"I will never wear a red kit with a bank sponsor again!" Usually we leave off-season rumours for Friday's "The Rumoumeter" but today's tidbit out of Central America has grown el legs quickly and is seemingly close to a done deal - except for those silly official announcements. Word leaked from midfielder Arnold Peralta's hometown club CD Vida today that the Honduras U-23 and one time full international - in the infamous 8-1 Canada drubbing no less - was on his way to say sorry to Canadians by joining their most needy MLS side.
The New York Red Bulls have long been on the hunt for an attacking midfielder. The last steady
offensive distributor for the team left in 2006. His name? Amado Guevara.
Since the Honduran's departure, many have attempted to fill in the role for New York with little
success to show for it.
Photo Credit: Alfonso Jimenez via Wikimedia Commons
Ever since Amado Guevara was shown the door, I've been clamoring for an actual #10 Creative
Midfielder for our team - to absolutely no avail. That genius Bruce Arena (besides destroying our
pretty good backline in 2007) saddled us with the perenially injured Claudio Reyna, who (as a
defensive midfielder) was absolutely not the creative player we needed.
Yeah, so our boys and the visiting Spawns of Satan cancelled each other out, playing to a
lackluster (to put very mildly) 0-0 draw. While we certainly had much fun, as we always do, I feel
it was an opportunity lost. First, we dropped two points to a team in the midst of a suck-ass
season.
If The Red Bulls Win and Nobody's There to See It...?The New York Red Bulls put in a real
Jekyll & Hyde performance on Saturday, at home to the expansion Montreal Impact. After a listless
first half that found them lucky to be 2-2 at the break, they scored three unanswered goals and won
going away, 5-2.
"Offence? Attractive football? Bah Humbug!"
TORONTO FC (9th) VS. CHIVAS USA (13th) 　 BMO Field - Saturday 4PM ET
TV: CBC RADIO: THE FAN 590
　
It's hard to reflect on the state of TFC right now without being biased by the great win against
Motagua this past Tuesday.
Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy centerback) have been added to the USA roster for next
Tuesday's big game with Brazil.
Jermaine Jones has been dropped from the roster, so he will NOT make his USA debut after all. The
story on why he is out say that his club Schalke want him to stay with them and keep working on his
fitness leading up the beginning of the season after a full year layoff due to injury.
Tomorrow night marks Toronto FC's first foray into Central America proper when The Reds travel to
Tegucigalpa, Honduras. While Latin America is full of lovely people - it's not exactly famous for
being stable and/or crime-free. As if the flight into Tegucigalpa's airport, considered one of the
most dangerous approaches in the world (please watch frightening video below - unless you are
flying there today!
It's Swiss crack
It's TFZ - The Totally Fake-Rumour Zone: The # 1 source for Toronto FC gossip with zero sources!
From the streets, from the bars, from your cousin Lou - the stories come in... and the truth stays
behind!
　 This week on TFZ...
　
- Rumours based on research were floating this week that TFC's Swiss keeper Stefan Frei is on his
way to Stoke City for $3 Million - who needs research?
A year ago the Galaxy couldn't get out of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round.
Now they're in the knockout stage.
Winless Honduran team Motugua meekly surrendered to the Galaxy 1-0 Tuesday as LA topped their
group behind another trademark Juninho long-range bomb to reach the CONCACAF Champions League
quarterfinals.
After trying to top what Real Salt Lake did in the last edition of the CONCACAF Champions
League, the opening night of the 2011-12 edition for two MLS Sides was the next chapter in the
league's history to get back into the knockout stages for next season. The Los Angeles Galaxy and
Seattle Sounders hosted their first group matches against opponents from Central America.
I was told Mike Magee would start in left midfield, but it looks like he's upfront with
Cristman, with Landon Donovan tucked in behind the two front runners and playing wide left.
*******************************
There's no truth to the rumor that now we're done with player introductions the fans will
introduce themselves to each other.
The CONCACAF Champions League draw was held Wednesday, finally. The draw was supposed to have been
held at 8 a.m. PT but the results were not announced until about four hours later, which made for
some frustrating moments.
Regardless, here is how the LA Galaxy fared.
The Galaxy were drawn into Group A and the only team that is for sure in the group is Costa Rica's
Alajuelense.
Toronto FC were one of the eight teams to celebrate qualification into the group stage
The preliminary rounds of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League have been completed and
Stoppage Time International Football Blog rounds up the winners and losers at this stage.
Plus the full draw for the group stages of the competition is revealed:
With eight teams already qualified automatically for the group stages there were sixteen teams
who were hoping to join them at the start of the week which has been whittled down to the eight
needed after this week's preliminary round, second leg matches were played all over the
continent.
DC United has fired head coach Curt Onalfo as the team flounders in their worst season ever.
-Ben Olsen is the interim head coach! Captain Caveman!
dN
Great job by Toronto FC & Seattle Sounders going to Motogua in The Salvador and Metapan in Panama
and both getting the draw to advance in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Major League Soccer saw two more teams advance to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions
League after Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders both registered vital draws to win their
respective play-in series.
Toronto FC posted a 2-2 draw against Honduran club CD Motagua. Former TFC midfielder Amado
Guevara scored twice for Motagua, but Chad Barrett's equalizer gave Toronto the 3-2 series win on
aggregate.
Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders both advanced to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions'
League on Tuesday night. Toronto drew 2-2 with Motagua, winning 3-2 on aggregate. Amado Guevara put
Metapan in front in the 6th minute, with Dwayne De Rosario equalizing in the 57th. It was Guevara
again in the 62nd, but Chad Barrett brought Toronto level in the 78th to take the two-game series.
Is it me or does he looke extra surly?
C.D. MOTAGUA 2 - TORONTO FC 2(TORONTO WINS 3-2 ON AGGREGATE)
Toronto FC are a funny club. On days when you expect them to plough through the opposition, they
fail to show up. Majority of their league wins are scrappy 1-0 affairs.
Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders are in Central America today to play the second legs of
their respective CONCACAF Champions League series, and both are in for tough battles as they
attempt to hold on to 1-0 leads from their first legs.
C.D. MOTAGUA VS. TORONTO FCCONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PRELIMINARY (2nd
LEG) Estadio Nacional (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) - Tuesday 8:00PM ETTV: GOL
TV
Slap dab in the middle of the annual "TFC Summer Swoon"TM, the club travels to
the toughest stadium and civic environment in the history of the young club.
After completing the 1st-leg games of the Preliminary Round in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions
League (CCL), the most talked about game was the 4-1 Galactic routing in Los Angeles handed by the
Puerto Rico Islanders.
Honduras' Amado Guevara returned to Toronto only to see his new Motagua team fall 1-0 to Chad
Barrett and the TFC.
Forget the MLS All-Star game vs Man Utd. If you really want to judge MLS teams against
international opposition, the best place to do so is the CONCACAF Champions League. If you have no
idea what the acronymtastic competition is, imagine the UEFA Champions League, but instead of
Barcelona and Man Utd it features the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the
Caribbean.
Three MLS teams are in action mid-week as preliminary home and home CONCACAF qualifiers get
underway across the continent. Since the preliminary round began in 2008, MLS clubs are 1-4 all
time in CONCACAF play-in games.
Major League Soccer has made it known that the league must compete at a high level in this
tournament if the league is to be taken seriously.
Three MLS teams are in action mid-week as preliminary home and home CONCACAF qualifiers get
underway across the continent. Since the preliminary round began in 2008, MLS clubs are 1-4 all
time in CONCACAF play-in games.
Major League Soccer has made it known that the league must compete at a high level in this
tournament if the league is to be taken seriously.
C.D. Motagua President and logo model Aguilas Azules
TORONTO FC (CAN) VS. C.D. MOTAGUA (HON) 　 BMO Field - Tuesday, 8:00PM ET
TV: GOL TV
　
While it may never be a midweek evening at the San Siro, Nou Camp or Old Trafford, the CONCACAF
Champions League is our home continent equivalent and it makes its second stop in two years at BMO
Field.
What gives with Chivas USA?
Ever since they were first founded, the club has had some sort of aversion to acquiring a big-name
franchise-type talent.
Now, they've had some very good players in the past, and had one player who fit that bill in Brad
Guzan. But they drafted Guzan and developed him into a player you could build a team around.
What the hell is it with rain and TFC matches. Sure I haven't been at a home game since Canada Day,
but its as if you can't have rain with TFC. People at the Farmers Almanac take note, bumper crops
are sure to break Tuesday night.
After the room temperature display in hot-as-f**k Chester, PA, I wonder if the mighty reds will
retain their incredible form at New Fort York (aka BMO).
So with the LA Galaxy ditching the salaries of Clint Mathis & Alan Gordon this week, you have to
imagine that they are about to announce something big. What will it be? Is there any chance its
Ronaldinho? The Italian rumor mill sure seems to think so.
dN
World Soccer Reader is reporting that LA is close to signing.
6 minutes into the game Amado Guevara scored off of a header and things looked very bleak in
TFCland.
Yet that was the only score of the first half, so TFC went to the halftime break even on
aggregate.
