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TORONTO, Canada—He’s one of our own, right?
Rudy Camacho has quickly become a fan favourite for Toronto FC, a side that his own Montreal Impact team is supposed to be rivals of.
In their round-robin match against the Vancouver Whitecaps with Canadian Championship finals on the line, and with all signs pointing towards an Impact win... the Montreal defender cost his team the match, and so much more.
Montreal just needed a win in order to top the table in the round-robin portion of the tournament. A loss or tie would have meant Toronto FC advance to the finals.
summoning circle, hope this works
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) September 17, 2020
#VWFC
Win/Draw
Scoreless in the 36th minute, Camacho got tangled up with Vancouver’s Cristian Dajome in the box. There was no call on the play, but Camacho stayed down on the field for several seconds. When Whitecaps striker Fredy Montero went to help him to his feet, Camacho not only declined the offer, but punched Montero in the knee,
The moment of rage saw the impact reduced to 10-men due to the red card, and also awarded Vancouver a penalty which they would go on to convert.
That turning point of the match led to a 3-1 Whitecaps victory,
The Voyageurs Cup is within reach…
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) September 17, 2020
We’re heading back to the Canadian Championship Final! #CanChamp | #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/f2EsHW0OO5
Prior to the match, the entire Toronto FC community put all their hope and support into the ‘Caps team to not lose against the Impact, a side that had previously beaten them twice since August 25.
But as it turned out, the real winner for Toronto FC, and for the Whitecaps on the night, would be Camacho with the costly error for Montreal, etching his name into TFC folklore for all the wrong reasons. And Toronto FC supporters had all the banter ready for the Frenchman.
#TFCLive | #IMFC pic.twitter.com/VYrsFkU9iy
— Waking the Red (@WakingtheRed) September 17, 2020
Take solace in the fact that no matter what dumb mistake you make today, it won’t be as bad as Rudy Camacho. #VWFC
— Anna - Queen of the Nerds (@annanamshirin) September 17, 2020
“So many times, it happens too fast
— Aron Papernick (@AronPapernick) September 17, 2020
You trade your passion for glory”#IMFC • #VWFC • #TFCLive • #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/IcxnMDjEoG
Believe it or not, it wasn’t Camacho’s first significant error in the tournament which ended up benefiting the Reds. In TFC-Montreal’s last game, Camacho was the defender who carelessly gave away the ball to Nick DeLeon in midfield, before Jozy Altidore pounced to score the 89th minute game-winner, and silence those in attendance at the Stade Saputo.
A lot to unpack here. A horrifically wonderful 90th minute free kick from Montréal for a #WPIOOTBGW sends Toronto in on an easy counter. It ends with Jozy Altidore scoring his first goal in 10 months and trash-talking like 5 Montreal fans behind the goal. Awesome stuff #USMNT pic.twitter.com/EhY3Gw3t6c
— When Playing It Out of the Back Goes Wrong (@wpiootbgw) September 10, 2020
Montreal won the Canadian Championship last season after beating Toronto on penalties in the final. This year, TFC collected two wins over both the Impact and Whitecaps to finish atop the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Reds will find out their Can Champ Final opponents on Saturday, when Hamilton’s Forge FC take on Halifax’s HFX Wanderers in the finale of the Canadian Premier League season.