What a weekend! Four Canadian teams in action 8 Apr 2011 Program the PVR. Make sure your Internet connection is fast enough to allow for multiple streams. This weekend marks a landmark in Canadian soccer. Four professional clubs are in action; FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact kick off their NASL campaigns Saturday with road games in Florida. And MLS? Toronto FC visits the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. And the Vancouver Whitecaps head to Texas to take on the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Of the weekend’s action, only Montreal and FC Edmonton overlap.
FC Edmonton’s Sidra claims TFC reneged on contract offer 4 Apr 2011 Eddy Sidra has the date circled on his calendar. April 27. FC Edmonton vs. Toronto FC. Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The newest member of FC Edmonton can’t escape the negative feelings associated with his recent trial with Toronto FC. “I won’t lie. I didn’t like how it went,” said Sidra from FCE’s training camp in Sunrise, Fla. “I won’t say I’m bitter, but I certainly won’t say that I was happy. There was a lack of information that was passed on to me.”
Post De Ro era begins: TFC drops points at home to Chivas 2 Apr 2011 hose looking for a sign of where Toronto FC is headed in the post-Dwayne De Rosario era will need to wait a little longer. TFC's 1-1 draw with Chivas USA on Saturday afternoon was inconclusive both on the scoreboard and on the lineup sheet, given the rather thrown-together nature of the Reds' lineup. Less than a day after De Rosario was traded to New York, the two players TFC received in return (midfielder Tony Tchani and defender Danleigh Borman) were already in the starting XI. The two former Red Bulls didn't arrive in Toronto until midnight last evening and Tchani admitted to being weary. "I found out [about the trade] yesterday at four o'clock," Tchani said. "After training I heard rumors but I wasn't sure. They let me know after training that I had been traded to TFC and that they wanted me to come here today.
It’s official: De Rosario Bull-ish about New York 1 Apr 2011 It is official. Dwayne De Rosario is off to the New York Red Bulls. Both the Red Bulls and Toronto FC confirmed the trade Friday afternoon, hours after it reportedly had hit a snag. According to various sources, De Rosario and the Red Bulls will talk about an improved contract from his current deal, which pays him more than US$400,000 per season. If the Red Bulls were to make De Rosario a Designated Player, the club would save cap space, as the hit for the DP is more than US$100,000 less than he is making at the moment
Red Bulls, De Rosario would discuss new contract: Sources 1 Apr 2011 wayne De Rosario is in the process of bring traded from Toronto FC to the New York Red Bulls. But it is not official, yet. But sources indicate De Rosario’s camp is still working out a new, improved deal with the Red Bulls, one that could possibly make TFC’s all time leading scorer and the four-time MLS Cup winner a Designated Player in New York. No deal is in place at this time.
FC Edmonton ready to unleash its 4-3-3 31 Mar 2011 When Toronto FC and FC Edmonton meet April 27 in the first leg of their Nutrilite Canadian Championship semifinal series, fans will likely see 4-3-3 vs. 4-3-3. While FCE will be the heavy underdog, there will be similarities in the Dutch influenced style it plays with that of TFC. After all, FCE coach Harry Sinkgraven and TFC technical director and head coach Aron Winter were classmates when they went to get their coaching certificates.
Canadian teams add defensive depth 31 Mar 2011 Both of the Canadian MLS franchises made moves Thursday to add to their defensive depth charts. The Vancouver Whitecaps announced the signing of French-Algerian central defender Mouloud Akloul. Akloul played one game for the Whitecaps in Div. 2 play back in 2010. He scored the match-winning goal and fractured his ankle in a 1-0 victory over AC St. Louis, and missed the rest of the season.
Martina’s magic helps TFC give Portland a chilly reception 26 Mar 2011 Perhaps all Toronto FC needed was to be back at BMO Field. A week after a disappointing loss in the season opener in Vancouver, a much-improved TFC side won its home opener by a 2-0 score over the Portland Timbers. Striker Javier Martina led the way with his first two career MLS goals, but perhaps even more important than Toronto's scoring was the lack of a goal from the other side. The Reds' back line stood up against a persistent Timbers attack and kept the clean sheet, just a week after allowing four goals to the Whitecaps.
The super-duper MLS season preview 14 Mar 2011 It’s become obligatory for every sports journalist to provide season previews for the league he or she covers. It’s automatic, and a great space killer! In that vein, The 11 presents its “waited until the last possible second before the regular season” season preview! Why the wait? Because it’s hard to figure out the East. The West? Wow, a lot of power and depth there. As for the East? Last season, New York and Columbus and six other mediocre to bad to awful clubs were in the conference. New York and Columbus left them all in the dust.
Cann issues public apology; 10-man TFC draws D.C. United 13 Mar 2011 Playing with 10 men for the game’s final 53 minutes, Toronto FC managed a 2-2 tie with D.C. United Saturday evening at Blackbaud Stadium. The stalemate, on the third and final game day of the 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup, secured United’s second consecutive tournament title.