TORONTO – Has it been a rough start in 2015 for Toronto FC? No doubt.
Still, team captain Michael Bradley isn’t one to advocate for his teammates feeling sorry for themselves following their third straight loss of the season last weekend, 3-2 to the Chicago Fire.
He said as much himself, speaking to reporters at training Friday, in this, another bye week for the club in the early part of the season. Bradley said the lack of games has “not been ideal,” and added that the first four games, sandwiched around two bye weeks, made for a “strange start to the season,” one that has been “inconsistent in every way.”
For Toronto FC, the latest bye week provided the team an opportunity to work on tightening up its defensive shape, while also providing injured defenders Mark Bloom, Steven Caldwell and Damien Perquis some much-needed recovery time.
“This is what building a team is,” Bradley said of his side’s work in training this week. “You can talk all you want. You can put things down on paper as often as you’d like, but there’s no substitute for the process of building a team. We are certainly right in the middle of that process at the moment.
“We probably deserve a little more than what we’ve gotten so far in terms of results,” he continued. “But, that’s how it goes. It’s important that every guy has a way of looking at himself in terms of what they do for the team and know what has been good but also find ways that we all can give a little bit more so that the team is able to improve. This is what it’s all about.”
After this weekend’s break, Toronto FC have a steady run of games to look forward to – with the regular season, Amway Canadian Championship and a friendly against Manchester City on May 27 – and no extended break until after their June 6 match against D.C. United.
As the club’s central figure in midfield, Bradley will most certainly be involved in a big way in each of those matches. But, his focus this week could also be on planning around US international duty.
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Should he be called up next week for the United States’ matchup Wednesday against Mexico at the Alamodome in San Antonio (8:30 pm ET; Fox Sports 1), Bradley said he would make the quick turnaround to reconnect with Toronto FC that same week for their game at FC Dallas (8:30 pm ET; TSN4).
“I’ll be honest, there comes a time when you do need a little bit of a break,” Bradley said. “But at this point of the season, you want to play as many games as possible. So I’m looking forward to what is always a big game for the US, and as soon as that’s over, I’ll shift focus and get ready for a huge game against Dallas.”
Ultimately, Bradley and his team work this week with one thing in mind: righting the ship once again.
“It has not been the perfect start, the start that anybody would have hoped for, but we now how to understand that this is what being a real team is,” Bradley said. “When you’re in these moments, you have to find ways to challenge each other, improve and turn things around.”
