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    Guest
    News yesterday that CONCACAF is about to receive another half spot for 2014 was met with mixed reaction. Although many Canadians were happy to learn that qualifying for Brazil might be slightly easier, many others wondered whether the confederation deserves the slot.
    They do. Here’s why:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Before we start a caveat is needed. To justify the spot you need to come at the question from the perspective that teams from outside South America and Europe deserve to be in the mix, even if it’s clear that there are stronger teams from those confederations that are missing out. If you feel that’s important and you are OK with a little less than half of the spots going to CONCACAF, Asia and Africa then you can buy four full slots for CONCACAF. If you disagree with that concept, then no amount of logic or statistics will change your mind.
    Assuming that 13.5 spots in total are available for the non traditional areas – and giving a .5 to Oceania – you have 13 spots to distribute. Those spots should be given on merit, within the context of the three confederations involved.
    Since FIFA went to 32 teams there has been 50 teams from CONCACAF, Asia and Africa in the Finals. Of those 50, 13 have been from CONCACAF, 21 from Africa and 16 from Asia. Comparing apples to apples we can look at the average amount of points those teams received in the group stages at the Finals.

    CONCACAF – 3.0 (4, 5, 1, 0, 1, 4, 1, 4, 4, 7, 5, 0, 3)
    Africa – 2.6 (4, 1, 1, 4, 0, 4, 3, 2, 6, 0, 1, 5, 4, 4, 1, 1, 4, 2, 2, 6, 1)
    Asia – 2.5 (4, 4, 6, 0, 1, 1, 4, 1, 0, 7, 0, 7, 1, 1, 3, 0)

    CONCACAF has had the most average points of the three “minor” confederations. Even with the adjustment apparently coming it’s still receiving the least number of spots. Other than South Korea in 2002 it’s not as if the big (again, context) teams in any of the three confederations are going deep into the tournament.
    Looking at those numbers, It’s unclear how you can argue four is too much.
    HT to Out of Touch, who first used this formula lastr year
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by the OSA's Director of Organizational Development, Bruce Henderson, to speak about their decision on the private academy issue, the potential new D3 league coming to the province and his thoughts on the BCSA high performance league as a model for development in the province
    We'll also talk about the U-17 program and its future, what conclusions to draw from Toronto’s poor showing at in Orlando and expand on today's news about CONCACAF getting a fourth World Cup spot.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]<embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/22169/march1.2011final.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
    Vancouver's TEAM 1410 radio station announced their broadcast lineup for Whitecaps' matches today, and it looks pretty promising from this standpoint. Peter Schaad, who's been calling the club's USL/USSF-II matches since 2002, will be the play-by-play man, with former Vancouver and national team goalkeeper Paul Dolan providing colour commentary. TEAM veterans Joey Kenward and Scott Rintoul will be serving as game-day hosts and anchoring pre- and post-match coverage, as well as the halftime show, while Tyler Green and Mike Martignago (of the TEAM's Full-Time Soccer Show) will be serving as reporters.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    From this perspective, that looks like a pretty good lineup. Schaad certainly knows what he's doing from a broadcast standpoint, and he's very familiar to the majority of those who have followed the Whitecaps for some time. It's that experience calling the team's matches at lower levels that may prove especially beneficial for him; there's a substantial amount of carryover from the USSF-II Whitecaps both from a roster and organizational standpoint, and having a play-by-play man who's been around the club for so long should be valuable. The same can be said for Green and Martignago, who are both very familiar faces to those who have spent time in the Swangard press box; they know the club inside and out, and they've done a terrific job with their two-hour soccer show Sunday nights.
    Dolan, Kenward and Rintoul are newer faces around the current Whitecaps, but all have substantial soccer credentials. Dolan played 10 seasons with Vancouver back in the days of the 86ers, and remains the franchise's leader in goalkeeping appearances (223) and victories (126). He also picked up 53 caps for Canada and was part of the 1986 World Cup team. More recently, he's served as the CSA's goalkeeping coach, and he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004. Kenward's well-known to locals from his work on the TEAM's Canucks and Giants broadcasts, but he's also spent a significant amount of time as a soccer official, so it's not like he's new to the game. Rintoul co-hosts the TEAM 1040 morning show with Ray Ferraro, and he's been around plenty of Whitecaps games over the years. He should be a nice addition to the broadcast team, and his presence might lead to further Whitecaps content on the morning show. It's tough to truly judge a broadcast team before they start, but from a credentials standpoint, it looks like the Whitecaps' radio broadcasts should be quite solid.
    Guest
    Several sources within the CSA have told Canadian Soccer News that FIFA has awarded CONCACAF a full fourth spot for the 2014 World Cup. The extra spot Africa had for 2010 will be distributed to CONCACAF and South America
    The spots are said to be: Africa 4.5, South America 4.5 plus Brazil, Asia 4.5, Europe 13, Oceania 0.5,
    And CONCACAF 4.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Rumours of the switch have been swirling all week. CSA was able to confirm today that federations within CONCACAF have been informed of the extra half spot.
    FIFA will make the announcement March 3.
    Guest
    Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
    It took five full games for Canada to allow a goal at the CONCACAF u17 championships, but in the end that was all it took to deny them their first confederation title at the age level. The United States defeated the young Canucks 3-0, with all three goals coming in extra time of the title game.
    The score line flattered the winners, but the (slightly) better team likely finished on top. Team USA wasn't as pretty on the ball as Canada, but seemed more battle ready and were just scrappy enough to know how to win.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Canada's best chances came in the game's first 30 minutes. However, once the US turned away the initial attacks they grew in strength. The Americans had the majority of the limited chances in the second half. In the extra time, it was all Yank.
    All is not lost for Canadians, however. With the first World Cup qualification in 15 years in the bag, the chance at redemption is a few months away, not a couple years. The World Cup goes from June 18 to July 10. The draw goes May 17.
    There are 24 teams in the u17 tournament. Including the host Mexico 13 teams have booked their trip.
    Uzbekistan, Japan, Australia, North Korea, New Zealand, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Panama, Jamaica and the United States will join Canada there. Four South American teams will be decided March 12-April 9 and six European teams fill out the tournament May 3-15.
    By all accounts, the u17 program is well funded and has received a good level of support. Hopefully that continues as the boys work towards a World Cup appearance. Canada’s history at the Finals is not a source of pride. Any win in Mexico will be a first.
    Guest
    Canada goes for its first ever U-17 regional championship today, against none other than the mighty Americans.
    The match will be streamed live on CONCACAF.com (registration required), and - as we've done for previous games in the tournament - we'll be hosting a live blog/chat right here.
    The game kicks off at 7:00pm ET, with the chat commencing about 15 minutes beforehand. Join us at 6:45pm ET / 3:45pm PT to discuss the match with your fellow Canadian footy fans.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=70a34c06de/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=70a34c06de" >CONCACAF U-17 FINAL - Canada v. USA</a></iframe>
    (Why is this posted in the Euro file, you ask? Well, I'll be handling most of the chat moderation duties as my colleague Squizz will be periodically popping in and out to provide his usual snark/hate/insight.)
    Guest

    Back door to full reform

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    This story is out there anyway, but it’s been more hinted at than clarified. It is not yet clear to me where – if anywhere – this could go. But it’s out there, so let’s dance.
    The CSA governance reform fight is not yet officially over. There is still a chance – and an actual way – the full and complete reform package could be enacted, as soon as this May’s CSA annual general meeting.
    Very much hinges on the good people of Alberta, and how the want to deal with the fact that we wuz robbed, and their guys were wearing the ski masks.
    To review:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    - There were three governance reform packages. All provincial presidents off the board now; Most provincial presidents gone now, the rest by 2014; Most provincial presidents gone in 2010, the rest by 2015. We ended up with plan C. Either A or B would have passed with Alberta’s approval.
    - Alberta was represented by two unelected recent appointees, Scott Chen and Ray Calvin. They were all that was left after the Alberta membership detonated the rebel board of directors headed by the now ringingly departed Mario Charpentier.
    - When asked if they supported full reform, fewer than half of Alberta’s various soccer districts responded. But all who answered, answered “yes.” The remainder abstained. But an abstention isn’t a “no” vote. Chen and Calvin had a clear green light to back the main plan.
    - Chen and Calvin – by multiple eyewitness accounts – turned up at the CSA meeting in Ottawa saying they were voting for Plan A reform. The following day, citing “the good of the country,” the voted nay.
    And, sure, there’s a case that could be made. Maybe a full turnover of the CSA structure this spring is a bit optimistic. There’s very little talk out there – even now – of who these new, professional, unaligned directors we're going to have soon will turn out to be. On the other hand, the Alberta membership – on the balance – called for change, and had what turned out to be the leverage, power and opportunity to ride that bronco home.
    Well fear not, pardners. That lost horse may not be roaming the lone prairie for long.
    There’s a way, you see:
    All that really needs to happen is for provinces representing 50 per cent of the vote (plus one) to call for the main reform package to be reintroduced at the upcoming CSA AGM. Then, come the meeting, a new vote would have to be taken, where a two-thirds majority could, yet, pass real reform – this year – into being.
    Quebec and Nova Scotia have voted against, and there’s no reason to suggest anything has changed. This brings us – again – to Alberta.
    Both Chen and Calvin are going to be gonged out of existence at the next ASA AGM. Even if either man wanted to continue, they both hold regional directorships, and are now ineligible under ASA reforms passed immediately after Charpentier et al were thrown to the pronghorns.
    Alberta can, in fact, demand another vote on full reform – and can get it if the other pro-reform provinces line up as they did previously.
    Herein lieth the problem, however: The deadline for setting CSA motions in motion is the end of March. It doesn’t look like the ASA will hold its AGM until April.
    So – either this doesn’t happen at all, or another way has to emerge.
    I don’t have any confirmed knowledge of such a move, so I want to launch a strong appeal to the membership in Alberta:
    Sound off, folks. You just passed exactly this kind of reform at home, and watched your own unelected representatives ignore your wishes to pass a watered-down CSA bill with a one-year delay. If that’s what you truly want and intend, well there we are and here we stay.
    If you’re already out there working the phones and seeing what kind of support there is for a re-vote, well just cheerily ignore this little bit of scribbling, and carry on your merry way.
    But howzabout letting us know how you feel about how we all got into this mess in the first place?
    You Albertans have done a brilliant, admirable job of freeing yourselves from old, outdated ways of not quite doing things. Can you maybe offer a little of the same help – and renewed hope – to the rest of us?
    Onward!
    Guest
    Today the 'Caps took some time out of their busy preseason schedule to show an amateur team from Arizona just why they are merely amateurs. In what will likely go down for many as a game that is forgotten in time, members of Arizona Sahuaros Amateur squad will have memories that will last a life time. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It amounts to nothing more then a confidence builder after the 'Caps finished up their exhibition schedule in Arizona with two losses to the LA Galaxy over the weekend. Try not to draw too much from this match, in all reality it was a chance for Teitur to get one last chance to work on formations and get some of the lads one last run on the pitch with the pros.
    The 'Caps currently have 16 players signed to MLS contracts, and there are 16 trialists currently in camp as we head into the Supporters Summit in Tukwila Washington. Cuts should be coming soon.
    Back to todays big game....
    Goals came from the following.
    The Whitecaps goals were scored by the following.
    Terry Dunfield (pk)
    Long Tan
    Atiba Harris
    Nizar Khalfan
    Omar Salgado
    Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo
    The Whitecaps will face on Portland March 5th and then they will play Seattle on the 6th. The Southsiders have a trip planned to travel down Tukwila, if you want to find out more I suggest checking out their website for more details.
    The regular season kicks off in 20 days do you have your tickets yet? Got your Southsiders membership yet?
    Guest

    Party like it's 1986

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    As years go for Canadian soccer, it doesn't get much better than 1986.
    Obviously that was the year that Dale Mitchell hit the top of the crossbar against the USSR in Mexico and when young, impressionable Canadian soccer fans lived in a delusional world where they thought that Canada would be a regular participant in future World Cups.
    The future looked bright. There was even evidence at the youth level where the Canadian u-20 team won the regional championship. The second place finisher that year was none other than the minnow to our south, the United States of America.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Flash-forward 25 long and terribly frustrating years and Canada and the United States are once again set to finish 1-2 in a CONCACAF event. This time it's the u17s that will be facing off on Sunday with regional bragging rights on the line. It's the first time since '86 that the two countries finished as the top two in the same event. This piece of trivia is mostly on Canada. If you're reading this you likely don't need to be reminded of how the last quarter century has played out, nor do you need to remember that it's actually been longer since Canada beat the full senior side of the US (although if CONCACAF referees
    that streak might have been over four years ago). You live that reality every day.However, things are shifting. Yes, the CSA still has a multitude of problems, and yes Canada is still second best more often than not in this sport, but it seems like soccer's time could be coming. If that happens then hopefully the full potential of what should be a spectacular rivalry could be realized.
    We are already seeing it through MLS play. Every time TFC plays there is an element of international competition to it. We know each other very well and the rivalry is alive and well in several other sports, most notably hockey (Sunday's game comes 364 days after the Olympic gold medal game in Vancouver).
    There is little doubt that Canadians are going to care a lot more about the outcome Sunday than Americans are. However, Uncle Sam's Army, and especially those in it that are also fans of TFC rivals, doesn't want to lose this either.
    The North American derby (screw Mexico. No, really - screw them) - it's about time it mattered, eh?
    Guest
    A story that we've been following for over a year now - the private academy fight to get recognition from the OSA - is about to take a major jump forward this weekend when the provincial board of directors reviews a proposal to recognize non-club academies.
    After five years of lobbying by groups like SAAC and others, this weekend's decision will represent the first real move on the part of the OSA to bring private academies under their wing. And while there is more bureaucracy to wade through than ever, for the first time in a while there seems to be an appetite for change and that's lead by those at the top like OSA president Ron Smalle and Director of Organizational Development Bruce Henderson.
    On a special Interview Only edition of It's Called Football, we're joined by Lino Terra, operations manager for the SAAC academies to speak about their fight for recognition at the OSA level, establishing pathways for academy players onto Provincial teams and explain how protective attitudes over personal fiefdoms continues to hold back development in Canada.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The hosting service is having problems with the embedded show today. You can listen here and obviously on iTunes.
    You can read more about the proposal before the OSA in documents here and here
    Guest
    With a berth in the U17 World Cup already clinched, the impressive Canadian squad now look to wrap up their best-ever result at the CONCACAF championship tournament. The winner of this match will advance to the continental final against the winner of USA v. Jamaica.
    The live blog/chat is archived here.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=f50bf5765c/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=f50bf5765c" >CONCACAF Men's U17 Championship - Semi-Final (Canada v. Panama)</a></iframe>
    Guest
    Like the popular snack mix, I'm going to break down these news hits into the flavoured Shreddie (the best part), the Cheerio (you never see it coming), the pretzel (you've got to acknowledge it, like it or not) and that cheese-stick thing (what the hell is it?).
    The Shreddie: Big Red drops the boycott
    If a team threatens a boycott, but they never miss a game, does it make a sound? I'd say yes. The women's national team has lifted their threat of a boycott, and will participate in the upcoming Cyprus Cup, as scheduled. Though the outstanding issues between the Canadian Soccer Association and head coach Carolina Morace haven't been fully resolved, apparently there's been sufficient "progress" on the matter to see the team head back out onto the pitch next week.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    We'll never know for sure whether or not the boycott was a bluff, though there are some who believe it was. What we do know is that the timing of the threat was, as Nigel Reed called it on The Soccer Show on Thursday, quite "shrewd". The team leveraged the attention they'd garnered thanks to a successful 2010, and the proximity to the upcoming Cyprus Cup and World Cup, to maximize the amount of attention they'd gain in holding the CSA's feet to the fire.
    And it worked. Not only was the story all over the mainstream and quasi-mainstream footie press in this country, it got covered by the bloody New York Times!
    Now, with the boycott threat rescinded, and the wider audience forgetting about the issue by the day, it remains unclear as to whether the team will retain its strong bargaining position. What is for sure, though, is that the team will be taking the field in Cyprus, will be taking the field in Germany and will (hopefully) be learning next week that their country will play host to the World Cup in four years' time.
    At the end of the day, that's surely what matters most to supporters.
    The Cheerio: Canadian soccer is good business?
    Speaking of positive coverage in the mainstream press, Report on Business magazine's cover story this week features a rather fascinating profile of Jeff Mallett, co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Given that it's ROB, the focus is, to an extent, on the financial/economic side of things, so it's encouraging to read passages such as:
    The online headline given to the piece is "Has soccer's time come in Canada?"It hasn't yet... but if folks like Mallett, Joey Saputo and the Faths are as serious about this game as they appear to be, then we just may be getting there.
    The Pretzel: Don't worry, TFC will still find a way to miss them
    "The pretzel (you've got to acknowledge it, like it or not)" -- yeah, this pretty much fits the bill. You've likely already heard about the deets of Major League Soccer's new 10-team playoff format for 2011. If not, I'm going to lazily delegate explanation to Jason Davis and his self-described poor attempt at an MLS playoff rant (with helpful illustration!) To steal his line, "this is a minor tweak, not a deathblow to American soccer as we know it".
    Yeah, it does seem a bit preposterous that 10 out of 18 teams will qualify for the playoffs, and yeah, the format itself is a bit goofy. But commissioner Don Garber admits -- in an excellent interview with Brian Strauss of FanHouse -- that 2011 is a "transition year" as it relates to the playoff format, and that the league will be cooking up something new for 2012, once Montreal arrives on the scene.
    Either way, it does make it more likely that Vancouver and/or Toronto will find themselves in the MLS playoffs which, in a North American sporting environment, instantly lends them more credibility and cache amongst the average fan. Though I shudder to think about what sort of smack talk will be heading from west to east if the 'Caps qualify while TFC shits the bed for the fifth year running...
    The Cheese Stick: "Steve Nash is the MVP!"
    Evidently NBA superstar Steve Nash was showing off some more of his soccer skills on Friday morning prior to the Suns' game against the Raptors. His love for the game is well-documented (he is, of course, one of the 'Caps other co-owners) and it kinda makes you wonder what may have happened if he'd joined his brother Martin on the men's national team.
    One thing it definitely would have meant: The basketball world would have missed out on some neat stuff...




    And of course, the grand-daddy of them all...


    Guest
    Jason Davis of Match Fit USA has an interesting article up looking at the make-up of the Canadian and American u17 sides at the CONCACAF championships.
    An outtake:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Read the rest here. Make no mistake, Canada's use of the MLS academies is more than a little a bit of dumb luck. If there was an established academy pathway in place before the pro teams stepped up and started to actually develop players we'd not be so excited about making a single u17 World Cup. Luck or not, however, it's working -- or seems to be. In 2009, when the u17s last tried, and failed, to qualify, the TFC academy was only a year old. It was still fighting with local academies and clubs in Toronto for the best players. Today that's not really the case. There will be the odd kid that stays away -- Christopher Nanco at Sigma Academy is a current example-- but the majority of the best young players in Southern Ontario are ending up at TFCA. There they are playing and developing in a professional environment every day. Add Montreal and Vancouver into the mix and you suddenly have something that almost resembles the rest of the world.
    The rest of the world except the United States. The US, as it is apt to often do, does things just a little bit differently. As Davis says in his article, only time will tell if they are going about it in a better way (although, from a Canadian perspective, that hardly matters. What matters here is that Canada is doing things better than, say, Costa Rica.)
    What's happening in Canada right now is far from perfect. Players will still fall through the gaps and we need a second tier of professional academies to find those players and to filter them up to the "big three." However, when you compare it to where Canada was prior to MLS (win that Ontario Cup then hope like hell you can convince a D2 team in Europe to let you trial) it's about a million times better.
    Guest
    It has been a slow couple days on the news front from a Vancouver Whitecaps supporters perspective. Nothing has really happened since Vancouver lost a pair of pre-season exhibition matches against the L.A. Galaxy — and even those were held behind closed doors. Today, the club gave us all a little something to keep the saliva flowing. The most prominent was the news the Whitecaps are looking to bring in a "Major" European Club for a friendly this season. Apparently they are in negotiations with at least two clubs but the one that immediately jumps to mind is the Paul Barber Tottenham Hotspur connection.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It's an easy connection to make and it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Keep in mind that the word on the street is David Beckham (who is currently training with Tottenham) is working on an alliance between the London Club and the L.A. Galaxy for a potential partnership between the two clubs. If Spurs were to make their way to the Southern California Coast, it would not be that great a stretch of the imagination that they could simply make the two hour flight up the Left Coast to Vancouver and be wined and dined by their chum Paul and his new Canadian friends.
    Tottenham are not the only club that are tied directly to the Whitecaps.
    Jeff Mallett, who is a part owner of the Whitecaps, is also a part of the ownership group at Derby County in the English Championship. Realistically, nobody would call Derby a "Major" European Club, but it would be a great chance for the coaching staff to have a look at a couple of potential purchases for next year. And if you're talking about Derby on these shores, then you're talking about Conor Doyle. He's an American kid, with an Irish father, who has played for both country's youth set up and is yet to declare who he intends to play for as a senior national. Americans love Americans coming back to their league.
    Speculation
    There have been several reports that Manchester United are set to return to North America again this summer for a few pre season friendlies. Real Madrid are also rumoured along with every other major club sponsored by Adidas. Adidas recently extended their current deal with MLS until 2018 and it is supposedly worth upwards of $200 Million.
    No grass in Vancouver
    Everton proved to be the most recent example of why Vancouver will have trouble drawing international players to its roster, not to mention big European clubs for friendlies. In 2009, Everton did a North American tour and even played the MLS all stars. Apparently The Toffees were going to set up camp in B.C. and play a friendly against the Whitecaps but pulled out after they discovered that there were no adequate grass training pitches for them to prepare for the match.
    Paul Barber put it best when he was referring to a similar problem as he described the issues with developing a training facility in the lower mainland. "Too many hills and too much water." But turf is the trend that is sweeping the nation as funding becomes harder to find in municipalities where pitches require constant care and reseeding after being torn up all fall by High School football.
    When I spoke with Whitecaps defender Alain Rochat about playing on turf in Switzerland he exclaimed "I hate it!" Recently, trialist Ryan O'Leary missed most of the first trip to Arizona with Turf Toe - something he suffered in just the first 3 days of training at Empire.
    While B.C. Place will have FIFA Approved field turf, it will still make foreign players and clubs cringe at the thought of playing there. Swangard presents a potential training pitch for foreign teams while in town and B.C. Place General Manager Howard Crossley assured me that it is possible to lay grass over the turf at BC Place — is a similar fashion to how Seattle did when Manchester United visited The Emerald City.
    Until the turf issues get sorted, don't hold your breath for them to be rolling out the big boys for a friendly against the Blue and White.
    But who needs Eurotrash anyways?
    With all that being said, don't forget that sometimes the best matches are the domestic ones. If you are a new fan of the club and are not really too sure what games you should be getting excited for — the May 4th match against L'Impact de Montreal (Montreal Impact for all the rest of us anglophones) is going to be one of the most intense of the season. Montreal and Vancouver already absolutely hate each other - the 2009 Nutrilite Voyageurs Cup is a point of contention as many 'Caps fans feel that Montreal capitulated in a 6-1 loss to Toronto that cost the Vancouver the championship - so when they meet in May for another V's Cup game it will surely be another for the ages.
    But what European team are you hoping to see this year? What games are you looking forward to? Toronto FC on opening night? Portland at BC place?
    Guest

    Aleman's goal

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    TFC academy product Keven Aleman scored what might have been the goal of the tournament yesterday in Canada's 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
    Here it is. Enjoy:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAjiHkb523k
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