Toronto FC: So I guess Sebastian Giovinco, Victor Vazquez do matter
Toronto FC were shellacked 4-0 by CA Independiente on Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League. I guess losing your two best players in the offseason really does matter, then.
The Toronto FC offseason was not a productive period. After a disappointing 2018 defence of their MLS Cup title in which the Canadians dropped out of playoff contention by the summer, although their focus was geared towards the CONCACAF Champions League, there was hope for a winter resurgence.
Ali Curtis came in as the new general manager, Greg Vanney was extolling the virtues of his players and his team, proclaiming his excitement for the year ahead, and there was an expectation that the Toronto FC of 2017, not 2018, would return.
And then the offseason played out. Specifically, two key stars — arguably Toronto’s two best players — departed, with the club having no choice but to accept offers as both either wanted contracts that were unaffordable or simply were ready to move on and prolong their career elsewhere.
First, it was Victor Vazquez. The attacking midfielder, who is oft-overlooked in MLS circles given that he is not technically a Designated Player but was playing at a Designated Player level, exited for Qatar, reportedly because he wanted another payday before he had to retire. He is 31.
And then Sebastian Giovinco followed suit. The Italian endured a messy departure from Toronto, moving to Saudi Arabain side Al-Hilal for a reported transfer fee of between $2 and $3 million. Giovinco left on bad terms, amid some rumour-mongering from Saudi Arabia, Instagram slating and typically contorted agent speak, allegedly unhappy with Toronto not matching his contract demands.
Toronto played their first match without Giovinco and Vazquez this week as they embarked on another CONCACAF Champions League endeavour, hoping to better their runners-up place of last year. It took just one match for those dreams to come crashing down. Toronto fell 4-0 to CA Independiente in a shockingly humiliating defeat.
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This was one of the most insipid, lacking displays from an MLS team in the Champions League in history. TFC were expected to waltz past Independiente. Instead, they could have lost by even more.
It would be over-simplifying it to state that Toronto did not have Giovinco and Vazquez and that is why they were so poor. But their absences were a clear reason as to why they were unable to progress the ball into advanced areas through the midfield and then create opportunities when they were in promising positions.
Last season in MLS, with Giovinco on the field, Toronto averaged a goal every 43.3 minutes. With him absent, they scored a goal every 168.5 minutes. For Vazquez, Toronto averaged a goal every 40 minutes with him on the field. That grew to every 60 minutes when he was on the sidelines.
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Put very plainly, losing arguably your two best players and not replacing them whatsoever is a major problem. It is one that Toronto still haven’t solved, and likely won’t now solve until the summer at the earliest. Giovinco and Vazquez do matter. And that does not bode well for the rest of 2019.