TORONTO – It’s not too much of a stretch to say Toronto FC’s 2015 team is still a work in progress.
TFC head coach Greg Vanney has tried out many different looks in the last few weeks, as his side returned home to BMO Field on Sunday after a seven-game road trip to start the season. Whether it’s been a flat 4-4-2, a more attacking 4-3-1-2 or any combination thereof, with players like Jackson, Robbie Findley, Collen Warner and Jonathan Osorio interchanging in midfield, the recipe for TFC’s midfield success continues to develop.
It’s Osorio who has earned more of a nod this week, though. After being dropped in favor of Jackson in the last few matches, the Canadian came off the bench on Sunday and made his presence felt immediately, picking up an assist on a Jozy Altidore goal in their 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo, before following it up with a solid display in Wednesday’s Amway Canadian Championship elimination at the hands of the Montreal Impact.
“I thought he was excellent,” Vanney said of Osorio following Sunday’s loss to Houston. “He’s played a lot, over the course of this season, in our various shapes, on the right side. He came in on the left side, and I thought he looked more comfortable. He’s not a speed-demon type of player, so the power to get around the outside is not necessarily his thing. Does he deserve time? Yeah, of course, he deserves more playing time.”
On Wednesday, Vanney started with a four-man diamond midfield, with Osorio off to the left. Vanney explained that while the shape wasn’t necessarily different, the players’ roles were. The two outside midfielders – in this case, Warner and Osorio – were to come in closer rather than push out wide. Michael Bradley and Benoit Cheyrou also had fixed attack and defend roles respectively, rather than working as a double pivot.
While Osorio seems to have now re-entered the fray, his drop from the lineup, Vanney says, was made in having to adapt to a style of play more suited for away matches.
“More so than anything, it was tactical,” Vanney said of Osorio’s form. “He’s shown more comfort being on the left, and even in my conversations with him, he’s more comfortable. Maybe the right side wasn’t ideal for him. The left side’s a little more ideal. That’s where he played a little bit last year as well.”
Whether this new diamond midfield style is carried over to Saturday’s encounter against the New England Revolution (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE) is yet to be seen, but Osorio says he’s ready to play in whatever role Vanney needs him in.
“As long as I have more of an attacking role, I’m comfortable,” he said. “Greg and I are always talking. He’s always talking to each one of our players, letting us know what’s going on. There’s not much that I have to change. It’s just doing more for the team and keep improving on the things I’m trying to improve on all year.”
