Champions league

By Laura Armstrong Staff Reporter Wed., Feb. 28, 2018 Toronto FC has been itching for the opportunity to test itself against the best teams in the region. And the CONCACAF Champions League, the most prestigious club tournament in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, is just the challenge the Reds were craving. But the Colorado Rapids, the Reds’ round-of-16 opponents, didn’t provide much of a struggle. The Rapids qualified for the tournament as the 2016 Supporters’ Shield runners-up, but they dropped to second-last in the West last season and are in the midst of a total rebuild. Things should get more interesting in the quarterfinals, which begin next Wednesday at BMO Field with the Mexican side Tigres UANL visiting. Many analysts believe Tigres could be the toughest challenge the Reds will face in this four-round tournament, which they hope to become the first Major League Soccer team to win. The team: Club de Futbol Tigres … [Read more...] about Champions League challenge stiffens for TFC in quarterfinals

By Laura Armstrong Staff Reporter Tues., Feb. 27, 2018 Toronto FC’s performance against the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday night might not instil fear into its opponents in the next round of the CONCACAF Champions League, but at least it got them there. Eighty days after the Reds made easy work of the Seattle Sounders on home turf to win their first MLS Cup, the team’s return to BMO Field brought a far more ordinary performance from Toronto. But after a 2-0 win in the first leg of round of 16 action put TFC in control of the series against the Rapids, the professional 0-0 draw the team produced in the second leg was more than enough to earn it a place in the quarter-finals. The Reds will match up against Mexican side Tigres UANL in that two-leg series, which begins with at BMO Field next Wednesday. Read more: Toronto FC says Ager Aketxe could be MLS ‘Newcomer of the Year’ Article Continued Below World Cup team doctors to use … [Read more...] about Toronto FC advances in Champions League, will face Tigers UANL in quarter-finals

By Laura Armstrong Staff Reporter Wed., Feb. 21, 2018 You know it’s cold when Nick Hagglund wears a long-sleeved jersey. The Toronto FC defender has never particularly minded frigid temperatures, typically favouring a short-sleeved top over bundling up during games. But in dressing for the coldest match ever played between two Major League Soccer teams — it was minus-13 C in Denver when the MLS champion Reds kicked off against the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday night in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions’ League’s round of 16 — Hagglund chose the extra layer as Toronto put up a 2-0 victory in its first competitive match of the year. The heat is now on Colorado, which would need to score three unanswered goals in the return leg at BMO Field next Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals in early March. The Rapids, a team still searching for its identity as it tries to familiarize itself with a new coach, new faces and a new … [Read more...] about Toronto FC opens Champions League quest with win over Colorado