Tomer Chencinski
Last season, Chencinski enjoyed a breakout season with Finnish side VPS and got the opportunity to trial for Orebro. He was signed and, soon after the season started, looks to have seized the No. 1 role.
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Popularity: 22% [?]
Jacob Lensky, as a Canadian U23 team member back in '08
Of course, Lensky’s name makes a lot of Canadian supporters see red (in a bad way, that is). He is one of the many players who chose to represent a country other than Canada. He played for Canada at the youth level, but later moved to play for Czech youth set-up, turning down a chance to play for Canada’s senior squad back in 2009.
Like Jonathan de Guzman is attempting to do, Lensky could always come back. He never played for the Czech senior side. But, the case with Lensky won’t be the paperwork or a question of loyalty. Over the next few weeks, we will see if he has managed to rediscover his passion for the game, and if he has truly shed the demons of his past.
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Popularity: 20% [?]
The response in the Twitterverse to the all-but-confirmed friendly July 21 between a last-place MLS team and a mid-table EPL team has been negative. Instead of joyous whoops, we see more signs of the “friendly fatigue” that is becoming more and more apparent across North America.
OK, Toronto FC might not be in last place by the time Liverpool comes to town to play the friendly at the Rogers Centre. But if the Reds (that is, the Reds from Toronto) manage to climb in any sort of playoff race by the summer, this friendly surely won’t help the cause.
Even five years ago, when the big European clubs came over, there was some novelty. But unless you bring over Barcelona or Real Madrid, there isn’t much to get excited about. In fact, we are so used to seeing Manchester United spend its summer playing MLS teams, that there’s little glamour left when it comes to seeing Sir Alex Ferguson roll out his reserves for a July game.
But, let’s move away from the debate over whether or not MLS teams should play summer friendlies or not and simply concentrate on what this match — which the Toronto Star confirmed will be played July 21 at the Rogers Centre, will do to Toronto FC.
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Popularity: 14% [?]
Canadian striker Olivier Occean and his SpVgg Greuther Furth teammates didn’t play on Monday, but they and their fans had cause for celebration.
Fortuna Dusseldorf lost 2-1 to Dynamo Dresden, and the 500 fans who came to watch the feed of the game at Furth’s stadium — and the players and staff of the club — were able to celebrate after 90 minutes,
With the Dusseldorf loss, SpVgg Greuther Furth, currently in first place in the German second division, is guaranteed a spot in the Bundesliga next season. If Occean returns to the club next season, he will get the chance to face the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Occean leads the team with 17 goals in 31 matches, but didn’t score in Friday’s 2-1 win over St. Pauli.
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Popularity: 15% [?]
Canadian keeper Tomer Chencinski had his shutout streak broken in Swedish league play on Sunday.
Chencinski, who took over in goal for Orebro SK after Swedish veteran Jonas Sandqvist gave up four goals in the season opener, had posted two clean sheets in his first two matches.
Chencinski then posted another zero through the first 45 minutes of Sunday’s match against IFK Goteborg, but was victimized by Tobias Sana in the first-half injury time. The official time of the goal was 45:26, so add that to two games of shutout soccer and you get Chencinski’s clean-sheet streak to start his Swedish league career.
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Popularity: 12% [?]
Canadian forwards Olivier Occean and Randy Edwini-Bonsu each had glorious chances to score — but they and their teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw in Bundesliga 2. action on Tuesday.
Occean’s SpVgg Greuther Furth extended its lead atop the Bundesliga 2. with a 0-0 draw at Eintracht Braunschweig, Edwini-Bonsu’s club. Occean holds at 17 goals in what has been his best season in European soccer. And, with the draw, SpVgg Greuther Furth extended its lead atop the Bundesliga 2. to three points ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt has a game in hand, but trails Furth by six in goal difference, so it would take a major effort for SpVgg to be overhauled at the top of the table this week. After Frankfurt makes up its game in hand, there will be just four games left in the season, with third-place Fortuna Dusseldorf seven off the pace.
Basically, it would take a collapse of Schalke-like proportions for Furth not to be promoted for next season.
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Popularity: 13% [?]
Tomer Chencinski
Chencinski got the start after veteran keeper Jonas Sandqvist gave up four first-half goals in last week’s season opening loss to Atvidabergs FF. And, Chencinski sent a strong message to his club and its supporters, posting the clean sheet in his first start in Sweden’s top flight.
Chencinski signed with Orebro after he enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2011 with Finnish first division side VPS, where he started as the No. 2 keeper, fought his way to the No. 1 job and didn’t look back for the rest of the season.
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Popularity: 13% [?]
Olivier Occean
It took until well into the second half for March’s Canadian Soccer Association male player of the month to get on the scoresheet, as SpVgg Greuther Furth reclaimed top spot in the Bundesliga 2. Thursday with a 3-0 triumph over Energie Cottbus.
Occean had a penalty kick saved and had a headed effort crash off the bar against 10-man Cottbus before he finally slotted home a goal in the 75th minute to extend Furth’s lead to 2-0. The goal was the 17th on the season for Occean. Cottbus went down to 10 men at the 27-minute mark, and it led to the penalty kick that Occean failed to convert.
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Popularity: 15% [?]
Olivier Occean
With the draw, Greuther Furth allowed Eintracht Frankfurt to go ahead of it by one point for first place in the second division. But, on the bright side, Furth is still seven points ahead of third place Fortuna Dusseldorf, though the trailing club does have a game in hand. The top two finishers earn automatic promotion to the Bundesliga, while the third-place finisher goes into a playoff against the Bundesliga side that finishes third from the bottom.
Dusseldorf plays St. Pauli on Monday.
Occean put his club ahead late in the first half, as he headed home a cross.
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Popularity: 10% [?]
Randy Edwini-Bonsu
In order to stay in the good books with Bundesliga 2. side Eintracht Braunschweig, where Edwini-Bonsu was voted man of the match in the first home game he played for the side, the Canadian striker had to refuse Stephen Hart’s call to play for the senior national team in its Feb. 29 friendly with Armenia. By staying in Germany rather than joining the Canadian national team, Edwini-Bonsu was showing his club that he was willing to trade one event for the other. Braunschweig didn’t want to lose him, but Edwini-Bonsu’s heart was set on playing for Canada in the Olympic qualifiers,
“Everything kind of came together last second for me,” said Edwini-Bonsu Monday from the team’s camp in Florida. “I knew weeks ago that Canada wanted me, but my club wasn’t really interested in letting me go. I didn’t find out till about five days that I was going to be allowed to go. But they didn’t want me to spend the time at a camp, I would be allowed to go for our games, only. And, if we make it to the final, I can’t play in that game, either. I have to get back because we have an important match in Germany.”
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Popularity: 35% [?]
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