Wednesday, June 29, 2011

TFC's Big Day

Toronto FC fans everywhere knew that we would be able to expect a fair bit of activity once the summer window opened as it was clear that the club was in need of improvement, and in some cases just more bodies, in almost every position.  It was also clear that some of the clubs under performing players were in danger of being moved on.  With that in mind today's announcement by the club that they had gone out and secured two new designated players really should not be a shock.  Even more so when you consider that both signings had been strongly linked to the club by almost every media outlet that offers speculation on the team.

For Toronto FC today was a big day and many fans are going to be hoping that this serves as some sort of turning point in the future of the club and from here on out it will all be looking up.  I personally think that these two signings are a great beginning but it is nothing more then that.  A lot more needs to be done to address the teams needs.  They have still not replaced the scoring that they lost when the traded away De Rosario or found a striker to take some of the pressure to score off of Alan Gordon.  They also still need to go out and at least do some sort of patch job on the back line as injuries and other factors have left the team short on defenders able to play at the MLS level.  Today in the press conference announcing the signings Aaron Winter made it quite clear that this was only the beginning as he indicated that the team would be looking to make a number of trades which could see the club moving out any number of players included De Guzman who has consistently under performed since joining the club.

The first of today's signings that was announced was former German international Torsten Frings.  He has played much of his career as a defensive midfielder, same position as De Guzman, and was capped 79 times by Germany.  Most recently he played for Werder Bremen where he played in over 300 games in his two stints with the club.  Frings is now 34 years old and in the later stages of his career but it is clear that he still has loads of ability.  Despite being a defensive midfielder Frings has a proven ability to chip in some goals from time to time having scored 67 of them in his career that spans over 500 games now.  He will bring composure and experience to the centre of the park for Toronto FC and the club will be hoping that he is able to play on for at least a few more years despite his age.  He joins the club on a multiyear deal as a free transfer and will be eligible for selection on the 20th against FC Dallas.

The second signing of the day starts to address the scoring needs of the club.  Danny Koevermans is a Dutch striker and he also joins the club on a free transfer having signed a multiyear deal as a designated player.  Kovermans is a former Dutch international, even though he only played 4 games for the Netherlands, who has a proven scoring record in the Eredivisie.  In his club career he has scored 136 goals in 253 matches which is a good rate for a striker but his pace has fallen off a bit since he joined PSV in 2005.  Toronto FC will probably be looking for him to chip in a goal every other game and provide a veteran presence in the attack as well as giving a much needed increase to the depth.  His arrival will hopefully also make Alan Gordon and Maicon Santos better as they will be under slightly less pressure now to do all of the scoring.

Lost in the big news of the signings was the fact that TFC had a match tonight against their Canadian rivals in the Vancouver Whitecaps.  I was unable to watch the game but having seen the highlights I got the sense that it was a very even battle with neither team generating much in terms of offensive chances.  The only breakthrough in the game came as Soolsma cut inside and then out before Janicki brought him down just inside of the box.  The referee showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty and I have to say that it was the right call.  Soolsma was given the chance to finish off his play by taking the spot kick which he calmly converted to the left of the keeper.  It was the only goal of the game as TFC were able to bag a 1-0 win over the White Caps which is only their 3rd win of the season but it was enough to see them jump over three teams and into 5th in the East.  It also means that TFC are now 4 points up on Vancouver in the battle for the best Canadian team.  That battle will continue on the weekend when the Nutrilite Cup finally wraps up with the second leg being replayed at BMO Field.

More Mexicans Sent Home

News has once again broke that a group of 8 Mexican internationals have been sent home just days before the start of the Copa America. The 8 players, which include future star Jonathan dos Santos, were charged as part of an alleged sex scandal.

Along side Jonathan dos Santos, Nestor Vidrio, Javier Cortes, David Cabrera, Nestor Claderon, Israel Jimenez, Jorge Hernandez and Marco Fabian have also been sent home. Mexico, who decided to send an under-22 side to the Copa America in order to rest their stars, still have time to replace the players ahead of their first match in the tournament.

This is the second time in a month that a group of Mexican players have been sent home from a tournament. The first group of suspended players failed a drug test as part of the Gold Cup earlier this month. This time around, the suspended players will be out for 6 months and fined $3,000 after news of their alleged sex scandal broke.

Mexican officials would not go into details over the nature of the incident only saying that the rules had been broken and they needed to act. The story broke none-the-less thanks to a television station getting a hold of security camera footage from the teams hotel. The tapes show a member of the side's staff escorting women into the player's rooms. Players were not allowed to have females in their rooms resulting in the rule breaking that Mexico team director Hector Gonzalez Inarritu spoke off.

Mexico, whose decision to send a young side to the Copa likely stated their intentions in the tournament, will be forced to replace the 8 players which includes a couple players who are important parts of the team. If Mexico had any intention to compete for the Copa America crown just weeks after capturing the CONCACAF Gold Cup, their chances most surely have taken a big hit after the revelation of this sex scandal.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Early Impressions of the FWWC

After just three match days in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, one thing has stood out for me from following the matches. In previous tournaments, teams like the United States and other top sides would run rampant over all other opponents. In the 2007 tournament, winners Germany did not concede a goal to emphasis their dominance. But this time around in the 2011 addition, increasing parody has been on display with only one of the six matches played so far being won by more than one goal (USA 2-0 North Korea).

The growing parody in women's soccer has really been displayed by tight results in matches where one team is heavily favored over the other. Two matches really stand out for me: Japan-New Zealand and Sweden-Columbia. In both matches the eventual winners, Japan and Sweden, were heavily favored based upon world rankings entering the tournament. New Zealand came out and gave Japan a real fight, narrowly loosing 2-1 from a free kick from a nearly perfect position. Columbia may have been lucky to loose only 1-0 to Sweden after clearing the ball off the line twice and the Swedes missing other good chances but they still put out a good effort in their debut match in the FWWC. The young Columbian side held the lion's share of the possession and made the 5th ranked side work hard for their win.

Today's match between the United States and North Korea was the first match that ended with a goal margin greater than one goal. The top ranked side won 2-0 but it was not a comfortable match. The North Koreans did not sit back against the Americans in the two sides 4th straight meeting at the World Cup. The first half was full of excitement with end to end action. The North Koreans took advantage of a weakness on the American's left flank and threatened the goal with a number of tempting crosses asking for a finish. A tactical change at the half let the American's take control of the game and made the break through thanks to some sloppy defending. The US finally stuck to their game plan after the interval which was to get wide and take advantage of their size in the box while an interesting shift in personal by North Korea seemed to change their approach to the game and saw them sit back a bit more.

Group D kicks off tomorrow and from the little I know about the women's game, I think this display of new found parody will come to an end. Norway are former champions and take on minnows Equatorial Guinea. Norway are heavily favored and seemed poised to pile on the misery on the Africans. The other match in the group in Brazil versus Australia. The game is developing very well in Australia and has seen their women's national team improve but Marta will have something to say for Brazil. The 5 time player of the year is one of the greatest women's soccer players of all time and will be the main threat for the Brazilians. Australia will have a hard time handling the women's version of Lionel Messi. I expect to see some goals tomorrow, especially from Norway against the 61st ranked team in the world.

This year's addition of the FIFA Women's World Cup has really changed my opinion of the women's game. The gap between the men's and women's game is not as obvious as I expected it to be which makes it worth watching. Stay tuned to the blog and Rogers Sportsnet and CBC for continuing coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup from Germany, the "Beautiful Side of 20Eleven."

Monday, June 27, 2011

Women's World Cup Underway

So if you live on twitter like many of us seem to do these days you have probably noticed that for the past 2 days the name Christine Sinclair has been trending and for good reason.  In case you are the one person out there who would be reading this and not already know about her performance I will fill you in.  On Sunday Christine proved that she should be the captain of Canada as well as being considered as one of the best players in the world.  She proved that she is capable of taking a free kick with as much skill as anyone in the world regardless of gender.  The free kick goal is only one part of what made her performance so memorable as she also broke her nose and then was seen waving away the trainers and returning to the field as quickly as possible.  There was no rolling around on the ground in pain, there was no calling for a sub, there was only a clear desire to return to play and do anything should could to help her team out.  There is no question that Sinclair would have been within her rights to take the rest of the match off with her nose broken and her team down 2-0 against the best team in the world but that is not how Christine Sinclair goes about her business.  After she returned to the field Sinclair was also seen telling one of the German's to get up off the ground after she went down as she wanted to keep the game going being desperate to get Canada back into the match.

Sinclair's free kick goal was a late effort that gave Canada an outside chance of stealing a draw but it was not to be.  The fact that it had been over 600 minutes since the German team had conceded a goal in the Women's world cup only makes the goal all the more impressive but for me it is all about the heart that she showed.  She led the team into a hostile environment against a team that was clearly favoured to win the game, and possibly the entire tournament.  Germany were the better team in the game and they controlled much of the chances but Canada proved that they belong playing against them and it was because of the efforts of players like Sinclair.

I do not want to make this post about the men's team but I feel that I would be remiss if I did not point out the fact that the men's team is lacking any sort of leadership and heart like Sinclair showed.  I am not going to question the commitment of the men because they are all giving a lot to be able to represent their country and I respect them for that but none of them seem to show the heart and hustle that Sinclair shows.  Would anyone in the men's team break their nose and then stay on?  I somehow doubt that.

The game on the whole was a decent showing for Canada and the fact that they only lost to the German's 2-1 is going to be good for them going forward.  The French team did not look great in their opening match so unless they improve in the coming matches Canada should be in a good position to get a crucial win.  Even if Canada settles for a draw against France they will be in a decent position to possibly take second place in the group based on goal difference since I think it is safe to say that neither France or Nigeria is going to stay within 1 of this German team.  Let me make one thing clear though this game against France is where the tournament really kicks off for Canada and they absolutely must get a result if they hope to move on.

The German team proved to me why they are the favourites to win this thing and why some people are calling them the best women's team of all time.  They had world player of the year nominees coming off the bench, there is just so much depth and talent in that side and the 2-1 scoreline might just be the closest that any of their games end in this tournament.

I am looking forward to seeing more of this tournament because in a lot of ways it is a more pure form of the game then the men's game has become.  It is not uncommon to watch a game and not see a single yellow card which is refreshing for myself as I get sick of seeing players picking up cautions all over the field in the men's game.  There is no diving problem running rampant and in the 3 games I have watched so far I constantly felt that the players out their were all giving their very best and that is great to see.  The game itself is hard to compare to the men's game because of the differences in physical abilities and technique but I do think it is possible to enjoy both of them for what they are.  This Women's world cup is definitely worth a watch though.

Oh and here is the goal:

Saturday, June 25, 2011

What Young means to United


On Thursday, Manchester United announced their second signing of the summer with the addition of right winger Ashley Young. The England international joins an already strong group of wingers at Old Trafford consisting of Luis Nani, Antonio Valencia, and Park Ji-Sung. Valencia returned from injury in the best form of his life, Nani was selected Player of the Season by his teammates, and Park's work rate has kept him in the side for seasons now so Young will be hard pressed to find space in the starting 11. With 4 top wingers available to select, there are a number of ways that Sir Alex could go to accommodate them all.

The first possible option would be a change in formation away from the traditional 4-4-2. Park and Young are both capable of playing in the middle of the park and Ferguson would be able to have three of his wingers on the field at the same time with the now popular 4-2-3-1. It is unlikely that Sir Alex will switch his tactic because of the emergence of Javier Hernandez last season. Chicharito has shown himself to be the second striker in the squad behind Wayne Rooney. The pacey Mexican is not as big or as strong as Berbatov or Rooney meaning he is not suited to play as a lone striker but needs to play off of a partner. In United's current 4-4-2 formation, Rooney plays a role in which he drops deep into the space between the oppositions midfield and defense to collect the ball which virtually turns the formation into a 4-2-3-1 anyways.


The second option seems like the most obvious one: sell one of the players. Valencia basically proved himself indispensable with his fantastic play towards the end of last season after returning from a horrific injury. On the other hand, despite being named United's Player of the Season by his teammates, Nani looks the most likely to be on his way out. Despite leading the assist charts and scoring 10 goals, the Portuguese winger found himself on the bench at the climax of the season, the Champions League final against Barcelona. Nani has long been a disruptive force in the United dressing room, and now seems like as good as time as ever to part ways with the player who was expected to replace Ronaldo. Despite speculation that he will be on the way out, Nani has expressed his desire to stay and fight for a spot at Old Trafford and Park has expressed a similar desire as well. The South Korean has endeared himself to the United faithful with his hard work and determination making him a difficult player to sell.


The third and final option that I will present seems to be the most likely of the three which is to play them all. Last season, United played a total of 63 matches in all competitions which would give 4 wingers plenty of opportunities to get playing time in the first 11 including many key games. Ferguson would have no problem keeping all of them happy if this was the path he decides to take.


With the start of the season still basically two months away, Sir Alex has plenty of time to figure out what he will do with his squad. More purchases will be made this seasons and with that some players need to be sold. Wes Brown and Darron Gibson look to be close to sealing deals to see them leave but who else will be following them out the door this summer?

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Canadian Women's National Team: Lessons the Men Should Learn

I have recently come to the conclusion that there are many things that the Canadian Men's National team could benefit to learning from their Women's equivalent.  Having monitored the women in the run up to their World Cup competition later this month I have noticed that the team does a lot more to create a greater public image.  Just a quick search of twitter shows that many of the ladies are on there and often are willing to reply to fans and present themselves as very nice girls.  They do not have the issues that many other pro athletes have come across while using twitter, at least not in what I have seen, they don't send out inflamatory and offensive tweets like Rashard Medenhall of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers nor do they send out tweets that are barely in the English language like Rio Ferdinand.  They all do well to come across as nice ladies who truly appreciate their fans.  This is sort of effort by the team, even if it is informal, makes them seem more human and you can connect with them better.  The men's team on the other hand does have a maybe a handful of players on twitter but most of them rarely tweet and when they do they are often quite useless and just updating us on the games that they are playing soon or their teams results a few days late, thanks for those ones De Ro.  The players on the men's team do not put that effort in to connect with their fans and as such i think they are less popular than the Ladies team in many circle.

I am just using twitter as one illustration of the difference between the two teams.  For me the ladies do many things that help them relate to Canadians and they do more to connect with people at the grass roots level.  You are more likely to see the Women's team members going to their local soccer club where they used to play and being well known in their community then the men.  I will attribute a lot of this to the fact that the men have a more rigorous professional schedule throughout much of the year which requires them to spend more time away from home and several of the players play over seas.  So the women do have a bit more time to spend at home and being connecting to their communities but a part of it is also a conscious effort on their parts.

Another illustration of how the Ladies team does more to relate is their efforts to raise funds for breast cancer research.  If you follow a number of them on twitter then I am sure that you have seen earlier today a lot of them tweeted pictures of sports bras which they have added their own unique designs to and made available for auction following the women's World Cup.  This is the kind of initiative that can only improve the popularity of the team and to be honest it was probably fun bonding that did not take that much time or effort on their parts.  In the end they will have done good by raising some funds for research and also done good for their perception throughout the country.


This is a lesson that the men's team needs to learn.  These small little things may not win them loads of new fans but it can help to make them more popular and well liked and at this stage every little bit is going to help to grow the program.  The men's team is not very well connected to its fans and does not do much in the community so they feel distant and like they do not really belong to us as a country in the same way that the Women's team does.  It is not often that you hear of Canada's top male players staying connected to the clubs where they grew up and being hugely supported by them but you hear that about almost every female player.  They are not going to be able to change this perception over night, and like I said due to restraints I do not expect them to do as much as the Women do, but there is a lot of room for improvement and any little bit would help.

There are other areas that the men could learn from the women but I am not going to really get into the idea of searching for a coach overseas in hopes of getting the best possible candidate or the idea of holding training camps to help the player build a better connection because those things just are not really possible.  But let me just wrap up by pointing out that there is a reason that the women are ranked 6 in the world and arguably better supported.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Women's World Cup 2011: Roster Unveiled



In case you are still feeling sad about Canada being out of the Gold Cup it is time to turn that frown upside down.  In only 10 days the Canadian National Women's team will be taking to the field against Germany to kick off their World Cup campaign and as I will try to show to you in this post we have every reason to be excited about them.  This is a very good team and many experts have them as a team with the potential to make a push into the knockout rounds.  Who knows maybe they will do one better then they did in 2003 when they finished fourth, can dream right?


Last week the Canadian women's national team competed in their final tuneup game before this months World Cup kicks off.  The ladies claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Korea DPR but once again fans were left wondering where the goals were.  The team has shown a vast improvement in terms of quality, fitness, and performance since Morace took over as head coach 2 years ago and now she has the team in a great position to turn some heads at the World Cup.  There is a clear sense of unity and confidence coming from the ladies on the team that can be seen in something as simple as the tweets that many of them are sending congratulating one another on major milestones and sharing their excitement for this tournament.  I for one have never noticed the ladies team being a closer knit bunch and more positive then they are now and that is thanks to the efforts that Morace has put in.

Morace now has the ladies up to an all time high rank of 6th in the World and with a good showing that is a ranking that could very well improve coming out of the World Cup.  There is no reason to not consider this team as a potential semifinalist.  Morace has had the team over in Europe already for a number of weeks with the ladies training in Rome which I expect will pay off in improved bonds between the players which should translate into them working better together during the games.  Morace has changes the entire culture around the team and taught them a new way of playing the game that is based around keeping possession of the ball and working to build chances.  That is a drastic change from the team that used to rely on hitting the ball long and hoping to take advantage of the great goal scorers we have had in recent years.  Morace's hard work has already paid some dividends in the form of a CONCACAF championship for the ladies as they did not concede a goal in their 5 matches in that tournament.  The win over North Korea also improved their record on the year to a very impressive 10-1-2.  So when the news came out last week that Morace would be staying around until at least after the 2012 olympics it was a move that only made good sense.  There is no reason to think that this team will not preform at the World Cup and by keeping Morace on they have ensured that there will be continued stability and growth.


Today Morace unvielled her 21 woman roster for the World Cup which Canada will open against the host, and world number 2, Germany on June 26.  Her roster came with very few surprises and contained a nice mixture of youth and experience.  It is clear that the team will look for a lot of veteran leadership Sinclair (159 caps, 116 goals), 31 year old keeper LeBlanc (in her fourth World Cup), Brittany Timko (100 caps in defence), and Diana Matheson ( over 100 appearances in the midfield).  With these ladies the team has a core of experience all over the field but the addition of some fresh faces make the team more exciting then it has ever been.

Here is Morace's 21 woman roster:


Goalkeepers: Karina LeBlanc (Unattached), Erin McLeod (magicJack), Stephanie Labbé (Piteå IF)
Defenders: Emily Zurrer (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Robyn Gayle (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Candace Chapman (Western New York Flash), Brittany Timko (Unattached), Marie-Eve Nault (Ottawa Fury)
Midfielders: Kelly Parker (Atlanta Beat), Carmelina Moscato (Unattached), Kaylyn Kyle (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Rhian Wilkinson (Lillestrøm SK Kvinner), Diana Matheson (Lillestrøm SK Kvinner), Desiree Scott (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Sophie Schmidt (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Chelsea Stewart (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Forwards: Christine Sinclair (Western New York Flash), Melissa Tancredi (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Jodi-Ann Robinson (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Jonelle Filigno (Rutgers University), Christina Julien (Ottawa Fury)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Player Profile: Doneil Henry


Doneil Henry
Position: Central Defender
Age: 18
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 180 lbs
Born: Brampton, Ontario

Doneil Henry is the first graduate of the Toronto FC Academy when he signed a pro contract in 2010. He started his career last season as a 17 year old playing in 3 matches but none in the league. His most notable appearance last season was in a friendly against Bolton Wanderers where Henry impressed so much that he was selected Man of the Match against the Premier League opponent. Henry was one of Toronto FC's top youth prospects through out his whole time while playing the academy and strong performances with the side soon paid off with first team opportunities.

A member of the Canadian U20 team, Henry has cracked the Toronto FC starting line up this season due to injuries at the back. Henry made his first start on the weekend in the 2-2 draw with L.A. Galaxy. Manager Winter showed his trust in the 18 year old by letting him play the full 90 minutes. It was his first start of the season and his career but was his second appearance of the season following a short substitute appearance against Sporting Kansas City.

Doneil Henry has broken into the squad because of injuries to Nana Attakora and Adrian Cann leaving TFC thin at the back, but the 18 year old Brampton native has taken his opportunity very well making a claim for further appearances with both Toronto and Canada. Henry was very impressive in tonight's 0-0 draw with New England Revolution. His age never showed as he kept things tidy at the back and kept the Revolution attack away from goal.

With impressive performances with the Toronto FC first team at the young age of 18 years old, the tall, lanky central defender is one of the most promising players in TFC squad. What's good for Toronto is also good for Canada in this circumstance. Henry has the potential to be a good defender in the MLS and given the chance should do a fine job at the back with the Canadian men's national team.

Gold Cup: Day 9 (End of Canada)

So on Tuesday night there were two games in the Gold Cup but I trust that most of my readers watched the Canadian game.  With that in mind I am not overly going to discuss the events of the game but will instead focus on my feelings and reaction to the game, and Canada's Gold Cup effort as a whole.

The short version is that Canada needs to be better then they were the last three games.  The team that we saw against Ecuador showed potential and showed the ability to get forward but the team that showed up the last 3 matches looked completely unthreatening and at times they seemed lost for what they were doing.  The 4-5-1 seemed to me to be the root cause of the problems because when Hart was forced to make changes, mainly not playing Jackson alone up top, things picked up a bit.  It is actually a bad thing that Canada was at its very best in the second half of the US game because Ali Gerba was brought on.  If we are counting on Ali Gerba, still, to score goals then this world cup qualifying campaign is going to be a tough one.

The fact is that Canada played 3 matches in the Gold Cup and the only time that they scored was from 2 soft penalties.  They created very little from open play and maybe it was the game plan, or Atiba Hutchinson missing two matches, or maybe it is that Canada continues to lack a constant scoring threat from the striker position.  The teams leading scorer on the current roster is Dwayne De Rosario, with 15 goals, and he so often gets lost in games going long stretches without making any impact.  There is no one on this current team that you can count on to score with any regularity.  We have some decent midfielders, good enough to compete with out teams in CONCACAF I would say but the other areas need to be improved.  I have high hopes for Jackson but the truth is that he has a lot to learn and the system in place under Stephen Hart is not the right fit for him.  If you watch how Norwich use him, which works well, you can see how he is capable of being an effective attacker but for Canada he was often isolated and out matched by larger defenders.  Rob Friend and Ali Gerba on the other hand I do not have any confidence in at all.  I hear Friend can be good but have limited exposure to him for his club but again he is poorly used in Hart's tactics.  There is also Ricketts but I am going to reserve judgement on him since I have seen almost nothing of him and his few appearances for Canada have seemed decent but not enough to get a true sense.

The other issue that Canada faces is they lack that killer confidence.  They go into games against the USA overwhelmed and play like they are afraid of getting beaten and then when they do get scored on they struggle to find an answer.  Then even when we get ahead like we were against Panama there is this sense that the team are not strong enough to know how to hold on to that lead.  The best teams know that the easiest way to hold a lead is to push back against the team rather then just packing it in where you are basically just waiting for the other team to create chances and potentially score.  The goal that Canada conceded was quite unlucky but it was nothing less then Panama deserved as they had been taking the game to Canada for some time.  Would of course not have been an issue if Canada had converted some chances in the first half.  Now Canada has an average back line at best so that is never going to help and by the end of this Gold Cup they didn't have 4 players fit to play in their natural positions in the back line which is not going to help but maybe Hart should have brought another defender along for the tournament rather then someone like Pacheco just to pick a name.

The other area of the team that I was most concerned about going into this Gold Cup was in goal.  Hirschfeld has had a couple of great performances for Canada in the past but is not consistent enough to rely on in hopefully a long qualification run.  I was though pleased with what I saw from Milan Borjan.  He displayed good positioning, good judgement, and the ability to stop shots.  You can still tell that he has not been around top clubs and can use a fair bit of refinement but he has the potential and I was pleasantly surprised by that.

So Canada is now out of the Gold Cup and the next stop for the Men's National Team is World Cup qualifiers this fall.  The draw will almost certainly hand us something easy in the opening round of play but my fear is that we will win that without making the needed changes.  For me Hart needs to prove that he can get away from always using the 4-5-1 and have some tactical flexibility.  He needs to change something and get the team to the point where it is scoring goals from open play against the Panama's and Guadeloupe's of the world.  It is alright to be kept off the score sheet when you are up against a keeper like Tim Howard, who is class, but against other teams we need to find a way to manufacture goals.  I can not sit here and offer a solution, if I could I would be coaching at a high level, but I can say that in my opinion if Hart does not show the willingness and ability to mix it up this fall then it should cost him his job.  We should be winning these early qualifying games no matter what, that is not good enough though.  Canada needs to be using these games to get much better.  We have to be in the top 8 teams and CONCACAF and I would like to see us go far in qualifiers, even if the World Cup is still a distant dream, but based on the Gold Cup performance we have a long way to go to prove that we are right with the second tier of teams in the region.

The American team also played last night and to be fair they were terrible.  They have been poor all the way through the group stage and seem to be a long way from hitting their stride.  For me, and I have heard a few others saying this, they have only made it out of the group stage because of their natural talent and having some of the best players in the tournament.  If you look at how Mexico has preformed and look at the States then they have a lot of work to do if they want to overcome Mexico at some point and potentially win this thing.  Clint Dempsey was at the centre of the Americans bad play in the group stage as he seemed to just not be sharp at all and wasted chance after chance after chance with him being at his worst last night.  Dempsey should have had a hat trick and put the game beyond a doubt for the US but instead he got nothing.  Canada may be the team going home but the Americans have underachieved just as much and could be joining Canada in the coming days.


So with no more Gold Cup for Canada what do you have to look forward to?  Well Canada is about to enter in to two more competitions in including the U-17's and then the Women's World Cup later this month.  Personally I am very excited for the WWC and think that Canada are a team that can turn some heads.
I will try to cover that tournament and preview it in the coming weeks as well as continuing with some Gold Cup coverage and TFC coverage.  Going to be a great summer for soccer in this country!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Canadian Conundrum

What I am going to attempt to do in this post is lay out the possible outcomes for Group C in the simplest and most straightforward way that I can which will likely result in everyone be confused and in that case the best thing to do is hope that Canada wins tonight as that will be enough to advance no matter what, got that down?  Good cause now we can get into the fun that such a stupid tournament format can create.  This whole best 2 third place teams moving on concept is just useless and for the first time in my life I found myself agreeing with a City fan last night while I was listening to Duane Rollins thoughts on the dumb format on last nights edition of Itscalledfootball (check out the podcast for some good stuff!)

So lets get down to the match and set out a couple of scenarios:

1.  If Canada wins the game, regardless of the margin, they advance but could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd

2. If Canada losses, regardless of the margin, they are going home

3.  If Canada draws the game then they need to hope that the US losses their game against Guadeloupe

So that is the very basic outline of what can happen.  The scenarios get a lot more complex if you try to include all of the different outcomes from both of tonights games.  For example if Canada were to win by 4 or more then they would be able to claim top spot in the group and if they want a shot at second in the group then Canada needs to at least win by 2 so that they can go above Panama based on head to head.  I am not in the mood to hurt my brain trying to lay it all out for you when Duane of The 24th Minute has already done such a good job over here: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1831-Group-C-breakdown

The other thing that is worth knowing is that if Canada wins the game by less than 2 then they are heading to a quarterfinals date with Mexico.  So if you are hoping for Canada to avoid Mexico then a 2 goal win is the magic number.  To do that Canada is going to need a great effort as they are likely going to have to overcome a depleted back line, with only 3 out and out defenders left fit on the team, and likely the absence of Atiba Hutchinson for the second straight match as reports are suggesting that his club PSV are suggesting that it would be wise for Hart not to play him tonight.  If PSV really are saying that then we won't be seeing Atiba tonight since Hart will want to be careful not to burn bridges with them before World Cup qualifying begins as Hutchinson will be a key part of any success that Canada is going to have.

Gold Cup: Day 8

So last night was finally the second last day of group stages.  Group B was set to come to an end with Guatemala taking on Grenada and Jamaica against Honduras.  For the games taking place at Red Bull Arena the stakes were pretty simple.  In the first match Guatemala needed to win by 3 goals to ensure that they would go through as a best placed third team (or even get second in the group) and if Grenada wanted to advance they were going to need to win by a landslide and then get a lot of help from group C results, so basically Grenada were done already.  In the second game of the night both teams were already through to the next round, barring a very lopsided win by Jamaica, so it was basically a battle for top spot as Jamaica would go through in first with either a win or a draw.

The night kicked off with Guatemala taking on Grenada and this match raised the interesting question of which team is worse, Grenada or Cuba?  They were the first two teams sent packing from the tournament and lets be honest they never even came close to taking a point in this thing.  In this one Grenada looked completely outclassed and their defence seemed incapable of slowing down the attack.  As a result Guatemala got goals in the 15th and 21st minutes and despite leading 2-0 at the break they really should have been up by a few more goals.  The good news for Guatemala was that with a 2-0 lead their goal difference was up to 0 and that had them even with El Salvador and they would have known that one more in the second half would almost certainly see them advance.  They got that goal in the 53rd minute from Carlos Ruiz, who finally got on the score sheet, and then for good measure they ensured their progress with a fourth goal this time from Carlos Gallardo.

With a 4-0 win in the bag Guatemala had ensured that they would be in the next phase of the competition.  They have 4 points but their +2 goal difference is better then El Salvador's goal difference of 0 and that means that regardless of the results in the last 3 games the worst they could end up is as the 8th team to get through.  For Grenada the loss just further illustrated that the team that they brought here was just not up to par.  Like Cuba they struggled to score goals and were conceding them at an alarming rate.  I guess Grenada can be proud that they did not finish last overall since they conceded one less goal then Cuba did and had one less player defect.  On a completely unrelated note I would like to urge Grenada to start paying their coach enough that he can afford to get a suit and tie.  He looked terrible in that track jacket, cheap ball cap, and purple piny.  At least if you are going to get destroyed in three straight games you can try and look like you are somewhat professional.

The second game of the night was a real letdown to me.  I was expecting to see Jamaica and Honduras battling it out with top spot on the line but instead with both teams having already sealed their progress they seemed to already be thinking about the quarterfinals and not to interested in trying all that hard in this game.  Jamaica did have a fair bit more life to them then Honduras to be fair and they were the better team in the first half creating a couple of chances and forcing a couple of good saves out of Valladares.  Jamaica would get the only breakthrough of the match in the 35th minute when Ryan Johnson fired a shot in from 20 some yards out that smashed off the crossbar but he got a bit of luck as the ball rebounded off of Valladares' back and into the net.  Johnson's strike was worthy of a goal but the Honduran keeper was a bit unfortunate to be charged with the own goal on that one.  Honduras got a bit more into the game in the second half but the only major moment was a decision to hand Jamaica a penalty.  The call was the correct one but the excitement came from the fact that Valladares got a bit of revenge on Ryan Johnson by doing really well to get down and turn his spot kick away.

In the end the game wound up 1-0 and though it was lacking some of the spark and the goals that I was expecting from these two teams it was probably a fair result.  The result means that Jamaica goes through Group B in first place having collected 9 points.  Honduras will go through in second having collected the same 4 points as Guatemala but their goal difference of +5 is enough.

I will be back later on with another blog setting out the task that faces Canada as they look to advance from group C and also what they are going to need to happen if they are going to be able to avoid a quarterfinal date with highflying Mexico.

Monday, June 13, 2011

More Beautiful Goals from this Weeks MLS Action

On the same night that Eric Hassli scored what should be the goal of the season in the MLS, Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas did their best to get their names on the list. Graham Zusi and Brek Shea added to an already outstanding night for goals with a long range cracked and a great individual effort.

FC Dallas forward Brek Shea scored to tie the score at 1-1 in the 32nd minute with a great run through the Sporting Kansas defense. Picking up the ball about 40 yards out, Shea turned and knocked the ball past three tackles before calmly slotting the ball through the Kansas keeper's legs. The home crowd sounded their appreciation for this piece of individual magic by Shea.


Graham Zusi does Brek Shea one better in the 55th minute making the score 3-1 for Sporting Kansas. From 45 yards out, Zusi lines up a free kick that he smashes into the back of the night. Zusi caught the Dallas keeper napping on this play but it was still a fantastic shot that dips just under the bar and smashes into the pole behind the net, just listen to the sound it makes.


Hassli, Shea, and Zusi's efforts were joined on the goals of week nominee card by Thierry Henry showing he still had it and Alan Gordon hitting a cracking volley. You can see all the candidates for MLS goal of the week and vote for your favorite HERE.

If you ever needed a reason to watch MLS soccer this weekend put on an exhibition of why you should tune in for next round for a chance to catch a glimpse of some more magic.

Canadian Excitement in the MLS!

I really hope that for our readers on the eastern side of the country you stayed up past your normal bedtime on Saturday night to watch either, or hopefully both, of the Canadian teams in MLS action.  Toronto FC found themselves as massive underdogs going into their road match against the Los Angeles Galaxy while Vancouver White Caps were focused on trying to snap their winless streak against rivals Seattle Sounders FC.

The first game that I am going to talk about, since I watched more of it, is the Toronto FC match.  The sense among most TFC fans was that this was not going to be a good outing for the team and they were just hoping to keep things close.  Recent history though would suggest that when these two teams meets it is likely to end in a draw but if you look at the forms of the two teams Toronto's chances looked slim.  The Galaxy came into the match unbeaten in 7 games and on their second longest run in franchise history without conceding a goal.  So when Chris Birchall opened the scoring only 2 minutes into the game I for one was thinking here we go again assuming that things were going to get ugly for TFC.  Things would settle down though and TFC slowly seemed to be getting in to the game.  A bad tackle from Beckham would see him get a caution just before the half hour mark and a lot of TFC fans were left wondering how he managed to avoid a red card as he would be spoken to about 2 fouls later in the game without receiving a second yellow.  It really did seem like he was getting the old super star treatment and not being punished for his actions.  The tackle also resulted in Toronto having to make one of its two first half changes as Tony Tchani seemed to pick up an injury and had to be replaced by Plata.  Jacob Peterson would also have to leave the game before the half when his hamstring appeared to tighten up.  He was replaced by Gordon who was returning to the TFC lineup after missing several games with a groin injury.  In Gordon's absence TFC's attack looked weak and lacked any real punch but his return to the lineup paid off quickly.  The first half ended with LA up 1-0 but it was no where near the dominant performance that many would have expected.

In the second half Toronto continued to fight back and show that they were not going to be pushovers.  It was nice to see the team playing with some real heart and acting like they wanted to go out and try to salvage a result.  In the end their effort paid off as Gordon marked his return to the lineup with a 68th minute goal that leveled things.  It looked like TFC had done enough to earn a draw but in the 90th minute Juan Pablo Angel scored a heart breaking goal that seemed almost certain to send the Galaxy on to all 3 points.  In the past Toronto would have folded like a cheap tent under that goal and not had enough about themselves to even try to fight back.  They have a proven history of lacking any sort of performance in the clutch moments of matches and stoppage time goals have been few and far between for the club since their inception.  On this night though things seemed to be very different as TFC bounced right back from going down 2-1 and went right to work trying to pull it back in stoppage time.  Just as it seemed like time was going to run out on the Gordon again proved his value to the team as he scored his second of the game against his former team.  Gordon managed to volley home the ball in to the top corner in what would have been one of the best MLS goals I have seen in a long time if not for one that took place in the Whitecaps game. 

For me the game felt like a win for TFC despite it being their 4th draw in 5 matches and extending their winless streak to 6 games.  It also ensured that the Galaxy's unbeaten run continued for an 8th game.  Toronto did show a lot of positive signs in this game and when the club is working to rebuild that is the kind of thing that you look for.  After their 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas I was concerned about how the team were satisfied with that and seemed to be lacking the desire to win matches.  Combine that with the fact that anyone who has followed the club knows that they are terrible in the clutch moments of matches and you can see how this result was even more unexpected.  The team showed a lot of heart and passion in LA as well as showing that they really can hold their own with the better teams in the league.  There is no reason for this team to be happy with 0-0 draws against poor KC teams but this draw is one that you can build on.  The game also proved that Alan Gordon makes TFC a whole lot better in the attack.  With him out of the lineup they looked far to one dimensional and if teams could deal with Santos Toronto had very little other options in terms of scoring threats.

The Toronto result had me all excited but it was a moment from the Vancouver game that stole all the headlines and may actually help to increase the profile of the MLS.  Vancouver played a very good opening 80 minutes and led 1-0 thanks to a penalty that was converted by Eric Hassli.  It all seemed like it was going to be undone though as the team had a terrible couple of minutes and Seattle scored a pair of goals very quickly to go up 2-1.  It looked like all of the Caps hard work would be for nothing and they would lose yet again but then Eric Hassli stepped up with one of the best goals you have ever seen.  If you have not seen his goal yet well you need to!  It is a world class goal, not just one of the best ever in the MLS.  Hassli showed that he has the skill to be a great goal scorer when he is actually able to avoid card trouble and stay on  the field long enough to show these flashes of brilliance.  Some poor defending by Seattle set up Hassli's second goal of the game as they turned the ball over to him near the corner of the 18 yard box.  He flicked the ball up and with his back almost to the goal he volleyed the ball across the net and right into the top corner of the net.  It was one of the best goals you will ever see and it was enough to ensure that Vancouver would at least be able to grab a point from the match.  Even the loud Seattle crowd could not help but appreciate what they had seen and gave Hassli a well deserved round of applause. 

So if you went to bed on Saturday night then you missed out on both Canadian MLS teams being involved in some exciting games.  Its a shame that both teams had to settle for draws but the efforts of Gordon and Hassli are ones you can be proud of as fans and both teams had games that they can build on going forward.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

Gold Cup: Day 7

The 7th round of action in the Gold Cup saw group A come to its conclusion.  So far the story in group A has been the Mexican team with its failed drug tests and high flying attack but the other teams in the group have also been proving that they know how to score a few goals of their own setting up an exciting last round of action in Chicago.

The evening opened with El Salvador taking on Cuba.  Coming in to the match both teams were basically in need of a big win to even have a chance of moving on into a place in the quarterfinals but even a massive win would likely have not been enough for Cuba who were yet to pick up a single point.  Apparently someone did tell El Salvador that with only 1 point from their first two matches they needed to crush Cuba because they came out flying and went straight to work on trying to repair their goal difference from the damage that Mexico had done to it.  El Salvador opened the scoring only 11 minutes in when Zelaya was on the spot to score his first of the game and second of the tournament.  His goal would be followed up by another from Romero on the 28th minute that saw El Salvador take a 2-0 lead into the break.  If that score line had held until the end of the match both teams would likely have been going home without help from the other groups as El Salvador were still sitting on a -3 goal difference.

The second half was a real cracker though as El Salvador again went straight on to the offensive.  Blanco scored in the 69th minute, Zelaya added his third of the tournament in the 70th but just when the route seemed to be on Cuba put a dent in their hopes.  Cuba were certainly going home at this point but that did not stop them from pulling one back in the 82nd minute through Marquez.  The Cuban rally, if you can even call it that, did not last long though as only a minute later El Salvador restored their 4 goal lead through Hernandez and then a 90th minute goal from Quintanilla was just enough to bring their goal difference back to 0.  With El Salvador sitting on 4 points and a goal difference of 0 they look to be in decent shape to have a hope of advancing but for Cuba the 6-1 defeat was the end of a rough tournament.  The Cuban team only managed to score that 1 goal while conceding 16 on route to 3 straight loses.  Hopefully it was at least a learning experience for the team and they have done well with apparently only one player defecting so far!

The second game of the night saw Mexico taking on Costa Rica with top spot in the group on the line.  A win or a draw would have seen Mexico finish in first place but only a win would do the trick for Costa Rica.  Costa Rica also knew that with El Salvador winning by 5 they needed to ensure that they did not get destroyed by Mexico to avoid falling down in to third place.  It all set up for an exciting match but in the end it was more about Costa Rica struggling to hold on to second place then a battle for the top spot.  Mexico reversed their normal trend and came out scoring in the first half, instead of waiting for the second half like they have of late.  Mexico opened the scoring 16 minutes in through Rafael Marquez and when Guardado added goals in the 19th and 25th minutes it looked like the route was once again on.  Before the end of the half Mexico would make it 4-0 through Pablo Barrera.  It looked like they were a sure thing to go through from the group on top and really just had to coast through the second half.  For Costa Rica though they now found themselves ahead of El Salvador by only 1 on the goal difference. 

Costa Rica came out a lot better in the second half, either that of Mexico came out a lot worse with nothing left to play for.  They seemed fully intent on making sure that Mexico did not expand their lead at all and they were battling for that second place finish in the group.  In the 68th minute all of that hard work was rewarded when Marcos Urena scored a goal that gave them a 2 goal cushion again despite being down 4-1 in the match.  Both teams seemed to be fairly content with this scoreline and the match sort of fizzled out down the stretch as it was clear that Mexico would be winning the group and Costa Rica had done enough to hang on to second place.  For the first time in the Gold Cup Chicharito did not steal the show as he was held off the score sheet before being substituted.

So we have one group all figured out and we know that Mexico and Costa Rica will be through to the next round for sure but El Salvador are going to have to wait and see how the next two days of results go before they know if they are going to be in the quarterfinals.  Cuba on the other hand are going home for sure.  Group A sure did provide us with a lot of goals as they combined to score an massive 29 goals despite Cuba only chipping in with 1.

Gold Cup: Day 6 (Canada's back!)

The 6th round of play in the 2011 Gold Cup saw group C get back in to the action.  That means that Canada was taking to the field for their second match and this time they were down in Tampa to take on Guadeloupe.  The second game of the nights would see Panama and the United States battling for control over the group. 

Coming into this game I heard a lot of Canadian fans feeling like this should be an easy win for the team because Guadeloupe are an unranked nation but that ignores the fact that most of their players are professionals in the French League system with a fair few of them playing for good teams in the Ligue 2.  With that said they were not a team that Canada would be able to get away with taking lightly which they proved by making Panama work so hard to win in the first round despite having gone down to 9 men.  The second game was no different as Canada were going to have to work for everything despite Guadeloupe again going down a man.  This time the sending off game in the 4th minute when Will Johnson was hit by a two footed tackle from Jean-Luc Lambourde.  It may not have been the worst tackle I have ever seen but I have also seen red cards being given out for less and Guadeloupe cant really feel that hard done by this one.  So Canada were taking on 10 men for basically the entire game now and they must certainly have been the clear favorites, right?

The first chance of note in the game would go the way of Guadeloupe as Borjan was forced to get down to his right quickly and did well to turn aside the low shot.  Before the first half was over Canadian striker Ali Gerba got what was clearly the best chance of the half as he found himself unmarked in the box but when he hit the cross first time he was unable to get it on target.  The first half would end without much else happening and the sending off was the only real talking point.

The second half began with Guadeloupe creating the first chance as once again Borjan was forced to get down quick to make a save right by his post.  Borjan continued his solid play tracking down crosses and making easy work of any shots that did come his way making Hart look like a genius for deciding to start him in this match.  Canada generated a half chance a few minutes later with a speculative shot from range by De Rosario but on the 50th minute De Rosario sent a cross into the box that was aimed towards Ali Gerba but Gerba went down under contact from the defender and the referee awarded Canada a penalty.  De Ro would step up to the spot and after sending the keeper the wrong way he slotted home the opening goal of the game.  The penalty was by no means cut and dry and when I said that Gerba went down under contact it really was slight contact and he went down rather easily as he had no chance of getting to the ball.  The decision is one that Canada have often been on the other end of and it has often angered Canadian fans to see teams going down so softly against us so it is no surprise that the reaction to this has been rather mixed even among Canadian fans.  Gerba going down softly does raise the question though of whether this is the kind of thing Canada needs to do if they want to gain an edge against their opponents in the Gold Cup and later in World Cup qualifying.  I personally do not like the idea of our players diving but if you are under contact and start to fall why not go down and just see what happens.  No point busting your butt to state on your feet when at the other end of the field the opposing team might just go down and win the game as a result.

The game would continue on with both teams looking to create chances but to be honest there was a real lack of offensive talent on display in this one.  The best chances the rest of the game came from long range efforts which were all turned away by the keepers.  In the end it was that penalty decision that proved to be the difference as Canada escaped with a 1-0 win.  For Canada I am sure they would have liked to score a couple more goals to try and improve the goal difference and their chances of finishing higher up after the group stage ends.  For Guadeloupe on the other hand they will feel that once again the ref has cost them a chance to win the game with that sending off and then the penalty decision.  Things will not get any easier for Guadeloupe though as they finish off the group against the United States and they will need to not only win the match but will need to win it by a comfortable margin.  That basically means that come the last match day Guadeloupe will be only playing for pride.  Canada on the other hand will have everything to play for when they round off their group schedule against Panama in a match where a positive result could see them finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd in group C.

The second game of the evening in the group was another exciting one and surely left a lot of fans scratching their hands.  Panama was taking on the United States and with the US being one of the favorites for this Gold Cup you would have expected them to have a fairly easy time disposing of Panama.  The match was nothing like that though as Panama came out flying and really took it to the US.  Throughout the first half the Americans were kept on the back heel an Panama's hard work was rewarded in 18th minute when Luis Tejada scored to give them a lead that surprised all of the American fans watching the match in Tampa.  Things only got worse for the Americans though as defender Tim Ream brought down Perez in the box handing Panama a penalty in the 35th minute.  The spot kick was converted by Gabriel Gomez to give Panama a shock 2-0 lead which they would hold until the half.

The Americans would fight back in the second half but Panama put up a solid resistance.  Panama would manage to hold back the powerful attack until the 67th minute when Clarence Goodson scored to give the States hope.  In the end though they were unable to find the second goal that they needed to salvage any sort of result.  Panama's early onslaught combined with resolute defending and some strong keeping from Cano were enough to hand them their second win in the group.

So with 2 rounds in the book now Panama find themselves sitting on top of the group with 6 points and if they get a result against Canada on the last day they will be going through in first place.  The Americans will be looking to extract some revenge for this loss on Guadeloupe in their final match as they need a comfortable win to try and finish as high up the group as they can.  A win could see them finish 1st or 2nd.  There really is almost everything to play for on the final match day in this group and teams will be fighting hard for better positions to ensure they get the easier quarter finals.

Gold Cup: Day 5

So I have gotten a little bit behind on my Gold Cup reports but this morning I am going to power through them all and get to previewing what challenge Canada is going to face if they want to get through to the next round.  So lets get down to it then!

Day 5 of Gold cup action saw Jamaica take on Guatemala and Grenada take on Honduras at FIU Stadium in Miami.  The night kicked off with Jamaica looking to claim a second win which would basically assure them of a place in the next round of play while Guatemala were looking to build on their surprise draw from the opening round of play.  The first half of the game did not have all that many talking points with Jamaica holding a slight edge in the run of play but the best chances of the half for both teams went to waste as no one seemed interested in getting their shots on target.

This started to pick up in the second half of the game and Jamaica almost opened the scoring thanks to an impressive run through the defense by Jason Morrison but the Guatemalan keeper Jerez came out well and managed to stop the shot with his legs.  Minutes later another good run through the middle of the field by Jamaica forced a second good save as it appeared that Jamaica had taken the initiative in the second half.  It took until the 65th minute for Jamaica to finally get the breakthrough they were looking for as Demar Phillips slid a shot in off the far post from a very tight angle.  The keeper almost got enough of his toe on the ball to turn it wide but in the end Jamaica took a 1-0 lead.  The talking points would not end there but instead the goal seemed to ignite the game.  On 70 minutes the referee was sadly fooled by a flop from the Jamaican attacker who was looking to win a free kick against the last man back.  The referee bought his very soft fall and ended up sending off Cristian Noriega with a second yellow card.  The diving of Jamaica had seen Guatemala reduced to 10 men and from then on it looked like there was only going to be one winner.  Jamaica began to push forward even harder and on 78 minutes Demar Phillips was in the middle of the box to tuck in his second goal of the game which was enough to see Jamaica cruise to a win.  Their 6 points from 3 matches have them top of the group now and in position to advance.  For Guatemala though things are not looking as good with only 1 point from their opening two matches.  If they want to make it out of this group then they are going to need to be Grenada in the third round of play.

Speaking of Grenada, they took to the field in the second game of the night to play Honduras.  Grenada came in to this one with a single Gold Cup goal to their name and found themselves with the unenviable task trying to slow down a Honduran team who were sure to be frustrated after their opening match ended in a draw.  The match could not have started better for Grenada though as they finally ended their goalless drought in this competition with Clive Murray hitting the crossbar but then following up on his rebound to slot home his teams first.  Sadly though if you love Grenada or like me just enjoy cheering for the underdog it was all downhill from there.  Honduras would respond with 2 goals in the 27th minute and another in the 36th.  By the time that halftime arrived I had almost forgotten that Grenada had been in the lead and had started so brightly. 

The second half was all Honduras as they would build on their 3-1 advantage with Carlos Costly scoring in the 66th and 71st minutes to round of his hat trick having scored one in the first half.  Escobar and Ramos would both come off the bench to get involved in the scoring and help to round off a dominant 7-1 win.  Grenada put up such a good fight for close to half and hour but once Honduras got rolling it was clear that they did not have an power to slow them down.  The Honduran onslaught is not only bad news for Grenada but also for the rest of the teams in the Gold Cup since if this signals a turnaround for the team they will be much more of a force as the rounds move on.  The defeat all but seals Grenada's fate as they have no points and a -10 goal difference so unless they destroy Guatemala in the final game they will be going home.  For Honduras though the final match day will be a big one as it will determine who is going to come out of group B in first place.  A Honduran win sees them take first place in the group but any result for Jamaica sees them go through in first.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A Celebration of Youth Soccer


This weekend, June 10-12, marked the 7th annual Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament. First held in 2005, Ancaster welcomed 31 teams of both boys and girls from U8 to U18. Since that first tournament, organizers have experienced rapid growth as their little tournament has become the second biggest soccer tournament in Ontario. The 2011 addition saw 336 teams with 5,100 players converge on Ancaster, Ontario for a memorable weekend of soccer and logistic chaos.

Along with the 336 teams and 5,100 players came 21,000 spectators, volunteers, family and friends to take in the games and festivities put on by the Ancaster Soccer Club. 33 fields, basically every pitch in Ancaster and some down the mountain in Hamilton, were put to good use in order to field all of the games. And in order to keep these games running smoothly, the soccer club spent an estimated $30,000 on local referees, a large but necessary sum to ensure an excellent week for all participants.

Aside from the action on the fields the attraction of over 20,000 people from all over Ontario, Quebec and even New York state is estimated to provide a $375,000 injection into Ancaster's economy. A big boost to local shops, restaurants, and hotels as well as Mohawk College and Redeemer University who opened their residences to accommodate the traveling players. The tournament also attracted 20 vendors to participate in the festival located at the tournaments hub at Ancaster High School.

With so many people coming into Ancaster for the weekend, traffic in the town swelled way beyond normal levels. Unfortunately for tournament organizers, the Lincoln Alexander Parkway's, a major through route in Ancaster, west bound lanes were closed for construction causing extra congestion on the town roads. Organizers did their best to keep things on the roads moving smoothly, but despite their best efforts, parking around most of the fields remained a nightmare.

This was my first experience with the Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament with this being my first season working as an assistant manager with the Tillsonburg Titan U13 boys team. Our goal for the tournament was just to do our best and gain some extra game experience as our season starts to kick into gear. We weren't sure about what sort of competition we would be facing when we were drawn in a pool with teams from Bluewater (Sarnia), Cambridge, and Grimsby.

We played our first game against Bluewater, a team that plays in our league. This match gave us an opportunity to have a look at an opponent we will be facing two more times this season in a game that didn't matter as much. The boys played really well in this match, showing they were the superior team dominating the possession and creating many chances. Unfortunately, they were not able to finish any of their chances and the match ended in a 0-0.

The Titans bounced back from a disappointing draw against Bluewater to take our last two group stage games against Cambridge and Grimsby, 3-1 and 9-0 respectably. The boys continued to play their style of play, keeping the ball really well and receiving praise for their great play from our opposition and referees. It was the kind of thing that makes a coach proud.

We won our group with a record of 2-1-0 but required a tie breaker of goal differential to advance to the semi-finals. Unfortunately we lost to Wrexham by a score of 6-1. The team from Scarborough would go on to win the U13 L3 boys title taking advantage of their size and pace to slice through their opponents defense. Congratulation of Wrexham for a good weekend of soccer.

Despite coming up just short of taking home the tournament championship and an intense sunburn, it was a great weekend for soccer in Ontario. Tournaments like the Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament are a good sign for the beautiful game in our country. With 336 teams, an increase of 80 teams from last year, the tournament has swelled in size each year during its 7 year existence and look set to continue to grow as its reputation spreads. Things look brighter for an already fantastic tournament in years to come.

With this years addition in the book, its time to look forward to next seasons. If you get the chance when next years tournament comes around, why not spend a day checking out some good youth soccer and support your local club.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Gaming Series: Football Manager

Today is the first instalment of what is likely to be a 3 part series giving my thoughts on the biggest soccer computer/video game franchises.  The first one up is a game that I think everyone who has a passion for the game should go out and get a copy of.  The Football Manager franchise from SI Games and Sega is intended to be a realistic management experience.  There is no game play involved in terms of controlling players but it covers all of the other elements of the game.  I have been playing FM for 3 years now and I can honestly say that it has expended my knowledge of players and clubs more then anything else ever has.

When you start playing FM for the first time you quickly realize that there is a lot to the game.  You can do the bare minimum and just take over a top club, use a very basic tactic, and use default training or you can choose to get really into the game and develop every element of your own tactics, setup your own training system, search the world for the best transfer deals and take a team from the lower leagues all the way to the top.  The game offers so many difference experiences because you can manage in almost any league around the world and with each league having its own rules and own competitions you get a new challenge every single time.  If you chose to manage in Belgium you never have to deal with getting work permits but if you manage in England that is a huge obstacle that you can face in trying to sign foreign players.

For me the true joy of the game is found in going to one of the major countries, most often England in my case, and taking over a team in one of the lower leagues.  It creates quite the challenge if you try to go from say League 2 and make it all the way to being a Champions League winner.  To do that you have to learn how to take advantage of free transfers and do your best with limited resources.  It really is a tricky task and the first few times I tried to do it I either failed and ended up getting my team relegated or it took me quite a long time to even get in to the Premiership.  To play the game this way it takes a lot of patience but it can be really rewarding to know that you built a team and took them to the top.  It is a lot less rewarded but can be equally fun if you decide to take over a top club where you are likely to get a large transfer budget.  Say you are a Manchester United fan and want to see the club make certain moves the game gives you the chance to do that.  You can take your 80 million or so transfer budget and start working on building your own dream team.
Team of Wonderkids I built at Leicester City, very good bunch

Another element of the game that has really hooked me is that of trying to find wonderkids.  The term wonderkid is used to describe any players on the game who are 21 years old and under but have the potential to be world class.  This is determined by a hidden value which you can get a sense of by scouting them but even with the best scouts in the world you sometimes miss certain ones.  I have spent weeks trying to figure out which wonderkids will sign for a lower league team, can get work permits, and are affordable.  This requires a lot of scouting to look for releases clauses and then just testing players out by training them.  All that work eventually led to me compiling my own list of the best bang for your buck young players.  Like every other element of the game there is an easy way and a hard way to find these players.  You can go out and scout them all and then test them out or you can just do a quick google search and find one of the numerous sites that provide their own lists of them.

That is another great thing about FM.  There are all kinds of sites out there for discussing the game, for sharing tactics, finding wonderkids, and just bragging about your own results.  My personal favourite is www.fm-base.co.uk which has a great discussion board as well as all kinds of downloadable content to help you out.

If you are interested in taking up the game check out www.footballmanager.com to download the demo or purchase the full version.  In my opinion if you have any interest in the tactical side of the game or in learning more about players this is the game for you and will be worth the price.

Growth of a Legend

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Since the announcement of his transfer from Chivas to Manchester United last spring, striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has caused quite a stir on the World's football scene. The little known Mexican seemed like an odd signing for Sir Alex Ferguson when it was announced but a year into his Manchester United career the deal looks like one of the greatest deals of all time. Chicharito has shown a goal scoring instinct that rivals some of the greatest goal scorers of all time including recently retired Ronaldo. His 20 goals scored for United in his first season in European football was a tremendous return for the 6 million pounds spent on him. Hernandez is know showing his tremendous finishing ability at the Gold Cup where has has scored 5 goals in 2 matches.

Javier Hernandez was born June 1, 1988 in Guadalajara, Mexico. His father, Javier Hernandez, was a well known Mexican striker as well who played in the 1986 World Cup for Mexico. Javier Sr. was nicknamed "Chicharo" meaning "pea" because of his green eyes and when he was young people started calling Javier Jr. "Chicharito" meaning "little pea" because he was the of "Chicharo."


Chicharito made his professional debut for home town team Chivas de Guadalajara when he was a teenager and quickly became a fan favorite. Hernandez scored his first professional goal in his debut with Chivaz in 2006. This terrific start was followed by a long period of hard ship. He did not score another the rest of the 2006 season and the goal draught continued for two whole seasons. The long draught which limited his playing time with Chivas finally ended in 2009 when he scored 4 goals during the season. In recent interviews, Hernandez has revealed that during this period football was no longer fun for him and he seriously considered retiring from his playing career. It was only with the support of his family that he continued and it is now paying dividends.

The "Little Pea" soon started to rack up the goals in front of his home town crowd, leading the team in scoring for two seasons where he notched up the majority of his 29 goals he scored while making 79 appearances for Chivas de Guadalajara. It was also during this time that Manchester United caught wind of the player and his potential.


Reportedly United had planned to wait to make a move for the talented, young Mexican striker in order to give him more first team experience in Mexico because of his young age but with his planned involvement in the Mexican World Cup team in South Africa they moved quickly before he was on show on the World stage. On April 28, 2010, a deal to bring Javier Hernandez to Manchester was completed in complete secrecy for a reported 6 million pound fee and a friendly with Chivas to open their new stadium. United had done their homework on the little known Chicharito who soon started to make a name for himself.

Hernandez has made his full international debut for Mexico on September 30, 2009 against Colombia. In the lead up to the 2010 World Cup, he made a further 5 appearances for Mexico scoring 6 goals. His superb play continued into the World Cup in South Africa where he scored 2 goals in 4 appearances with well taken finishes against France and Argentina. The striker known as the "Little Pea" had made himself known to the world.

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In the fall of 2010, Javier Hernandez made his debut for Manchester United in the Community Shield against Chelsea. It was a scoring debut for Hernandez once again with a goal that did not do justice for his finishing abilities as he kicked the ball off his face before it rolled into the open net. Chicharito quickly found his way into the heart of United faithful becoming a fan favorite with a number of key goals.

United's newest striker went on to score an outstanding 20 goals for the first team in 45 appearances, including 4 in the season's Champions League campaign. Javier Hernandez was the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy to score 20 goals in a debut season for the Red Devils. Hernandez top off his outstanding first season with Manchester United by being awarded the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award by the fans.

All through his first season in England, Hernandez was drawing comparisons with a United legend. Many people compared the Mexican to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer because of his speed, strength in the air, and ability to use both his feet. Now Red Devil fans will hope that Chicharito will have his own moment similar to Solksjaer's Champions League stoppage time winner to eternally engrave him in the annals of the Manchester United, the biggest club in the World.

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As a member of the Mexican 2011 Gold Cup team, Javier Hernandez is once again showing off his qualities. In just two appearances so far this tournament, the quick striker leads the tournament with 5 goals for a Mexican team that has run rampant over their opponents.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has had a fantastic season that very few ever achieve for both club and country. It is hard to image that only one year ago he was only known to football fans in his home country of Mexico, but after one season he has proved himself to be a world class player. Chicharito has stated that he has debt to pay to Sir Alex Ferguson for showing faith in him. With that attitude and the work ethic that comes with it and his natural talent, Hernandez is on a path to become one of the greatest goal scorers the world has ever seen.