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.
Landon Donovan took ASN's Week Seven Player of the Week honors though his competition did well to
keep pace. San Jose's Bobby Convey did his best impression of Donovan, grabbing a trio of assists
in the Quakes 4-0 romp of visiting New York. Toronto FC's Chad Barrett and DC United's Danny
Allsopp earned their first spot on the Best XI with a brace each in respective wins.
Philadelphia Union take their show on the road to Toronto tonight. (Getty Images)
Its a big week for Toronto FC, not only have they made a few changes since their last game (a
4-1 loss at New England) but they will also be making their home debut for the season. BMO Field
will also be debuting it's new grass surface, the grass that fans all across the league have been
begging for in Toronto since the club launched in 2007.
Can Columbus make get their second win of the week on Sunday? (Getty Images)
Its a lighter weekend in Major League Soccer and I'm not exactly sure if there is anything to
blame here for it. Five games this weekend on two days still with plenty of interesting matchups to
discuss.
Last night got week nine off with a bang.
Seriously. No outside foor or drink at BMO
TORONTO FC (6th) VS. LA GALAXY (1st)
BMO Field - Saturday 7:30PM ET
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO & PACIFIC ---RADIO: The FAN590
Tornadoes. Earthquakes. Anti-Globalization protests. Riot police.
------------------------------
Like father, like son?Mo Johnston must have the shakes and the cold sweats right now. The Scot has many detractors but
those who do back him use his record in the MLS SuperDraft as a defence. However, with a few days
to go before the 2010 draft, where he is supposed to show his wily eye for talent, Johnston and his
TFC "backroom" (about two guys and a some NCAA DVD's) do not have a first round pick and only a
couple of late choices at their disposal.
By TRAVIS CLARK
With most teams in the south and training camps all underway, early friendlies are already
taking place. Down in Florida, Preki got to see his new club in game action, as Toronto drew 1-1
against the University of Central Florida men's soccer team.
It is certainly not easy to be a Toronto sports fan at the moment. The city's beloved hockey
franchise the Maple Leafs have endured a traumatic season at the bottom of Eastern conference
standings while popular NBA team the Raptors - look set to miss out on the playoffs following a
terrible run of form.
STARTERSThe floodgates appear to be open on MLS rosters with teams announcing signings left and right. See
new MLS Movement section below.
dN
The USA U20 team won the prestigious Milk Cup today in Northern Ireland, beating the hosts 3-0 in
the final. Hooray Near-Beer.
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.
Another quiet week for Toronto FC. Saturday sees TFC facing Columbus Crew for the annual
Trillium Cup. Seeing as we've never won the Trillium Cup and Columbus are a much better team, there
might not be as much enthusiasm as you would think. Still, it's a game that the players might have
a bit more incentive to try for.
Hinchas de Bari con banderas durante un partido contra el Milan en el estadio San Nicola en Bari 21
de febrero 2010. AC Milan ganó por 2-0. REUTERS / Alessandro Bianchi.
Abby Wambach (R) de los EE.UU. lucha por el balón con Caroline Seger de Suecia durante el partido
de sus mujeres de fútbol Copa Algarve en Ferreiras 01 de marzo 2010.
By KURTIS W. LARSON
A defensive experiment including a questionable lineup and tactics by Toronto FC doomed the
visitors to defeat as an undermanned Real Salt lake cruised to a controlling 2-1 win on a blustery
night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Heading into the match, TFC was shown a glimpse of hope when the creative Javier Morales and
dangerous Fabian Espindola were ruled out for RSL.
The cafeteria makes a mean buttyClasses at Preki Jr. High are just over a month old (not
counting the mess that is called a TFC pre-season) and the school year is well under way. Graduates
like Robinson, Serioux and Wynne are off to greener pastures, no doubt with only the best things to
say about Professor Radosavljevic and crusty Dean Mo Johnston.
Chad Barrett unleashed a force which is a sportsblogger's (writer's) dream today. Not only did
he produce 2 goals against the Chicago Fire, he produced instant corny material to be used in
titles for articles.
On a more serious note, the performance put on by Toronto FC today was a combination of luck,
hard work and a bit of skill.
By KURTIS LARSON
Toronto FC took a massive step in getting back to the CONCACAF Champions League shutting out the
Montreal Impact at Stade Suputo in Canadian Cup play on Wednesday night by a score of 1-0.
Head coach Preki made a total of six changes to a lineup that defeated Chicago 4-1 on the
weekend resting a number of starters ahead of a league game Saturday.
MLS
Saturday's slate of seven matches featured plenty of goals and some surprising results.
The Los Angeles Galaxy showed why they are the best team in the league this season by beating
the Crew in Columbus 2-0 without Buddle and Donovan. The Crew controlled the game and outshot LA
21-3, but Bruce Arena has put together a very disciplined side that just doesn't make mistakes and
capitalizes on the opposition's errors.
Look out for Toronto FC, they're 2nd in the East!
TP
Toronto FC are Canadian club champions for a second straight season
Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Toronto FC are the Nutrilite Canadian Championship winners for
a second consecutive season and will represent Canada in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League.
Toronto FC had already secured top spot before their final game of the campaign against Vancouver
Whitecaps yesterday and, thus, decided to play a number of youth players from the club's
academy.
"It's only a flesh wound."When the final whistle blew at the end of Saturday's tepid match against KFC, the Toronto players
could at least console themselves with an upcoming three week mini-break. For the first time in
league history, MLS will shut down operations during the opening rounds of the World Cup.
Law Offices of Cellino, Barnes & LaBrocca (LaBrocca not pictured)
With Major League Soccer's World Cup break in full swing, many of The Reds are making plans for how
to spend their three week mini-break. While they should be nursing injuries, watching past game
tapes and staying in shape, many of the Toronto players and staff may actually be making other
plans for the next twenty-odd days.
Dwayne De Rosario goes head-to-head with his old mates from Houston tonight. (Getty Images)
Week 14 in Major League Soccer looks to get kicked off with a bang. The Houston Dynamo travel
north to face their old mate Dwayne De Rosario and Toronto FC at BMO Field. TFC looks to continue
their impressive home record this season while the Dynamo are hoping to begin getting some
consistent play going forward in the second half of the season.
Last night Toronto FC once again did the predicable and pulled off a 1:0 victory against
Honduran side CD Motagua, featuring Amado Guevera. This was the first leg of a two match playoff in
the CONCACAF Champions League qualifying round.
Not a bad win, and it did look like TFC were in control for most of the game.
"Who dares question the 5 Year Plan?"
KANSAS CITY (12th) VS. TORONTO FC (8th)
CommunityAmerica Ballpark - Saturday 8:30PM ET
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO & PACIFIC ----RADIO: THE FAN 590
In the midst of Champions League/ All Star Game madness it's down the "Yellow Prek Road" as TFC
land in the Midwest to tackle KFC.
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.
Motagua 2 Toronto 2 (Toronto advances 3-2 on aggregate)
Metapán 1 Seattle 1 (Seattle advances 2-1 on aggregate)
With a bar set low enough that even a stumbling step might clear it, it wouldn't have taken much
for MLS to have its best collective night ever in the CONCACAF Champions League.
"The Champagne of Football Clubs"
NEW YORK (5th) VS. TORONTO FC (8th)
Red Bull Arena - Wednesday 7:30PM
TV: GOL TV
The last time Toronto FC played in New York (or New Jersey to be exact) they were fighting for
their playoff lives against one of the worst teams in MLS history.
On the morning after the night before, I am strangely serene about the TFC game in New York.Toronto
was fortunate to play NYRB with Rafa Marquez off on international duty and Henry still easing into
the team. Still Toronto was missing Dan Gargan to suspension, Maicon Santos to injury and they
didn't have Chad Barrett for very long.
One of unemployed coach Preki's favourite Canadians, Dwayne DeRosario was responsible for a TFC
comeback tonight in Houston. DeRo scored twice in the second half to lead Toronto FC to victory
over his former club the Dynamo. Both goals came off of free kicks, with the game winning goal
coming well into injury time.
On Saturday September 18, 2010, before a crowd of 16,435 at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas,
Toronto FC managed to keep its playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo.
The Dynamo's Brian Ching scored the match's first goal in the 18th minute, but in the end it was
former Dynamo player Dwayne De Rosario who won the match for Toronto with goals in the 60th and
94th minutes.
Mo & Preki decided to show up for the matchCRUZ AZUL (1st) VS. TORONTO FC (3rd)CONCACAF Champions League - Group A
Estadio Azul - Tuesday 10PM ET
TV: GOL TV For the first time in their history, Toronto FC are feeling what it's like to be Rosenborg, FC
Copenhagen or Sparta Prague.
Abelimages - Getty Images
See ... Toronto's Chad Barrett knows how to do it. Here he reacts to missing a shot over the
weekend against San Jose. It's not so hard to do it correctly.
You gotta try the "Chicken Frei Rice"
Less than a day after Colorado lifted the MLS Cup Trophy in Toronto, the league's clubs were
back to work. Yesterday evening, all clubs released their Protected List thus exposing the
"unprotected" to the 2011 Expansion Draft. The full league unprotected list is a mixture of
over-priced underachievers, unwanted internationals and players who just haven't developed quite
fast enough.
By L.E. Eisenmenger - BOSTON, MA (Jan 8, 2010) USSoccerPlayers -- Patrick McCabe is the Senior VP
and Managing Director of First Wave Sports, as well as a prominent player agent. They represent
coaches Sigi Schmid, Robert Warzycha, and Preki, and players including William Hesmer, Troy
Perkins, Nat Borchers, Jim Brennan, Baggio Hassidic, Jack Jewsbury, Stefan Miglioranzi, Logan
Pause, Teal Bunbury, Andre Akpan, Chad Barrett, Robbie Findley, Alejandro Moreno, Yura Movsisyan,
and Cam Weaver.
Most of the industrialized world has been in the grip of a harsh recession for the last couple of
years and things aren't turning around yet. Jobs have been lost, people are losing their homes ...
no one will pay Portsmouth FC's player's wages - the horror of it all! Well, Major League Soccer
itself is far from immune.
While on his way to Philadelphia to attend this year's SuperDraft, TFC Director of Football Mo
Johnston will likely be stopping by a leper colony to do some healing as well as turning some water
into wine on the flight. That is the level of miracle many TFC supporters are expecting before the
draft begins as hopes are high that the ever humble Scot will be able to deal for a high pick.
By TRAVIS CLARK
With most teams in the south and training camps all underway, early friendlies are already
taking place. Down in Florida, Preki got to see his new club in game action, as Toronto drew 1-1
against the University of Central Florida men's soccer team.
Out with the old, in with the new -- or so the saying goes.
That adage sums up Preki's move to Toronto FC. The old system and coach is now gone, and now
it's up to the former U.S. international to lead the Reds to a place they've never gone before: the
playoffs.
Is Preki up to it?
Out with the old, in with the new -- or so the saying goes.
That adage sums up Preki's move to Toronto FC. The old system and coach is now gone, and now
it's up to the former U.S. international to lead the Reds to a place they've never gone before: the
playoffs.
Is Preki up to it?
By AVI CREDITOR
With BMO Field selected as the 2010 MLS Cup host, Toronto F.C. has a bit more motivation at
reaching the promised land.
The only problem is, the team doesn't quite have the horses to get there.
Preki enters his first season as Toronto coach with a lot of work to do.
