Toronto FC and head Coach Aaron Winter are hoping for support from soccer fans for their March 7, CONCACAF Champions League game at the Rogers Centre. FILE PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris YoungThe Canadian Press
Toronto FC hopes the noise of a big crowd at Rogers Centre can make a difference on March 7 when they play the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The team announced recently that the game would be moved under the retractable roof because of the problems winter weather could create at BMO Field, the Major League Soccer team's regular home.
Head coach and technical director Aron Winter hopes a noisy crowd can make up for losing the home-field advantage that BMO Field provides.
"We hope that we're going to get the whole stadium completely full with our fans," Winter said Friday at a media conference. "They are the 12th man on the pitch and it is very important, they are supporting us. ...You never know what the forecast is going to be so I think this is the best solution."
Added director of business operations Paul Beirne: "It's going to be loud."
Also Friday, Toronto FC hired former American under-20 coach Thomas Rongen as director of its soccer academy. Rongen, 55, has coached several Major League Soccer teams over his career and most recently served as coach of the American Samoa men's squad.
Tickets for the CONCACAF Champions League game will range from $12-$69, with 73 per cent of them priced under $30.
The pricing schedule was released to supporters on Friday morning at a breakfast. "It got a round of applause which was really shocking," Beirne said.
"The decision to play at Rogers Centre was not one we took lightly," added Beirne. "The risk was not worth it. There were too many factors that were out of our control (playing at BMO Field).
"The feedback that we've gotten from the fans of Toronto FC has been overwhelmingly positive about going to the Rogers Centre. They see this as a big opportunity for the club. It is a big opportunity for the club. We're going further in this completion than we've ever been before. And it gives us an opportunity to kick off the season in a quality way."
Toronto FC, which has missed the playoffs in its first five MLS seasons, opens its sixth season March 17 in Seattle, three days after its Champions League return match against the Galaxy in Carson, Calif., and a week after the March 10 opening of the MLS schedule for most of the teams.
Toronto opens its home season March 24 against the San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Field. The game at Rogers Centre will be played on artificial turf instead of the natural grass.
Winter was not sure how the artificial surface would affect the possession and passing game he likes to employ.
"It depends," he said. "If you are playing games on artificial turf and the quality is good, it doesn't matter. But if you are playing on a bad pitch it is completely different than on real grass. But for me it doesn't matter.
"We know that before we play the game there we are going to practice a couple of times on the pitch to get used to what we can expect. I think it doesn't have to be a problem."
Winter said that he has checked the turf at Rogers Centre.
"I've been there," he said. "That pitch when we were on it was not good. Now they are making the pitch better."
Winter celebrated his first anniversary with Toronto FC on Friday. He took over the club with director of player development Paul Mariner, inheriting a team that lacked quality and cohesion that had undergone constant change.
"It was difficult," said Winter. "After four months I changed a lot. Now I know the league. Last season I didn't know anything about it."
The transition last year at mid-season including adding two designated players, midfielder Torsten Frings and forward Danny Koevermans, who made an immediate impact.
He said the team is well stocked with forwards and midfielders but would like to add some depth at the back line. Central defenders Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams are returning from knee surgery and it is not certain when they could be ready for game action.
Winter is not counting on them to open the season.
Notes: Winter said negotiations were still going on about bringing back forward Joao Plata and defender Richard Eckersley this season. Both played for Toronto last season on loan. "They are part of the core, we're still in discussion but I think in the end we're going to keep them," Winter said. ... Toronto FC is scheduled to take possession of its new training centre in Downsview in June.