Who would you prefer to be this weekend - Toronto FC coach Predrag (Preki) Radosavljevic or our Canadian national team coach Stephen Hart? Each has a difficult coaching assignment on a weekend that should we be drama-filled in Toronto and Buenos Aires.
The problem for Preki is getting a result against the New England Revolution at BMO Field on Saturday with his two top stars missing. Dwayne De Rosario is in Argentina representing Canada and Julian de Guzman is out with a recurring hamstring injury.
As De Rosario is TFC's top goal scorer and creator supreme, his absence is naturally a cause for concern. Recent experience magnifies the dilemma for Preki. In a recent game against Real Salt Lake, both De Rosario and de Guzman sat on the bench while their teammates conceded two first-half goals on the way losing the game 2-1.
The game time of 1 p.m. (ET) does not help matters either. The team will be playing its fourth game in 10 days, and just arrived home from Vancouver after a 0-0 tie on the West Coast. The start time was pushed forward a few hours in order to accommodate the European Champions League final to be played at 2.45 p.m. (ET) between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in Madrid.
Could the authorities not have considered pushing the game back instead of forward? It appears Preki was not consulted on this decision. Such is the life of a soccer coach.
The emphasis on mental approach has been the staple message from the first-year TFC coach and so now it will be tested, along with the depth of available talent. It will highlight the issue of balance in the Toronto FC squad.
This game against New England stands to be the first meaningful indicator of how far the team can go this season. Can Toronto FC get a result without the two star players? It is easy to have a good mentality when things go well, when there's a full squad and everything is on schedule, or you have had enough rest. The true test comes in the face of adversity.
On a positive note, the Revolution are hardly world beaters at the moment, losing a mid-week exhibition 4-0 against Portuguese giant Benfica. In addition, they continue to have their own internal issues with star Shalrie Joseph on an extended leave of absence.
Meanwhile in Argentina, the Canadian men's team is to play in one of the best footballing nations in the world, on its own turf, and only three weeks before it kicks off its World Cup campaign in South Africa.
Factor in the Canadian team being relatively young and without some key players and you have a recipe for, well, let's just say a tough game.
No doubt a great experience awaits the Canadian players and staff with the likes of Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez on show in front of 65,000 fans. How will the Canadians perform and react? This will be a great test to help Hart determine who he can count upon when World Cup qualifying again begins in a couple of years.
Make no mistake, this will be as difficult a game as you could find for our national team. While the Argentinians may not have their foot right down on the pedal, they will not want to be embarrassed at such an important time and in front of their home crowd. Expect them to be very good.