exit from the U-20 World Cup. Canada became the first host country to ever go scoreless in the world youth championship as the side simply couldn't find the net in losses to Chile, Austria and Congo. The last-place finish was a bitter pill for a side that many pundits and fans expected to ride the home-field momentum into at least the round-of-16.
"It's a tournament where if you're not on your game, you go home," said Lombardo, the only TFC player to play in all three of Canada's games. "It's as simple as that. We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn't get out of in the first two games."
The result was particularly disappointing for Lombardo, as the Cup was his last competition as an under-20 player. The forward also played in the 2005 U-20 World Cup, when Canada suffered another group stage elimination.
Lombardo's method for dealing with the disappointment is simply to forget about it.
"You've just got to put it behind you and get on with it," Lombardo said. "It's disappointing not to have as done as well as we could've, but at the same time it happens and you have to move on. We still have half a season left with Toronto FC and our goal is to make the playoffs. That's what the team has to look forward to now. There's no point in looking back at the past -- you have to look ahead."
The bright side for Lombardo and his U-20 compatriots is that they are returning to a Toronto side that has been in good form. Forced onto a six-game road trip due to the U-20 Cup taking over BMO Field, Toronto FC have thus far managed a 1-1-2 record in four games away from home. Over a six-day span last week, the Reds recorded ties in Kansas City and Chicago, as well as TFC's first-ever MLS road win, a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on July 4.
TFC's good form has been all the more remarkable due to the confusion of playing and practicing away from home, and a roster depleted by injuries and international absences. Lombardo and Gala are the only two of the U-20 contingent who have recorded minutes for Toronto FC this season, but Isacco said that the entire reserves squad may be needed as the Reds continue their playoff push.
"We're going to rely on [the U-20 players] for minutes probably," Isacco said. "It's been a long year and a lot of guys are tired.
"Three games in six days isn't easy," he added. "[The results] were good, but we'd rather win. We don't want to get complacent. We don't want to accept ties in games we should win."
As for the U-20 World Cup, Isacco said that the biggest lesson the young players can take from the tournament is not to dwell on the losses, but use them as motivation.
"It's good they didn't accept the disappointment ... but like the old saying goes, you need to learn to lose before you learn how to win," Isacco said. "Hopefully they bring that different attitude and that different humility to the next half of the Toronto FC season."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
