Toronto FC Media Conference

Alonso Coello

Media Conference

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Toronto, Ontario, Canada


New York Red Bulls 3, Toronto FC 0

Q. Maybe just give us your summation of the match. Seemed to be a pretty good 44 minutes and then the goal right before halftime was a real heartbreaker. How would you summarize the team's performance tonight?

ALONSO COELLO: Yeah, I think what you're saying sounds right. In the first half we do a good job forcing them to play out wide and obviously creating some chances of a process and getting down -- but overall, I think we doing a good job of stopping them from playing through us. We were being able to kind of hurt them in the counterattack as well and creating some chances but conceding a goal right before half hurt us. I think the second half, we were able to take a little bit more control of the ball and the possession, and then there were a few chances that they create that they punish us again.

Q. What goes through your mind when that first goal goes in? It has to be an uncomfortable but familiar feeling.

Yeah, I think every ball conceded is painful at this point. I think obviously happening right before halftime when we were feel like we could probably take this team home and take the three points from it hurts even more yeah, it's not a great feeling.

Q. Does this seem like we have seen this story before: Team played well and gives up a goal at an unfortunate time? It seems like this has happened on more than one occasion?

Yeah, it has. I think if I recall properly it's the same story as Miami. Miami was probably playing even better than today. Obviously at this point with so many losses, we can't hide from anything but we've come to a point where everything that can goes wrong, goes wrong, and even when we might be deserving, as of today, maybe to go to halftime tide, every little mistake, we get punished.

So yeah, I think it's been quite the story for the past three months.

Q. I wanted to hear, how would you describe the atmosphere within the squad during Terry Dunfield's final game as head coach, and how important has his influence been in the changing room?

Well, I think today, if you compare today to other games, maybe Charlotte, New York City when we played here a couple weeks ago, I think today from the start, the team is looking better. I think the attitude overall of the team, we come off from the start playing on the front foot and the attitude itself, I think was better, and the body language, the communication was better between everyone. I think Terry, I think he's obviously been put in a tough situation, and I think he's tried to do his best.

Q. Both Terry and Jonathan have recently talked about how when the team takes the first punch, concedes the first goal, has this tough time punching back and fighting back. I mean, from your perspective, I know you're a young player, but can you diagnose this for us? What is it about when you guys concede the first goal that you just can't seem to sort of fight back?

I think it's been on and off. The game in Philadelphia, we concede first but we end up winning that game if I'm right.

Q. No, you actually scored first?

Scored first and then they tie us -- well, the last game we go down 2-0 and we are able to tie the game back to two.

Obviously the games when we concede, we haven't been able to keep in the game and to stay positive and to keep going and to keep fighting. I think obviously as the bad results keep adding up, it gets tougher and tougher which for me, it's no excuse at all. I think we have to keep being professional and keep being accountable and play our game and try and keep getting results, no matter what. Obviously as tough results keep piling up, it gets harder and harder. I agree; that is one of the weakest points of the team this year.

Q. A lot has happened this year: Jonathan Osorio said he's never had a season like this. I'm not asking you to divulge secrets or tell us what happened in the locker room, but what has it been like going into work every day in a season like this?

It's been tough, obviously. I don't have the career that Jonathan has but I've been playing soccer for quite a while now, too. I haven't been in a situation like this, ever. It gets hard, I think the leaders of this group have, along with the coaching staff, have done a good job trying to keep the group together and to keep the group working and pushing forward and keeping us young guys and working alongside them. But obviously when you keep losing, it starts getting tougher and tougher to go back to BMO training ground and keep working. But I think as bad as the results have been, the group itself has done a good job just working on the mistakes that we've had in each game and trying to keep moving forward and looking forward.

Q. This one is a little bit vague, so apologies for that. You're so early in your career. I'm wondering what you're hoping to take from these experiences, whether it's the season as a whole or each individual match. What are you hoping to take in?

I think these are the times where you get better. I think in order to move forward and improve and learn you have to be challenged and you have to make mistakes and you have to lose. I think those are the times where you show what kind of professional, what kind of soccer player you're going to be and you are. Me myself, I've tried to as much as I could be one of the players that was showing that he wanted to win and he wanted to be a part of a winning group and from the role that I had this year, trying to make the team better. Obviously it hasn't gone the way that I had wanted it to go but yeah, I think it's one of those seasons that for me especially as a young player, being my first year in the MLS, I will remember as a year of a lot of learnings.

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137660-1-1003 2023-10-08 02:15:00 GMT

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