Archive for February 16th, 2012

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Impact round-up: Ching back to Houston, Valentin off to U.S. U-23 camp

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/16/2012

Brian Ching

In the end, the Montreal Impact got a conditional 2013 draft pick with its first pick in the MLS Expansion Draft.

On Thursday, the Impact announced it had finalized a trade with the Houston Dynamo, sending veteran striker Brian Ching back to Texas. The Impact gets the conditional pick in return.

The Impact selected Ching, the Dynamo’s all-time leading top scorer with 63 goals, with its first Expansion Draft pick, even though the big Hawaiian had stated that he would retire if he was selected by Montreal. The Impact, strangely, bore the brunt of the scorn from MLS fans, while the Dynamo, which chose to leave its all-time top scorer unprotected, didn’t receive nearly as much criticism.

But, Ching soon relented, and said he would report to Montreal, and had been at camp with the team until earlier this week.
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Robson is another big-ticket item to add to Whitecaps’ budget

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/16/2012

The Vancouver Whitecaps are ready to once again open the chequebook.

The team announced Thursday that Scottish international Barry Robson will join the team in July as a Designated Player. Because Robson will join at the halfway mark of the MLS campaign, his cap will be US$167,500 in 2012.

“I am very excited to be joining Whitecaps FC and to continue my career in Major League Soccer,” said Robson in a release issued by the Whitecaps. “I am impressed by the quality of MLS and Vancouver as a club. They have a passionate fan base and a fantastic stadium in BC Place. My family and I are also looking forward to our move to Canada and the beautiful city of Vancouver this summer.”

Robson will finish the season at English Championship side Middlesbrough. He has scored 18 times and added 16 assists for ‘Boro since joining the club in January 2010.
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Garber looks forward to “largest soccer game in Canada”

By
Mike Wyman
– 02/16/2012

Joey Saputo, left, and Don Garber in Montreal Wednesday. PHOTO: MIKE WYMAN

Commissioner Don Garber was the featured speaker at Wednesday’s Montreal Board of Trade luncheon, addressing the crowd of over 300 businesspeople on the MLS in general and the Impact’s upcoming debut in the league.

“This club is the result of the relentless efforts of passionate individuals that pulled together to make this a great success,” said Impact owner and president, Joey Saputo, in his opening comments. “I also know that our greatest moments are yet to come for passion and tradition are powerful forces that attract the best. They also bring out the best in all of us.”

Introduced by Saputo, the commish ingratiated himself to his audience from the onset.

“Bonjour mesdames et messieurs. Merci pour l’invitation, “ Gerber began. His French vocabulary exhausted, he switched to a more familiar language to continue his talk. “It’s a huge pleasure to be here. I travel around North America quite a bit and take part in a number of events like this. This one is the largest one I’ve ever attended.

“I think it’s a great credit to your community and the connection that the business community has for each other and your commitment to supporting new exciting initiatives in your community,” he continued.
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