Photo courtesy TFCpics.com

Must Win.

It’s a phrase that gets thrown around far too often in sports, especially in today’s world of instant gratification. It’s one that I am loathe to use very often, but in the case of Saturday’s TFC match versus Real Salt Lake, I’m saying it.

It’s a must win game.

Sure, if the Reds don’t get full points at BMO Field on the weekend, there is still the entirety of September and October for the team to get hot and pick up the requisite number of points to get into the playoffs, so a loss wouldn’t be devastating from a mathematical point of view. But the points would definitely help, and the game is a must win for other reasons.

For starters, Toronto is coming off two very demoralizing losses over the past week. Both were in different competitions, and both were very different defeats. The end game was the same for each though, with Toronto having dropped three very claimable points against unremarkable opposition.

So in that vein, TFC needs at home win on Saturday to pick the team’s collective spirit up and wash away the memories of the previous two matches.

Secondly, the opponent is RSL, as side that Toronto will become intimately familiar with over the next month, to the tune of three matches against the Utah club between Saturday and September 28. It would be incredibly advantageous if the Reds could kick off the first of those matches on the right foot and stamp their home authority over the Salt Lake crew.

Speaking of home authority, TFC just lost hold of a BMO Field unbeaten mark that lasted over a full year in all competitions when they got thrashed by the New York Red Bulls last weekend. Toronto thrives on the home field advantage — one could say that the entire season depends on it given the atrocious road record — so a win over a very good RSL side on the Lakeshore will send the message that the Red Bulls loss was an anamoly rather than an emerging trend.

Finally, Toronto needs to win on the weekend for the simplest reason of them all, and one that I alluded to above — points. TFC, after having sat in a playoff position the entire season, is now on the outside looking in where post-season rankings are concerned. Toronto is once again in a dog fight for the playoff table scraps, and every single point from here on out will help the Reds in that fight.

Win, TFC. That’s all there is to it.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Mexico’s Cruz Azul storms into town for the CONCACAF Champions League, looking to continue its dominance over the region — especially MLS teams — en route to yet another CCL final.

Sure, Los Cementeros may not be on par with Los Galacticos in terms of pure skill and talent, but the difference between this visit and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last year is that Cruz Azul is actually here to play for something.

The Mexico City club has never actually won the Champions League, despite having advanced to the final in both editions of that competition. This is a fact that does not sit well well with the team, and Cruz Azul will be looking to assert its dominance on the competition at the first opportunity.

That first opportunity is against Toronto.

The Reds are heading into the game an incomplete side, hampered by injuries to key personnel, most notably forwards Chad Barrett and Maicon Santos. Both players pulled up lame in recent games, and both are looking at possibly another couple of weeks before suiting up for TFC again.

This places the weight of the attacking responsibility on Mista, O’Brian White and Fuad Ibrahim. The thought of the three carrying the team’s offence through the thick of the late summer logjam is hardly inspiring, given Mista’s fitness issues, White’s complete lack of form and Ibby’s lack of minutes.

Luckily, the supporting cast is relatively unscathed, specifically Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman, both of whom will be looked upon to lead the upstart Reds against a highly motivated Mexican powerhouse.

Even Martin Saric is back to full training after a long layoff, which gives Preki a weapon if he feels that Cruz Azul isn’t intimidated enough.

It’s tough to give Toronto a real shot of winning this game, despite a home record that has seen the side unbeaten in over a calendar year. Cruz Azul will be simply the most powerful side to grace BMO’s pitch in the stadium’s history, once motivation and fitness are taken into account.

Tomorrow will not be a friendly kickabout in which both teams are more concerned with playing to the crowd than the final score. Quite the opposite, actually.

Both teams will absolutely be concerned with the final score. Toronto will be playing its best version of Preki-ball in order to keep the score respectable, while Cruz Azul will be looking to set their goal differential as big as possible, as early as possible.

Given that Los Cementeros are fresh off of pumping current Champions League holders Pachuca 4-1 in the Mexican Apertura on Saturday, the Reds will have their work cut out for them.

Fortunately, if there’s one thing that Preki’s team has shown in 2010, it’s that they don’t mind getting their hands dirty.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

BMO Field faithful will be heading to a vastly different stadium than they’ve become used to. The new $3.5 million natural grass surface is installed and cheerfully green, replacing the worn out artificial turf that was the bane of many a Toronto player’s existence. A new 1200- seat north stand now sits menacingly atop the old beer garden, forcing opposing goalkeepers to take verbal abuse for the full 90 minutes.

Of course, the most important thing on display will be the actual football. TFC is still very much a work in progress, and it hosts a Philly side that  will surely be on a high after a smashing home debut that saw the Union dispatch local rival DC United on the back of Sebastien Le Toux’s hat-trick.

Toronto officially welcomed two more players into the fold this week, with Russain defender Maxim Usanov and Canadian centre back Adrian Cann joining the side. Hometown boy Cann looks to become just the second player in history to play for all three Canadian professional clubs, as he has seen time with both the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in previous years. TFC fans hope that Cann will usurp Nick Garcia’s spot in the lineup, as at this point any option is better than the beleaguered American.

Philadelphia looks more like a typical MLS expansion side than last year’s debutante Seattle Sounders did, although like the Sounders Philly has shown that it knows how to win its opening home match.

Built around a relatively strong defensive corps and a very young attacking nucleus, look for the Union to be inconsistent this year, as teenaged rookies Danny Mwanga, Jack McInerney and Roger Torres – along with older freshman Tony Stahl – try to grow into the league.

Torres has so far shown the most promise in these early days, displaying an attacking flair from the midfield reminiscent of his countryman Fredy Montero.

Union coach Piotr Nowak hopes MLS veterans Alejandro Moreno and Fred can provide leadership to the young guns, and both should start against the Reds on the grass at BMO tomorrow night.

The game will likely be won or lost for the Reds based on the intensity they can bring over the entire 90 minutes. Against New England, Toronto looked fabulous in the first half and dreadful in the second, and such a swing in consistency will prove to be a killer should it happen again for TFC. Philly came out flying in the opening 10-15 minutes of both of their matches thus far, which is to be expected given the large youth movement in that side. If Toronto can withstand the initial onslaught, and maybe even tally an early goal themselves, then tomorrow’s match will be TFC’s for the taking.

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Please feel free to join U-Sector at its new preseason home Maro, which is located at 135 Liberty Street (just south of Lamport Stadium). Doors open at 3:30pm.

Amsterdam is the featured beer, and will be selling at $4 per cup and $15 per jug. All other drinks will be sold at regular Maro prices.

Though the future of food is not yet certain, please be mindful that there will be no food service on this occasion.

Maro will be open to U-Sector throughout the season for pre-game ONLY (there are a couple of exceptions), and thus will not be available for post-game. Those who wish to join U-Sector post game are invited to The Done Right Inn (861 Queen Street West).

Also, U-Sector will be marching to the stadium with the Red Patch Boys, starting at 6:30pm at the corner of Fraser and Liberty.

Posted by Rudi Schuller