Nutrilite Cup: Is Professional Soccer moving forward in Canada?

So tomorrow night, May 18th, is the first leg of the Nutrilite Cup which is the corporate sponsor name for the Canadian Soccer Championship.  In past years this cup has been a bit of a joke as it has only included 3 teams, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact and the format was basically that of a group stage so there was no winner takes all show down at the end and as a result the tournament lacked a real level of excitement in my opinion.  That was made worse by the fact that Toronto FC was an MLS team and they were competing against teams from a level lower that they really should have been far superior to.  In the end the 2010 edition of the Cup was exciting as Toronto FC needed to claim a massive win on the last day to win the prize but up until that last match it was dull and doubt it won over to many new fans.

This year things have been much different.  FC Edmonton have been included and the format has been completely revised.  The addition of the 4th team allowed a shift to two round format with both rounds featuring two legs.  In the first semi-final match up Toronto FC cruised to a win over FC Edmonton which should come as no real surprise due to the gap between the levels of the two teams.  On the other side the match between Vancouver Whitecaps, who are now in the MLS, took on Montreal Impact who will be the third Canadian team in the MLS next season.  This tie was a very exciting one with the White Caps winning the first leg on the road it set up for an exciting second leg.  To be honest the only reason that I ended up tuning in to the second leg of this one was the timing.  Since the game was in Vancouver it kicked off at 10 pm for me and by that time there was nothing else on tv and I decided to give the match a try.  It was a dull on for much of the game but in the dying moments Montreal started to try and get the goal that they needed and things really opened up.  Partially as a result of the lack of quality in the sides it seemed that once things got opened up the teams struggled to calm them down at all.  It made for exciting viewing as a neutral with Montreal drawing level in the 83rd minute thanks to Canadian international Ali Gerba.  Vancouver would go on to win the match in extra time thanks to a 100th minute strike but what really struck me was the way in which the extra time went.  I am used to seeing times completely shut things down after they score but this time it seemed that the Vancouver goal only opened things up more as Montreal created several chances of their own.

The semi-final results set up what is probably the final which most fans would have expected with both of the MLS teams managing to advance.  Toronto FC and Vancouver opened the MLS campaign against each other earlier this spring when they met in Vancouver.  That was a very exciting game with Vancouver come out on top 4-2 but again it was marked with the sort of sloppy defending that seems to have characterized games that involve Vancouver this season.  Since that game both teams have really struggled in their MLS campaigns as Toronto FC have only collected 2 wins in 11 matches while Vancouver have failed to win in their 7 matches since that opening night.

On that opening night of the season there was a real sense of excitement for the future of professional soccer in Canada.  Empire Stadium in Vancouver was rocking and both teams went out and put on a show to match the spectacle of Vancouver being back at the highest level.  That excitement seems to have died down a fair bit since then though with both teams struggling to make any progress in the MLS.  For Vancouver that is understandable since it is their debut season but with Toronto FC being around for 5 seasons now fans are sure to be expecting better from the club.  The gap between these two sides seems to be fairly small and that should lead to these two games being fairly exciting.  The first leg will likely be a bit of a nervy affair with neither team wanting to do anything that could cost them the tie before the second game but they will both be looking to try and gain the upper hand.  I think that these two games might just be the best chance to witness what sort of foundation there is for Professional soccer in Canada.  Hopefully both stadiums are load and supportive and both sides come out and show what they can do.  This is the only trophy that either of these teams is going to get anywhere near so lets hope they go all out to try and win it.

Beyond the improving of the Nutrilite Championship the teams are all improving.  It was only 5 years ago that the MLS decided it was time to expand into Canada by including a team from Toronto and now they have added Vancouver and Montreal will join in 2012.  That will give Canada three teams at the highest level and hopefully that will increase the competition between them.  The creation of strong rivalries between these teams will only help increase the fan base for the clubs and get people more involved.  The team still have a long ways to go in terms of reaching the quality needed to win an MLS title or even compete for a playoff spot but with strong management in place and the foundations there it looks like the future is getting ever brighter.  I would like to say that optimistically in another 5 years Canada could be home to 3 of the better teams in the MLS.  This growth can only help to develop the grass roots program as well which could lead to more talented Canadians coming up through the ranks and if the clubs keep increasing in stature they might even be able to keep top Canadians from going over to Europe, at least for a while.