Julian de Guzman Archive

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Hassli’s thumping volley allows Whitecaps to draw level with TFC

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/17/2012

Eric Hassli

It was another Eric Hassli special.

With the Vancouver Whitecaps down 1-0, the big Frenchman reached into his bag of magic tricks and pulled out one his finest efforts yet, hitting a powerful volley into the top right corner of Milos Kocic’s goal.

The wonder strike ensures it’s all squared up at one apiece going into next Wednesday’s second leg at BMO Field, after Ryan Johnson fired Toronto into the lead with a 66th minute header from a cross from Julian de Guzman.

“Alain [Rochat] gave me a great ball,” Hassli told reporters following the match. “I practiced yesterday. I killed some birds [with wayward shots] and today was pretty good – lucky too. It’s a good goal.”
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TFC striker Ryan Johnson can’t hide frustration after Reds set dubious MLS record

By
Mark Polishuk
– 05/06/2012

Ryan Johnson: Says TFC's defensive style is "embarrassing."

Toronto FC’s early-season futility has officially hit a record low.  TFC’s 2-0 loss to D.C. United on Saturday dropped the Reds to 0-8 in Major League Soccer play, setting a new MLS mark for consecutive losses to begin a season.

Whereas the Reds have played hard or been unlucky in some of their losses, Saturday’s performance was that of a team that simply looked it gave up the ghost after Chris Pontius’ 55th-minute goal that put the visitors ahead.  After Hamdi Salihi scored in the 75th minute, the Reds attempted a last-minute flurry in search of a face-saving goal but to no avail, as TFC was shut out for the fourth time in five home matches.

“It’s just unbearable,” said striker Ryan Johnson.  “Something’s not right.  Something has to change.  I can’t go on like this, it’s eating me up inside.”
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TFC loses seventh in a row on Steele heartbreaker in Salt Lake City

By
Randy Davis
– 04/29/2012

Jonny Steele

Toronto FC came into Rio Tinto Stadium looking for its first points of the season in league play, and left empty-handed. That’s not surprising as it entered the match 0-6-0, and its opponent was battling for the top spot in the Western Conference.

However, TFC showed a lot of moxie, pushing the home team to the brink before it managed a miraculous last-minute stoppage-time goal that delighted the home crowd, and left the visitors devastated as Real Salt Lake took a 3-2 decision.

“For 90 minutes we did what we had to do, but the game goes on longer than that,” said a dejected Julian de Guzman after the match. “I think it was a lack of a little bit of intelligence from our part.”
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Montreal gets historic win at expense of Toronto FC

By
Mike Wyman
– 04/07/2012

Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored the opener

Montreal coach, Jesse Marsch, fielded a reworked starting XI to begin the game against Toronto FC. The decisions paid off as the Impact got off to a good start, grabbed a lead in the early going and held it — despite giving up a goal in the late going — to put its historic first MLS win into the books.

Left sitting to begin the game were captain Davy Arnaud, local midfielder Patrice Bernier as well as Justin Mapp, who performed in all five games played so far this season. Sinisa Ubiparipovic started, getting his first minutes of action this season and coming out for map in the 73rd minute. Italian forward Bernardo Corradi wore the captain’s armband.

“It’s a big moment and a big win for the club, for the fans, for the city and for the players,” declared coach Marsch in his post-game comments before nuancing his positivity. “The reality is that the work is just getting started. I think we’re all pleased and happy and excited but I think our players are so well grounded that they understand that it’s about the whole process and pushing things along. I’m happy for everyone who is connected with this club and now let’s continue to perform.” he continued.
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Elementary mistakes expose Toronto FC in Mexico

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/05/2012

As the dust settles after Toronto FC’s 6-2 loss Wednesday on the road to Santos Laguna, no one is going to talk about the talent gap on the field — the best team in Mexico against the only team in MLS without a point.

No one is going to talk about just how incredible it was that a poor MLS team was able to get hot and get to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

No, people will talk about the plethora of self-inflicted wounds that brought on a green-and-white flood of second-half goals in Torreon. From Julian de Guzman to Miguel Aceval to Ty Harden, TFC’s valiant effort to get to the finals of the CCL was undone by errors.

At halftime, TFC defied critics by being tied 2-2 with a team that hasn’t lost at home this season. But, by the 64-minute mark of the game, it was all but over.
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TFC and Santos Laguna trade goals… and punches

By
Mark Polishuk
– 03/29/2012

Carlos Darwin Quintero, the hero of Santos Laguna's 2009 triumph over the Montreal Impact, was sent off Wednesday.

An increasingly chippy game boiled over at the end of Toronto FC’s 1-1 draw with Santos Laguna on Wednesday night at BMO Field, promising an even more heated match in next week’s return leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal tie.

As the final whistle blew, an altercation between Reds defender Ashtone Morgan and Santos striker Darwin Quintero led to a full-on scrum between the two teams.  Both benches cleared and, while no further blows were thrown, both sides left knowing that the final score would be settled next Wednesday.

“They already warned us that it’s going to be a war over there and we know that ourselves,” said TFC captain Julian de Guzman.  “We’ve already had that experience playing at Cruz Azul and Pumas.  We know what type of atmosphere it’s going to be over there and now we’ve sparked up some more fire after this game for these guys.  We’re ready for it, we’re looking forward to it and the guys are prepared.”
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Terrible TFC defending to blame for three-goal loss in home opener

By
Mark Polishuk
– 03/24/2012

Chris Wondolowski: Scored twice

If there was any question of Torsten Frings’ value to Toronto FC, his absence for most of the last two matches has proven just how badly the Reds need their captain.

TFC dropped a 3-0 result to the San Jose Earthquakes in front of 20,753 disappointed fans at BMO Field on Saturday in the club’s home opener.  It was Toronto’s first full game without Frings, who suffered a hamstring injury early in last week’s 3-1 loss in Seattle and will be out of action until late April at the earliest.  Without Frings holding the fort at defensive midfield and providing cover on the back line, the holes in TFC’s defence were been badly exposed for the second time in as many weeks.

“We’ve had a big loss of Torsten not there to organize the team on the pitch,” said TFC head coach Aron Winter.  “At the moment he’s not available to play [so] we have to fix the back line….We have to resolve those problems.”
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Toronto FC the last MLS team standing in CCL

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/15/2012

Milos Kocic: Robbed Robbie Keane late in the match

If, last July, someone was to predict that Toronto FC would be the last MLS team standing in the CONCACAF Champions League, they’d have been offered some pretty sweet odds.

But, there it is — after TFC played a cagey road game Wednesday in front of a smattering of Los Angeles soccer loyalists at the Home Depot Center, the Reds are the only team to qualify for the CCL’s final four. A second half goal from Nick Soolsma, combined with sterling performances from forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Milos Kocic, gave the Reds a 2-1 win over the Galaxy in the second leg of their CCL quarterfinal, and a 4-3 triumph on aggregate.

The Reds will now face Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna in the semifinal. And it won’t be easy. The Mexican powerhouse smashed six past the Seattle Sounders Wednesday.
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Hart on loss to Armenia: Canada looked “like a team that has not played in four months”

By
Gavin Day
– 02/29/2012

Kevin McKenna: Opening goal

More than anything, members of the Canadian men’s soccer team were just happy that they got a game together.

Playing for the first time since the second round of World Cup qualifying ended back in November, Canada dropped a 3-1 decision to Armenia in a game at the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol, Cyprus.

“I’m glad we played the game,” said Stephen Hart who was less than happy with the game overall. “The first half, we did OK for about the opening 30 minutes of the game and then it was a matter of keeping proper possession of the ball and basically giving them the chances that they had.”

That good start led Canada to jump out to an early lead. Julian de Guzman lofted a corner kick in from the left side and team captain Kevin McKenna rose well to head
home in just the fifth minute of play.

After that goal, however, the Armenians started to take control of the game and generate quality chances of their own.
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Hart claws and scratches with clubs so he can put together small 17-player Canadian roster

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/23/2012

Samuel Piette: Teen gets the call

When the Canadian men’s national team faces Armenia next Wednesday in Cyprus, it will bring a squad of just 17 players. Meanwhile, the Armenians will bring 31 players.

And, Canadian coach Stephen Hart admitted in a conference call Thursday that he had to scramble to ensure that he got as many as 17 players committed to the roster for the friendly.

“Putting the team together was extremely difficult,” said Hart. “Injuries are one thing, having do deal with clubs that are in promotion fights or whatever. It’s been very difficult.”

So tough, in fact, that some of the clubs had asked Hart what time on the 29th that Canada was scheduled to play Armenia, so they could make sure that they would release their players exactly 48 hours before the match as stipulated in FIFA regulations.
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