Jump to content

  • Articles

    Manage articles
    Show all categories
    Guest
    Will he or won't he?
    That seems to be the question on many TFC fans' minds as their club prepares to take on DC United on Saturday night.
    The "he" in question is, of course, one-time Toronto captain Dwayne De Rosario, who famously struts in stutter-step after scoring a goal. Reds supporters are pondering whether he'll celebrate in such a fashion should he find himself on the scoresheet against his hometown club.
    The answer is: why wouldn't he?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    DeRo has never shied away from expressing his feelings on the pitch, especially in regards to Toronto FC. The man had an axe to grind with TFC for the past couple of years, so you can be sure he'll take every opportunity to do so again.
    Especially at RFK Stadium.
    The real problem for the Reds shouldn't be how DeRo potentially celebrates a goal, it should be how to stop him from doing so.
    To that end, a lot of the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of new captain Torsten Frings, who has quickly proven to be the midfield general that Toronto has never truly had (especially at the defensive end). Frings' ability to organize and cover for TFC's patchwork defence will be a huge storyline going forward, not only in this match against a well-rested DC side, but for the remainder of the season.
    The German DP -- along with likely midfield partner Terry Dunfield -- will be tasked with slowing down a heated up De Rosario before the former Red can exploit Toronto's fragile backline, while also paying attention to DC's quick and dynamic wing play.
    It'll be no easy challenge, but recent matches show that things are slowly start to click in the middle of the park, where TFC should arguably be at their strongest.
    Up top, the Reds have regained their scoring touch, knocking in two goals per game in their past four matches in all competitions. Ryan Johnson has been a revelation for the revamped attack, and with his injury status being a bit of an unknown heading into the match, Aron Winter will be hoping for one of the other attacking options to step up their game.
    As with pretty much all games going forward, fatigue could play a factor as Toronto has traveled all over the continent in recent weeks. The brutal schedule has visibly taken its toll on big Danny Koevermans, who obviously isn't used to this type of travel and will need some time to adjust.
    Meanwhile, United is as fresh a team as possible, both physically and mentally. DC last played on July 30 in San Jose, claiming a huge 2-0 victory to get back in the win column. Their previous match was ten days prior, so needless to say, they'll be rested.
    In the end, it's the same old story for the Reds -- their historically woeful road form will be lurking ominously in the background as they fight an uphill battle against a team higher than them in the standings. Will there be enough left in the tank to get something out of it?

    DC United v. Toronto FC
    Saturday, August 6, 2011. 7:30pm EDT.
    RFK Stadium. Washington, D.C.
    Watch: TSN
    Listen: FAN590.com
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest

    Scheduled Maintenance

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Canadian Soccer News will be offline for maintenance and upgrades Saturday evening.
    CSN will be unavailable for a few hours starting at around 9pm ET.
    Thank you for your patience.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by Canadian national team keeper, and the newest addition to FC Edmonton, David Monsalve to talk about his journey over the last year, how the politics of club's in Europe affect young Canadian players and what's next for him on the club and country level.
    We'll also talk about Toronto's first meeting with DeRo since they parted ways, some very public calls to support the national team from local media and our thoughts on the pricing decisions for the WC qualifying matches.
    The archived show is now up.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/24879/aug52011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Guest
    It's been a tough first year for the Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer. Sure, there's been plenty of memorable moments, but it wasn't quite the successful dive into the deep end some thought it would be.
    So why not take a look back at some of the glory days at Swangard Stadium?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In this audio piece, which I put together alongside fellow BCIT broadcast journalism student Gurv Badh, we look back at the Swangard era through the eyes of the Southsiders and Whitecaps legend Bob Lenarduzzi:
    <object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/20466485"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/20466485" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="
    /remembering-swangard" data-controller="core.front.core.autoSizeIframe"> ">Remembering Swangard</a> by <a href=" ">macmahon_martin</a></span> __
    Martin MacMahon is a broadcast journalism student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He covers Vancouver Whitecaps FC for a number of soccer websites.
    You can follow him on Twitter @martinmacmahon
    Guest
    Want a chance to publicly embarrass a Canadian Soccer News' writer?
    Ben Rycroft and Daniel Squizzato have decided to put their pride on the line to help out Athletes for Africa this year.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The challenge: Who can raise more money for Athletes for Africa.
    The punishment: The loser wears a jersey of the other's choosing.
    For Ben - Squizz has selected an LA Galaxy jersey
    For Squizz - Ben has selected Honduras.
    So, pick a side and keep one of us out of those jerseys.

    Can't stand to see Squizz in a Honduras kit? Sponsor him here.

    Don't want to put Ben through the humiliation of wearing that rag? Sponsor him here.
    ___
    Other CSN writers to sponsor:
    Rudi Schuller
    Duane Rollins
    Guest
    Holy smokes! We're less than a month away from the start of Canada's World Cup qualifying campaign!
    So obviously, head coach Stephen Hart had plenty of absolute knock-'em-out-of-the-park revelations on Thursday morning during a media conference call, right? Well, not exactly. As usual, Hart was reserved and diplomatic, taking nothing for granted against the minnows (St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia) and certainly not getting far enough ahead of himself to make any projections about the next round. Heck, he spent several minutes praising the overall strength and quality of CONCACAF, which was an effective buzzkill to any optimism about our ostensible good fortune in the preliminary draw.
    But, Hart did provide a few morsels of tasty information about the status of Atiba Hutchinson and Paul Stalteri, and his thoughts on the location of Canada's home games in World Cup qualifying.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Atiba Hutchinson, who sat out a few games in the Gold Cup due to injury, has had to have "minor surgery" and will "more than likely" not be available for this fall's games. Hart later said that Hutchinson's status would be a "game-by-game" decision-making process, but one would have to imagine that unless Canada finds itself in some terrifying situation wherein it desperately needs points, Hart won't rock the boat at PSV by calling Hutch over for this opening round.
    He noted that he's "monitoring" the injury situations of Patrice Bernier (who's now back in training, returning from injury) as well as Rob Friend, who has "a slight injury".
    He made it sound as though Paul Stalteri still isn't out of the national team mix -- but before being considered for a call-up he'd, of course, need to get regular playing time. The 33-year-old is currently without a club and, as tweeted by Full-Time's Tyler Green earlier today, recently went arthroscopic surgery... so we've likely seen the last of Diesel in the red and white in a meaningful game.
    When I asked his thoughts on all three Round 2 games being played in Toronto this fall, he referred to "the whole CONCACAF situation" -- in other words, the difficulty of setting up travel plans with only a month's notice -- as a sign that under these particular circumstances, having all three games at BMO Field was the way to go. He noted that with things being "left so late", they were having difficulty even assembling the squad in time for these games, and that reducing the complexity of travel and logistics was "the main thought behind" putting all three games in Toronto.
    Then, we had this sparkling exchange between Hart and Sportsnet's Gerry Dobson:
    GD: I know that the CSA will, within reason, play wherever you want the home games to be played. It's going to be Toronto this time around. When you get to the next round -- and I know you don't want to look ahead -- but when teams like Honduras and Panama come calling, it's obvious that if you play in Toronto or Montreal, there'll be a huge contingent of away supporters. When you get to that second round, are there more options on the table in terms of where you might play other than Toronto or even Montreal? I'm specifically thinking Atlantic Canada.
    SH: As you know Gerry, there's some complexities to that. Stadiums have to meet specific requirements now, and so that's a further complexity. And then, you don't want to jeopardize your own squad by complicating how travel would be. So I think I will have to sit down with my staff when that time comes and, in the meantime, look at some potential venues where it's to our advantage, and I mean everything is to our advantage, and then make those decisions.
    GD: So is it fair to say then, just in terms of the next round, that Toronto is not necessarily a slam dunk for the next round?
    SH: That's correct.
    And because there are those who just need to know... according to Hart, there hasn't been any change in the national-team situations of either David "Junior" Hoilett or Jonathan de Guzman.

    Guest
    Today, we're joined by Canadian Soccer News and Score Media columnist Richard Whittall to take a look at the health of Canadian soccer reporting, discuss the tricky role of criticism between writers and how Twitter has changed the nature of reporting.
    We'll also get into the Rogers Sportsnet fiasco, Toronto FC's performance in Real Esteli and who the CSA is looking at to replace Carolina Morace as the women's national team head coach.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    We'll be joined by FC Edmonton and national team keeper David Monsalve on the live Friday show.
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/24839/aug32011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Guest

    CWNT to play Americans

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that the Canadian Women's National team will play a pair of friendlies against the Americans in September.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    They will play the U.S. national team first on Sept. 17 in Kansas City and again on Sept. 22 in Portland.
    The women have been without a head coach since Carolina Morace resigned following the failures at the World Cup. The CSA has said they have begun an international search for a replacement and hoped to make an announcement before the Fall. Initial indications have been that the CSA is looking for someone with a 'proven track record' and were not considering any Canadian candidates at this point.
    If they're scheduling friendlies in September, it's safe to assume an announcement will be coming in and around those fixtures.
    Guest

    The ballad of Maicon Santos

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    There are, it has been said, four stages of fame.
    In the case of Maicon Santos – who actually managed to score goals for Toronto FC, and is now winging his way to a new and better team in Dallas – those are these:
    1) Who is Maicon Santos?
    2) Get me Maicon Santos!
    3) Get me a young Maicon Santos!
    4) Who is Maicon Santos?
    We have essentially hit number 3.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    What’s really interesting, looking back on his time in Toronto, was how little of what happened to him was anything more than a fleeting accident of history. Any other player, with the same general skill set, would likely never have been here – and certainly wouldn’t even have been captain of Toronto FC.
    It was Preki (who never should have been Toronto’s coach) who brought him north. Santos played for Preki as a loan player at Chivas USA, and popped home a couple of goals. That’s all it took. Preki wanted someone who could drive the net and score. Santos – thrillingly – could … sometimes.
    Santos’s Wikipedia entry is the darndest thing. It suggests the 27-year-old Brazilian turned pro in 2004, and made only 34 first-team league appearances – for eight different clubs – scoring just five goals, before arriving at TFC. Ali Gerba’s vagabond career is almost rational by comparison.
    He certainly did better here! Ten goals in 32 games. He could run, hold up the ball, and uncork some spicy, delicious goals. Didn’t pass very well, though, which hurt quite a bit in a dull, plodding TFC attack that needed creation every bit as desperately as finish.
    Once Preki’s bluff was called, and Aron Winter arrived on the scene, Santos ended up getting some very strong mixed signals. At first, he was the guy who could go forward and finish. Winter’s whole scheme hinges on that. Santos even found himself named team captain after Dwayne MeRosario was dealt to the PopCans.
    It was certainly never Santos’s fault he ended up with the armband. All MeRo’s infamous cheque-writing stunt late last season really proved is that Toronto FC didn’t have a real leadership guy anywhere on the roster. Goaltender Stefan Frei was the nearest thing to a captain – but almost always the furthest player from the action.
    So Maicon Santos – largely as a reward for his forward-forward style of play – got named team leader. Then, inevitably, his inconsistency bit him in the ass. Winter started benching him, then dealt him to Dallas for a young attacking mid who doesn’t count against the salary cap. (Nice pick-up, Paul Mariner!)
    The new guy, Eric Avila, is not really “a young Maicon Santos." In his present form, he’s an attacking midfielder who doesn’t score goals. But Winter saw no benefit in playing Santos, and dealt him for future – a pretty reasonable move, wholly in keeping with the latest, most sudden, most sweeping Toronto FC rebuild.
    With Torsten Frings as captain, Danny Koevermans finishing, and tiny, perfect Joao Plata doing the linkwork, there just wasn’t any room left for Santos – unless he upped his goal rate and cut down on the game-crushing giveaways.
    In the end, though, Toronto was a good thing for Santos. He got his first, best chance to really play, and responded with some gorgeous goals. He has now parlayed that onto a spot with Dallas – one of the very best teams in MLS, however little we might like the sound of that up here.
    Bigger picture, though, his departure is – I hope – a clear sign of something far more desirable: Toronto FC … getting better. This torrent of new players includes rations of youth, experience, toughness … talent!
    It may yet be far too late for any kind of 2011 playoff run, but Toronto is on to the qualifying stages of the CONCACAF Champions League – where they may just end up in a group with Maicon Santos and FC Dallas.
    I absolutely loved watching Santos play ball for the Reds – aside from the game-crushing giveaways. The idea that the team is good enough and strong enough no longer to have any room for him at all is …
    Intriguing.
    Onward!
    Guest
    Following Canada's disastrous run at the Women's World Cup last month, anyone who'd ever seen a soccer ball or set foot on a grass surface suddenly had a can't-miss solution for how to "fix" things. Better player development! A domestic league! Human cloning!
    But from where I'm sitting, one of the best short-term ways of avoiding a similar embarrassment on home soil in 2015 is to get the members of Big Red playing consistently at as high a level as possible.
    So it's been great to be able to confirm that, over the past couple of weeks, no fewer than four members of our national team have joined club teams in Sweden (who, as you'll recall, won bronze at WWC2011): Midfielder Carmelina Moscato and striker Melissa Tancredi are now part of Piteå IF, while goalkeeper Erin McLeod and defender Emily Zurrer have joined Dalsjöfors GoIF.
    "It is really exciting knowing Carm and Melissa are coming to Piteå," said Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who also plays in the northeastern Swedish town. "I know how much I have developed as a player here, playing for Piteå, and I can only hope Carm and Melissa can get the same out of it that I have."
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Supporters in this country surely have similar hopes, even if the situations that the Canadians are entering are less than ideal: the two teams were just promoted to the Damallsvenskan (first division) this season, but either (or both) could be poised for relegation, as Piteå sits 10th of 12 teams, while Dalsjöfors is in last place.
    But for now, it's about development, not trophies.
    "The basic standard of soccer is much higher in Europe (than North America)," said Moscato, who has also played in Italy. "From what I've seen, it seems like players think the game here and solve more with their brains and not raw athletic ability."
    As mentioned by many, Canada's downfall at the World Cup (particularly in the game against France) was largley due to an inability to adapt to the situation, and a reversion to the now-obsolete boot-and-chase style that, one would imagine, wouldn't be tolerated in a top-flight European league.
    Moscato believes more Canadians getting experience in a more cerebral league would have carryover benefits for the national team, while Labbe says there are also advantages for individual players.
    "Playing in Europe has been the best thing I have ever done for my career," said the 24-year-old Labbe, who featured prominently for Canada in World Cup qualifying, but suffered a leg injury and didn't play during the tournament. "Being able to play and make enough money to not just survive, but to live happily, is great. That way it's easy to put all your focus into your soccer, to be able to put in extra sessions, extra workouts and not have to worry about working a second job to make more money."
    Stability is the key. While a number of Canadians ply their trade in WPS, to call that league shaky is akin to calling the Pacific Ocean "big". Plenty of others play in the W-League, but it simply doesn't provide the level of competition necessary to prepare players for success on the international stage.
    A top-flight domestic league, where Canadian players could grow and play together, would be a good situation -- but even the players admit that it isn't realistic in the short term. Getting playing time is the key in preparing for 2015, at as high a level as possible. For now, that's in Europe. If Canadians can all be in the same league (or even on the same teams), hey, bonus.
    "Until we (have a domestic league), we need to put ourselves in the best environment, and I believe that is to play with and against different players and learn different systems/styles of play to help round ourselves as players," said Labbe.
    Moscato agrees: "Playing more games in general will help us all. The biggest part of the game we need to improve on is speed of play and speed of thought, and this only comes through playing regularly at high levels."
    It's yet to be seen what role Moscato (27 years old, an unused substitute in three WWC games) and Tancredi (29 years old) will play with the Canadian team four years from now, when the world comes to our backyard. But McLeod (28-year-old goalkeeper), Labbe (24) and Zurrer (24) will all likely factor into the mix. Their presence in Sweden could also help establish a beachhead for other young Canadians looking to get jobs in Europe; Moscato suggested that Labbe's presence at Piteå helped her gain a foothold with the team.
    It's not a long-term panacea, of course. But for the time being, these new signings are good news for the future of our national team, and our chances of turning things around in time for Canada 2015. We'll keep our eyes open for any more developments.
    Guest
    After spending 99 years pandering to petty regionalism, the Canadian Soccer Association today confirmed that it was prioritizing the pitch results over satisfying PEI (or Alberta, or...) soccer moms.
    All three second round World Cup Qualifying games will be in Toronto -- the country’s largest city, media centre, easiest travel hub and location of its current best stadium and pitch.
    The reaction from those outside of said city has been, of course, mostly reactionary and provincial.
    “How dare they” cries the west. “Where is our game?” The arguments being made for moving the games around the country are almost entirely focused on what’s best for the fans. It’s suggested that by playing them all in Toronto they are “shutting out” fans from outside Central Canada.
    At the risk of insensitivity, who cares? The critics are probably right. The casual fan in Calgary is not likely to jump on a plane and fly to Toronto to watch St. Kitts play in November. Newsflash: The casual fan in Calgary is only slightly more likely to drive across the city to watch St. Kitts in November.
    Canada needs to win more to get the fans out. Everything the CSA does now should be focused on that one and only important factor. If you want to see games in the west then make a logical, competitive argument for it. If you can’t do that then at least be honest in admitting that you are mostly just upset because it’s not easy or cheap for you to get to the game. I have empathy for that. I do. I just don’t think it matters all that much in the big picture.
    Playing games in Toronto make sense on multiple levels. A few:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    1 – Travel. Sure, there are direct flights from Europe to western locations, but they are far fewer and much longer. If you add 2 ½ hours to a flight from London to a player’s travel time that’s five total hours that he spends sitting on a plane. You might think that doesn’t matter or that it's petty, but when you fly direct from Vancouver to London you’re not jumping off the plane to play an international football game. The extra hours and jetlag don’t really affect your drinking.
    2- Expense
    BMO Field is set-up and ready to accommodate national team games. There is no additional expense to staging the games there and in the penny pinching CSA that matters.
    3- Exposure
    It’s a sore point outside of Southern Ontario, but it’s hard to ignore that fully 1/3 of all Canadians live within a 2-hour drive of BMO Field. It’s nearly ½ when you expand the distance to 5-hours. If your goal is to expose more fans to the team, Southern Ontario gives you your best bang for your buck.
    4 – Media
    Another sore point. Rightly or wrongly, 90 per cent of major Canadian sports media is based in Toronto. If you don’t play the game in their backyard then there is far less of a chance they’ll pay attention to it. If they don’t pay attention…again, less exposure.
    5- Building a fan base.
    If you play a bunch of games in a cluster then there is a good chance that you will slowly start to build that base. Yes, ideally we need that in multiple cities, but we need it in one city first. Playing a bunch of games in one city would also allow that stadium staff to work out security protocols to better deal with aggressive away support. If you move the games around, you have soccer naïve security staff at every new location (and don’t kid yourself – you play Mexico v Canada in Moncton and that Westjet direct flight from Toronto to Moncton would be packed full of…Mexicans going to Moncton).
    6 – Stadium
    And, finally, the most important factor of all. BMO Field is literally the only stadium in the country with a grass pitch that can hold more than 20,000. Saputo Stadium in Montreal will be in the mix for the next round, but the day FieldTurf went into Commonwealth Stadium was the day that it became very, very hard to justify playing national team games in Western Canada. And, spare us the FieldTurf-is-just-as-good arguments. Perception is reality and the players perceive FieldTurf to be crap. Don’t be surprised if the west is shut out in the next round too. A lack of a proper stadium kept the national team away from Toronto for nearly a decade.
    Regardless, it’s unlikely that the CSA will play all three games in the third round in Toronto. Regional pettiness runs too strong in Canada to allow for the right thing to happen for too long after all. They’ll spread the games around and we'll be worse for it.
    Guest

    Another day, another player

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    UPDATE: Toronto FC has now made it official and announced the trade.
    Canadian Soccer News has learned that Maicon Santos is no longer with the Reds. Sources close to the team confirmed that the long rumoured parting had come to pass.
    Texasfutgol.com is reporting that Santos is headed to FC Dallas in exchange for Eric Avila. If the report from Texas is correct it will be another case of Aron Winter swapping a more veteran player for youth. Avila is just 23, though he has played 53 times for Dallas.
    Santos had fallen out of favour with Winter due to inconsistent play. With the arrival of Danny Koevermans, combined with Santos’ lack of pace, the Brazilian seemed to be a player without a role on the TFC roster.
    If Avila plays, TFC will tie the all-time MLS record for most players to see the pitch for a single club in a single season.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    The Canadian Soccer Association confirmed this morning what had been expected for a few weeks: All three of the men's national team's World Cup qualifiers on home soil this fall will be played at BMO Field in Toronto.
    Sorry, co-signees of the "Bring Canadian Soccer to Moncton" petition. Our efforts to get a game out east in 2011 have failed.
    Now, while Moncton is a perfectly fine city, my long-held obsession with having a game there was never about Moncton per se; it was more about the belief that the city (for a variety of reasons) could provide the team with that ever-elusive, intangible edge: A boisterous home crowd.
    And even then, it wasn't about creating a boisterous crowd per se; it's about doing everything possible to help ensure that Canada wins (something in which I believe that a partisan crowd can play some part in). That, at the end of the day, is all that should matter, regardless of where you live or where the games are being held.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    I've often said that Toronto's demographics are such that you could put literally any nation on earth at BMO Field and you'll draw at least 3,000 away supporters. That theory will be tested against the likes of St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and St. Lucia. But you would hope -- you'd have to hope -- that against such minnows, the home support will easily dwarf whatever Caribbean contingent does make it out.
    (Because if it doesn't, Toronto forfeits its right to stage any meaningful game for a long, long, long time.)
    Of course, the home crowd isn't really as meaningful in CONCACAF Round 2, since if the boys in red need the crowd randomly singing "O Canada" to propel it past a resort nation of 173,000 people, then we may as well all abandon hope. But against the likes of Honduras, Cuba and (presumably) Panama in Round 3... it changes.
    We will, of course, see what happens when those games take place next year. One can hope Moncton will get its chance then. The renovations at Stade Saputo will be finished. Empire Field has shown it can handle grass (so long as it doesn't rain too heavily). Hey look, there are three games right there. No BMO Field to be seen. Just my theorizing, of course.**
    For now, with three games crunched together in three months and not very much lead time, it surely made the most logistical sense to put all three games in one place. And for a variety of reasons, BMO Field is the easiest pick for the CSA in that regard. Some are saying it's also what the players wanted or preferred; but I'd hope that the CSA has learned its lessons about letting the inmates run the asylum.
    But if those logistics create an environment conducive to winning, then so be it. I know, I know, easy for me to say, since I'm just another big-city asshole, so of course I can live with the idea of having three games in my backyard. But for what it's worth, I sincerely hope none of Canada's three games next year are in Toronto.
    No one disputes that home-field advantage is (or should be) a vital factor in this sport. It's why away goals are worth more. It's why supporters groups travel ridiculous distances to watch their team, in an effort to neutralize the opponent's leg-up. So when it matters the most, when everything is on the line, I want Canada to have that advantage. And quite frankly, I'm not sure if Toronto is at the stage where it can provide that advantage just yet.
    So perhaps we should all just reserve judgment for now when it comes to the placement of these qualifiers. It's the location of next year's trio of games that will truly highlight the CSA's priorities.
    **As noted in the comments below, I should be clear that I'm aware Empire Field probably won't be around next year; but for the sake of argument, let's envision some scenario wherein it remains intact for future use (including, possibly, national team games).
    Guest
    Originally, we weren't going to be able to do a podcast because of the long weekend, but because of the enormity of the events over the weekend we decided to put together a short podcast for today.
    Today, we'll talk about Toronto FC's selections against Portland and how that could affect their play against Real Esteli, issue caution about the early success (and expectations) of new TFC players and ponder why the soccer gods have smiled on Canada and their World Cup qualifying draw.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/24789/aug12011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Guest
    There were many reasons why Toronto FC were dominant over Nicaraguan side Real Esteli in their initial meeting last week.
    Factors that came into play included: The relative experience advantage of TFC's players versus those of Esteli, the higher payroll for the Canadian champions, and the Reds' employment of a world class player in Torsten Frings.
    One factor that was overlooked, at least according to Real Esteli coach Otoniel Olivas, was the playing surface. As in, the finely-manicured pitch at BMO Field was too good, which caused problems for his players.
    No, really.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Olivas told reporters after his side's 2-1 loss in Toronto that the Esteli players were not accustomed to such a good field, and that he thinks that the -- ahem -- less-than-perfect playing surface at Estadio Independencia should swing the pendulum back towards the Central American club.
    "This could prove to be an advantage next week for [my] players," he told CONCACAF.com through an interpreter.
    The scary thing for TFC supporters is that he may be right.
    If there's anything that Aron Winter and Bob De Klerk have preached to anyone willing to listen, it's that Toronto will aim to play a possession-based game. We've all seen TFC live and (mostly) die while adhering to that strategy this season, perhaps even stubbornly so.
    What worse for a team desperate to reinvent itself as a possession-oriented side than a cow pasture of a pitch and an opponent that is all too happy to play on it?
    Keeping in mind that the Nicaraguan champs were handed a precious away goal thanks to a comical gaffe by backup Toronto 'keeper Milos Kocic, the margin of error for TFC to pull off a positive result is very slim. Toronto could advance with a win, of course, as well as a draw of any kind. But a 1-0 loss would send the Reds packing from this year's CONCACAF Champions League before it even really got started, and given TFC's horrendous road record, such a scoreline is a very real possibility.
    Pardon the pun.
    Esteli, knowing that they are "at home" on what will likely be the worst pitch Toronto will encounter this year, will be looking to hit their visitors quickly. Combined with the usual CONCACAF shenanigans that tend to take place in these types of games, TFC will be up against a much different challenge than what they've faced in MLS so far.
    Theoretically, Toronto's superior quality -- and how often do I get to write that? -- should allow them to prevail over whatever is thrown at them on Tuesday night. But remember that many of these players are barely on a first name basis with one-another, and also that very few of them have experienced a Central America CCL match. It could get ugly, and probably will at times.
    Regardless, the aim is the same in this match as it is in any other: score a goal.
    If Toronto scores first, the series is likely over, as there was nothing on display last week to suggest that Real Esteli have what it takes to claw their way back from a multi-goal aggregate deficit. Even if the Nicaraguan side were to open the scoring, if the Reds pull level they should be able to hold out regardless of the pitch, the hostile crowd, the brutal travel or anything else.
    TFC had better hope that all the miles that they've logged over the past couple of weeks -- both in the air and on their bodies -- doesn't hinder their ability to put away a plucky host side. By all rights, Toronto should come out on top and start planning for the group stage.
    But we've all seen this movie before. If nothing else, it should be a thriller.

    Real Esteli v. Toronto FC
    Tuesday, August 2, 2011. 10:00pm EDT.
    Estadio Independencia. Esteli, Nicaragua.
    Watch: Rogers Sportsnet ONE
    Listen: FAN590.com
    Rudi Schuller occasionally contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
×
×
  • Create New...