TORONTO --Toronto FC have confirmed their first two pre-season opponents and are close to adding a third game.
The Reds will take on Croatian powers Partizan Belgrade on Feb. 2 and Dinamo Zagreb Feb 10. Both games will take place in Antalya, Turkey.
Toronto will also play a game on Feb. 6 in Antalya, but the opponent has yet to be finalized.
The Reds are opening their pre-season camp in Europe for the first time this season after setting up camp in Florida each of the last four seasons.
Increasingly Antalya has become the home of top European teams during the winter break. In 2010 more than 20 clubs from the first divisions of the German, Dutch, Austrian and Russian leagues trained in the Turkish resort town with more expected in 2011.
Toronto management has said that training in Turkey will expose TFC to a different type of environment and playing styles. It’s hoped that will benefit the Reds as they look to re-tool for 2011.
Toronto willl also play their share of pre-season friendlies against North American opposition. The Reds will be part of the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston, S.C., for the fifth straight season. There they will play the USL Pro Charleston Battery along with Chicago and DC United. The event runs March 5-12.
