Who knows what Toronto FC will look like by the time rookie head coach John Carver selects his first eleven to face D.C. United this weekend.
While nearly every Major League Soccer team has looked to Central and South America to stock its roster, Carver, an Englishman, has gone to his native continent to source players, such as Thursday’s signing of 32-year-old French midfielder Laurent Robert.
The Canadian team’s increasingly European look should result in a clash of styles as they face Latino-heavy D.C. United.
“It’s always really a product of the coach and the selection of the players from the coach,” said United general manager Dave Kasper. “I think that’s the starting point, what qualities your coach is looking for in the players, and then putting together a style.”
New England head coach Steve Nicol is renowned, sometimes maligned, for the Revolution’s defense-first, straightforward — read European — approach, but even they’ve added a Latino element and have looked different to start the 2008 season.
“What other people expect is really none of our concern,” said Nicol. “We have certain rules and a certain song sheet, and really, we want people to express themselves in their own particular way as long as they sing the right words.”
Nicol said it’s incredible how different it is to coach in MLS, where travel and weather influence play as much as a coach.
United head coach Tom Soehn thought Toronto was “going through some growing pains” after watching their match last weekend.
“In the course of that game, they changed formation and changed the whole idea of how they play.” said Soehn. “They’re still trying to figure it out.”
Note » Major League Soccer announced that the MLS All-Stars will play English Premier League club West Ham United in the MLS All-Star game on July 24 in Toronto.
