Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
After a season with two new expansion teams, plenty of fascinating storylines and interspersed with a US World Cup qualifying nightmare, MLS in 2017 will end in the same way it did in 2016: with Toronto FC hosting Seattle Sounders in MLS Cup. For the first time since 2011 and 2012, there is a repeat of MLS Cup Final on the cards. That was in a different era for the league, but to be fair, 2017 doesn’t feel like much of the same in spite of the repeat matchup. Instead of going over what might be the same on December 9th, what about way may be different? And for both teams, there are critical differences that could decide the destination of the trophy.
While many of the principals remain for both teams heading into this Final, there are key differences for both squads not just with each other, but with the squads that preceded them in 2016. For Seattle, Clint Dempsey will lead the line after missing the postseason last year with an irregular heartbeat. Jordan Morris has not been healthy all year, but a brief cameo in leg two against Houston means he could be an x-factor as a super sub. And the depth options sprinkled around the squad, even though there are no new flashy DP’s such as Harry Shipp, Will Bruin, Gustav Svensson add another dimension to this squad.
In Toronto, Bradley, Giovinco and Altidore will steal the headlines, but what of Victor Vazquez, the former Barcelona academy product signed with TAM that has unlocked even more doors for this team? How about more solidity at the back with Chris Mavinga and Nicolas Hasler? This team struggled more in their conference final than did the Sounders, but on form there is no team better.
The venue of BMO Field will be the same, and the conditions will likely be identical in terms of weather: very cold. Toronto FC have all the pressure as team that has done everything except win MLS Cup yet and one that came so close in the same circumstances last year. But it is highly unlikely this game will play out the same way the last final did; Seattle will not have zero shots through 120 minutes of soccer and because of Clint Dempsey’s return, there will be more fluidity in their attack.
Toronto FC on paper certainly look to be the better team, but they’ve had a tougher road to MLS Cup final in terms of their ties. They beat the Red Bulls by away goals only, and needed a late Jozy Altidore goal after it looked as if he badly injured his ankle to squeak by the defensively solid Crew. And since both squads are so similar and play almost identical styles to the ones they played last year, who can and will be the difference makers?
For Seattle, some of that forward depth is critical, though it’s not flashy. The Sounders have helped revive Will Bruin’s career, and in Houston he was one of the league’s most prolific goal scorers. His relationship with Lodeiro and Dempsey has been a revelation, and that could be critical in unlocking TFC’s back five. How about Spaniard Victor Rodriguez, who wouldn’t want to be outdone by his compatriot in red Victor Vazquez? Though not the same level of signing, Rodriguez has added a little extra guile and creativity alongside Lodeiro beneath Seattle’s forward line, which adds another extra dimension to defend.
But that isn’t to say TFC haven’t evolved either. They proved consistently this year they don’t need their principals to be successful, and with them they’re now even better. Vazquez is a difference maker for TFC in attack, but it may be more about how they defend not just with their back three, but with Alex Bono in goal. He doesn’t draw in headlines like Zack Steffen did, but he’s been equally as important. He’ll be called in to make big saves at least once or twice to keep his team on the front foot.
2017 MLS Cup is about evolution, not revolution for both the Sounders and Toronto FC. So much is the same, yet so much is different about this match. Seattle looks to cement a legacy as a dominant MLS side, and Toronto FC with a win become the best MLS single season team ever and the first to win a treble. Can Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley erase some of their USMNT failure? Can Sebastian Giovinco stake a claim as the best player in league history? Can Clint Dempsey help Seattle win a Cup after they won without him last year?
Normally, a sequel is inferior to the first edition. Last year’s game itself was drab, dull and boring. But that should not be the case this year. 2017 MLS Cup has every chance to outdo the first edition, and something very special is on the cards, either for those in red or green.
