Toronto FC coach says Seattle had easier playoff run than his team
TORONTO — The psychological warfare in advance of the MLS Cup final has begun with Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney suggesting that Seattle’s road to the championship game wasn’t as tough as his club’s slog through the East.
While he conceded Seattle was the class of the Western Conference, Vanney said the West playoff games he had watched “weren’t nearly as intense or as high-speed or as hotly contested as the Eastern Conference was. And I think that’s how the whole season was, to be honest.”
“It will be interesting, because I really don’t think they’ve faced the type of intensity that we’ve had to face and put into our games . . . And that will be interesting when you haven’t had a super-intense game to come into a game that is ultra-intense,” he added.
Seattle beat Toronto in a penalty shootout in last year’s final at BMO Field after the game finished 0-0 after extra time. The Dec. 9 rematch here marks the first championship game repeat since 2011-12 when the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo back-to-back.