At it’s best football is a joyful act. 

Not in every moment, mind; but when that ball goes into the net, when a defender makes a game-saving tackle, when a goalkeeper makes a crucial save – well, maybe not, goalkeepers are odd ducks after all – or when that final whistle blows on a good result, the end product is smiles.

After a tough few years for Toronto FC, with BMO Field rocking like it used to and the Italian influx over the summer, that joy is returning.

Whether it is a well-deserved bow from Federico Bernardeschi after his goal in Charlotte, Lorenzo Insigne peeling away in celebration after his, or Domenico Criscito’s Goal of the Week winner – and Michael Bradley racing to congratulate his teammates on that sumptuous strike – that joy is evident.

“They like it,” replied Bob Bradley on Tuesday, asked if the Italians were enjoying their first few rounds in North America. “You can tell that they love football, they're excited about what's going on, they see the way the team is moving in a good direction, they love the city, so all those things are really positive.”

In their last seven matches, TFC have won four, drawn two, and lost one, collecting points at a rate of two-per-game. Six games remain to determine which teams will compete in the 2022 MLS CUP Playoffs, anybody counting Toronto out prematurely does so at their own peril.

The team certainly believes they can get the job done.

“The guys are excited about what's going on,” relayed the Toronto coach. “They all can tell that the football is getting better. The other day in Charlotte, we know that it's not the best day that we've had so far football wise, but then there's something to be said about having the right mentality and finding a way to win when maybe you're not at your best, so there's a good feeling about that.”

The odds may be against them, but Bob Bradley has little time for that.

“I don’t know,” he replied, asked about the statistics. “I can go and ask smart people, or 538, and get odds and all this and then go from there.”

“We have to play well, we have to take a lot of points. Can we go on a really good run, finish all the games off with wins, go in as one of the best teams in the league? It’s possible,” Bradley mused. “We focus on that side of things and take it a game at a time.”

With the postseason set up the way it is, it matters more how a team closes the year than how they start.

“Over the years there are good examples of teams that finish the season strong, go into the playoffs with confidence – others in the league know that that's a good team, they're playing well,” Bob Bradley highlighted. “We're going to try to be that team.”

That journey continues on Wednesday night with the visit of the LA Galaxy to BMO Field under the midway lights of the Canadian National Exhibition.

It will be a special night for many reasons.

Should he feature as expected, it will be the 150th TFC appearance for Chris Mavinga. 

“Chris has played a big part on a lot of really important days for us,” said Michael Bradley of his long-time teammates. “His ability to take care of things in the back, to put out fires, to make plays, to make life really really hard on the other team’s attackers – that part is really good.”

“He and his family have grown to really love the city. Chris loves and appreciates the club and everything that we're about,” he continued. “Lately he's been in a really good way. He's got the look in his eye right now that every time he steps on the field, he's ready to go, committed and playing at a high level. A really important guy, a really good guy, and so excited for him [to reach this milestone].”

It will also be the first time that former TFC coach Greg Vanney, several members of his staff – Dan Calichman, Nick Theslof, Jason Bent, Jim Liston, Michael Rabasca, Tom Williams – and a handful of former Reds now with the Galaxy – Victor Vázquez, Mark Delgado, Raheem Edwards, and Eriq Zavaleta – return to BMO Field.

A night that will bring up a lot of good, old memories.

The MLS Cup runs, good endings or bad, the Concacaf Champions League, lifting Voyageurs Cups in the Canadian Championships, special goals and special games. 

Bob Bradley, who followed the action at TFC closely from afar in those days, has “known all along” how important Vanney was to the club.

“Seeing the experience that Michael had here, seeing the kinds of teams, the kind of football, the success, Greg was the one who got all that going,” he said. “And made sure that when the team was at its best, in addition to winning, they also played really good football.”

There will be plenty of space for those sentimental parts, but all that will be put to the side once the game begins.

“It's two separate things,” explained Michael Bradley. “It's great to see Greg, his whole staff, a few of the guys who played here. Even today as they're walking in to use the facility, it's great to catch up quickly, ask how families are doing and share a few quick minutes.”

“But the reality is once the whistle blows then it's a huge game for both teams,” he balanced. “From our standpoint it's a home game that gives us a real opportunity to continue to close the gap and try to put ourselves in an even better spot as we come down the stretch here.”

LA comes to town in the midst of their own playoff battle. Entering the weekend they hold onto the seventh and last spot in the Western Conference by a single point with games in hand over the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps, hot on their tail.

They are unbeaten in three matches, dispatching the Whitecaps 5-2 on August 13, drawing 3-3 at home against the Seattle Sounders a week later, and most recently picking up a big three points on Sunday with a 2-1 away victory over the New England Revolution.

Toronto will know what to expect from a Vanney team.

“You guys know, you watched Greg's team a lot,” said Bob Bradley. “They spread out and try to overload a little on one side, switch the play to the other side a lot. While that's going on Chicharito is doing his thing – he's coming underneath a little bit, he's waiting for moments where people lose track of him and he can time a run. His instincts for arriving at the right time in the right place, that's what he has taken advantage of in his career, that part of him is unique and special.”

“Victor is a player who's got an eye for a pass, will float around the field at different spots and is capable of delivering a ball that can make a difference,” he continued. “Defensively they're organized. They pick some moments to press, but they tend to not step too high, too aggressively. They’re pretty good when they pick a moment to go, but it's not the main part of how they defend.”

Chicharito leads the side with 12 goals on the season, Julian Araujo tops the assist table with seven, one more than former TFC homegrown Edwards.

“It's a good team with a lot of good players, to put it in the most simple way,” levelled Michael Bradley. “We know Greg well and we know that he wants his teams to play football and he wants his teams to have control and he wants his teams to step on the field with an idea of how they're going to play, how they're going to attack, how they're going to defend. His teams are organized, his teams, in all those ways, play at a high level.”

“They've made a few additions halfway through the season as well,” he noted. “[Midfielder Gastón] Brugman has come in and become an important player for them quickly. [Former Barcelona man] Riqui Puig is a young, really talented player – came on for a little bit against Seattle and then played the other night against New England: the pass for the second goal was excellent.”

“And then they have guys like Vasquez and Chicharito; whoever they decide to play wide between [Kevin] Cabral and Douglas Costa and [Samuel] Grandsir and Efraín Álvarez that are skillful, talented players, all a little bit different,” Bradley closed. “It's a good team with a lot of good players, so it sets up to be a really good game.”