Miller on FCE’s probable season-opening starting XI: “One or two spots up for grabs” 13 Mar 2015 Johann Smith, the American speedster, will outlast his initial three-week trial. He will travel to Florida with the Eddies. Though no contract has been announced as of yet, the fact that the former Toronto FC player will go to Florida and go into his fourth week with the Eddies is a sign that the coaching staff likes what they see in Smith.
Concussions fuel Canadian defender’s love of science 13 Mar 2015 Oliver Spring was just 13 years old, trying out for TFC Academy, when he suffered his first concussion. A ball, travelling at high velocity, careened into his skull. Spring dropped to the ground.
The lonely Canadian 13 Mar 2015 Thanks to a slew of new signings and culling of Canadian players from the first-team lineup, Jonathan Osorio is now the only player from this country who can realistically hope for a regular starting job on Toronto FC...
ISSUE 5 OF PLASTIC PITCH: What is Canada getting out of participating in U.S.-based soccer leagues? 13 Mar 2015 Issue 5 of Plastic Pitch, out now, represents our most pain-staking effort. This issue is a labour of love, of passion for the Canadian game — and asks questions about our Canadian identity within the game. It should easily become the most talked-about issue we’ve put out.
The distinct society 13 Mar 2015 Montreal’s fans are different than soccer supporters you’d find in the rest of Canada. They feel the pull of their unique Quebecois heritage; if a Canadian league ever launched, they might constitute the most difficult market in which to succeed. So, we asked them... What’s more important: The Impact developing Canadian soccer players, or the Impact doing what needs to be done in order to win games in a predominantly American league?
Bye bye, Bryce 13 Mar 2015 Bryce Alderson was a Generation Adidas player as a teenager. But the Canadian never played a minute for the Whitecaps in Major League Soccer. Still, the Whitecaps wanted him back in 2015 — and envisoned Alderson being a big part of their new USL-PRO team. But, after years of waiting for a shot on the big stage, Alderson said no...
Canadians need not apply 13 Mar 2015 Lowball contract offers. Teams that don’t want to “waste” precious international roster spots on a Canadians. A player being told that he’ll get a chance to make a team once he gets a U.S. green card. These are the realities of Canadians trying to play in North America. In NASL and MLS, Americans are allowed to be treated as domestic players on Canadian teams. But, on the American teams, Canadians are treated as internationals. Here’s a look at the domino effect of roster inequality in North America...
Short-term solutions 13 Mar 2015 When the NWSL was founded, the Canadian Soccer Association was in on the ground floor; the CSA agreed to subsidize the contracts of 16 Canadian players, who would all be assigned to various teams in the new women’s league. But, that relationship isn’t quite as rosy as it was a couple of years ago — and Canada is no longer using its full allocation...
ACC not ready to grow… yet 13 Mar 2015 But, when will the ACC grow to more than five teams? That’s the million-dollar question. Because it’s not on the CSA’s imminent to-do list.
Look back in anger 13 Mar 2015 Former CSA president Dominique Maestracci accuses MLS of breaking promises it had made to the association; and he says the relationship with the USSF was not a cooperative one...