The first full slate of matches in April for Major League Soccer presents a wide variety of intriguing storylines and matchups.
Most eyes will focus on the star-studded showdown at BMO Field between Atlanta United and Toronto FC, but if you dig deeper, there are plenty of other matches that could steal the headlines.
• De estar casi eliminados en agosto a la cima de la MLS en diciembre • Sin goles en 120 minutos, la final de la Copa MLS se decidió en tiros a penal • Stefan FREI le quitó un gol a Jozy ALTIDORE en el minuto 108 (video) • Román TORRES en el partido de su vida hizo el penal de la victoria (video) Hace .
We have complete player evaluations from the Portland Timbers 1 to 0 loss to Toronto FC back on May 23, including individual marks for every Timbers player that appeared, the opponent, coaches and officiating.
Manchester City have announced a post-season tour to Canada where they will meet Toronto FC on Wednesday, May 27 at BMO Field. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m.
Reflecting on the news, Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive of Manchester City, declared:
"We are very excited about the game against Toronto FC.
We have complete player evaulations from the Portland Timbers 3 to 2 loss to Toronto FC back on September 27. There are marks for every Portland Timbers player that appeared in the match in addition to marks for the coaches, opponent and officials.
Unleashed! TORONTO VS. PHILADELPHIA BMO FIELD - SATURDAY 2PM ET TV: TSN 2 MANUFACTURED DERBY NAME: "The Apollo Creed Testimonial Match" FACTS* AND STATS** TORONTO FC - "Un": Greg Vanney's preference in regards to leashing. - "DP": The level Michael Bradley needs to play at. - Ex-Red Maurice Edu, whose transfer fee famously "paid for BMO Field's grass" will be taking 20 square yards of it home with him as per his transfer negotiation.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Revolution travel north to Toronto on Saturday night to battle their Eastern conference foe for their second match this season.
Happy Easter Monday to our Christian observers/chocolate bunny observers. To the rest of you - happy Monday? Sure. Easter of course is where millions celebrate JC's (not Julio Cesar) big comeback victory over AS Roma in the egg fields near the stadium where Beitar Jerusalem now plays. We think.
Camilo staying in MLS, Pictures with Ethan White, DCU close to selling Jakovic, Bob Bradley gets a new gig and more!
Not sure how much snow everyone else got, but we got a quite a bit over on the Eastern Shore. So if you're snowed in, grab a cup of coffee and take in some morning links from around the world of soccer.
"THE ARGOS TO BMO" 　 A true holiday classic. In that no matter what year it is - this story is always told. Like a reverse mistle-toe hanging over TFC supporters' heads since 2007, it is the story we all want to throw in the fireplace. But alas, like the wise men finding their way by the shining glow of Pinball Clemons' teeth, this one just keeps showing up.
El Seattle Sounders sufre por cada triunfo fuera de casa. Hoy en Toronto apenas obtuvo su cuarto juego ganado de 11 jugados fuera del CenturyLink Field. Sus últimas dos salidas ante Real Salt Lake y San Jose Earthquakes terminaron en derrotas sin goles a favor. Los últimos tres puntos de visita fueron el 1 de [.
All eyes will be on Toronto on Saturday evening as new Seattle Sounders signing Clint Dempsey is expected to take the field for his first MLS match in almost seven years.
The U.S. Men's National Team captain will look to lead his new team closer to a Western Conference playoff spot when they take on Toronto FC at BMO Field.
"Come back tomorrow as Toronto FC host Columbus..."Editor's Note: The suddenly resurgent "Argonauts to BMO Field" story divides Toronto FC fans into two groups. The cynics who think that it is inevitable (Hi everybody!) and those who think it simply won't happen, or if it does - no big deal.
"Can you feel the passion? Umm...guys? Can you feel it?" It was always going to be this way. As far back as the first home fixture in 2007, Toronto FC was based on a house of cards that was "the great atmosphere". It didn't help when the assembled North American football media got in line to stroke the club and its supporters' egos for managing to introduce a "European match atmosphere" to MLS.
Thoughts and video from the stands as Toronto FC close up shop at home at BMO Field for 2012 with what was a forgettable draw to the Montreal Impact. Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)
Poor Santos and his savage heart... so much passion!Those of you who frequent
this site... hello you three... know that Monday is reserved for our STARTING 11 feature but as
there is an unusual Tuesday fixture this week it's "Buy None - Get Two Free" today. All of the
STARTING 11 you love with a dose of THE MATCHUP you kind of enjoy with none of that pesky AFTER 90
you have to tolerate!
Hipster Brian Clough is all over thisTORONTO VS. PORTLAND 　 BMO FIELD - WEDNESDAY 7:30PM ET TV: TSN
　 THE KICKABOUT:
Usually when a club gets an unexpected few days off they are fresh, rested and have a full squad.
Toronto and Montreal. Rivals in so many things. Language, culture, business, terrible mayors, Prime Minister-themed airports and who Upstate New York wants to take to the prom. No list of inter-city rivalries of course would be complete without sporting interests. Whether it is real football, Canadian American football or ice football, these two great cities love to battle it out.
"WAS" Phase One: "How interesting!" Phase Two: "Look at that roof!" Phase Three: "Say what in the whatnow? Aww nuts." Yes, in the words of a guy who used to work around these parts - "get used to it." BMO Field is being expanded into a 30,000-seat, gleaming Euro-style stadium suitable for an ambitious MLS club with visions of grandeur.
Get used to it. Go ahead, call us lazy. Tell us we're phoning it in. After 7 years of covering TFC, you are what you eat.
To be fair, today's "Greatest Hits" Starting 11 is topical. When it first appeared on the site, "Argos to BMO" was still in the rumour (but who are we kidding - this deal was done a year ago) stage.
"You. Better. Work!" Happy Labour Day comrades! Not just a day of where parents drunkenly celebrate their children getting the eff back to school but also a day where we throw off the shackles of our American oppressors and stand up for our right to spell "labour" with the letter "u"!
Terry F*ckin' Dunfman  To poorly paraphrase Monty Python: "Drinking a beer at BMO Field is like sex in a canoe. It's f*cking close to water." Yes, the "King" of Beers (possibly the Larry King of beers at best) is now the official beer supplier at BMO Field and your taste buds couldn't be more morose.
Man, IHOMHEP sucks.  One of the folksy multicultural promotions that TFC began back in 2007 was to aim for gastronomical inclusiveness at the BMO Field concession stands. In a city where football supporters can hail from any continent, the club tried to cater to all needs simultaneously.
Why release doves when you have seat cushions?The 2012 Olympics ended as London
waved goodbye to the XXX Olympiad. (How they could have a XXX Olympiad without Joe Cannon is a
disgrace) In 2016, British stereotypes will be replaced with Brazilian stereotypes as Rio hosts the
next games - bowler hats replaced with thongs; chalky white skin will make way for bronzed tans;
Beckham out - 103 year-old Pele in; and whatever the samba equivalent of Pet Shop Boys is.
TORONTO VS. NEW ENGLAND BMO FIELD - SATURDAY 5PM ET TV: SPORTSNET 360
MANUFACTURED DERBY NAME: "Ye Olde English Derby Matche"
FACTS* AND STATS** TORONTO FC - 4: Hours it takes the average fan to get in and out of BMO Field during the CNE - Fetal: The position you would find Ryan Nelsen in after someone proposes he plays three attackers up front.
"CAW!"TORONTO VS. D.C. UNITEDBMO FIELD - SATURDAY 4:30PM ETTV: TSNWHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS? - Home opener. 20,000 wildly optimistic hosers in long underwear. Nuff said. - Was last week at Seattle the real life - or was it just fantasy?
"Arrrr-goooo... I mean Paaaa-triooooots!"NEW ENGLAND VS. TORONTO GILLETTE STADIUM - SUNDAY 7:30PM ETTV: SPORTSNET 360 (The Artist formerly known as The Score) THE KICKABOUT: We didn't really want to bang on more about the "Argos to BMO Field" rumblings that have re-animated recently - like the zombie issue it is - but this fixture is just too appropriate.
TORONTO VS. REAL SALT LAKE　 BMO FIELD - SATURDAY 1PM ET TV: TSN 2 ("Droppin' The D-D-D-Deuce!") 　 THE KICKABOUT: Ok, enough about the other stuff. Let's talk about a real match.
'Executive Hawk Class' - Almaty to Toronto in 37 Hours TORONTO VS. CHICAGO 　 BMO FIELD - WEDENSDAY 7PM ET TV: TSN 　 While the good majority of Toronto-area football fans are still mostly interested in the qualifying quest of the Canadian National Team, those other boys in red - your Toronto Eff Cees - are back at BMO Field.
Not bad. Would be better with hybrid turf. Welcome to Toronto Tim Leiweke - you're now officially one of us. A year after touching down (Get it? Argos? Oh, never mind) in our fair city, the MLSE Grand Poobah has finally come face-to-face with the buffoonery that is our city's current leadership.
"This ball is still believes in me..." We barely had time to "get used to" you Kevin.
Through the powerfully heartfelt mediums of corporate press release and hobbled together conference call, Toronto FC kept the gears greased on their never-ending management carousel. Kevin Payne, the ever-so humble, Forlan-addicted veteran MLS executive has "parted ways" with Toronto FC and is no longer the President and GM of the wildly successful club.
Why is this man smiling? That thud you heard this morning was TFC supporter's hearts collectively hitting the ground. A TSN report claiming that the Toronto Argos are on the brink of being sold to MLSE and/or Larry Tanenbaum brought home the worst fears for many of The Reds' faithful.
In our promise to not bang on about the inevitable Argos to BMO move (it's happening - get used to it) we bring you the latest story courtesy of the Toronto Star. Followed of course by Barry the LeiewekeLeaks ass. Article here... Barry here...
"So many microphones... sweet, sweet microphones" Just when TFC supporters thought they could have an off-season full of optimism about a bright future, the Foghorn Leghorn of sports executives went at it again.
Tim Leiweke just can't stop.
In his ongoing intense, steamy love affair with any open microphone, Leiweke was bathing in the Winter Classic success that was the Maple Leafs vs.
So they removed the President of Toronto FC and during the brief press conference it was revealed that MLSE is "kinda" still looking at shoehorning the Argos into the ground. I don't get it. It doesn't make any sense. I'm sure the cost of the retrofit doesn't remotely equal the money they'd make from a rental.
The blurst of times. With apologies to the majority of the BMO Field population (circa 2007-2013), Toronto FC's image was built in large part on the visage of the South Stand. Now in no way are we claiming that the supporters in the south are more valuable or important than any others in the ground but it was the sizzle of the "European atmosphere" that TFC immediately harnessed to carve their place in Toronto's crowded sports entertainment market.
