No Hoilett, no McKenna in Canadian squad for Greece 3 Feb 2011 Canadian coach Stephen Hart is still waiting on an answer from Junior Hoilett. The Blackburn Rover from Brampton, Ont. has once again asked the Canadian Soccer Association to be patient, and declined to join the national team for its Feb. 9 friendly against Greece.
Attakora, Tomic score as Toronto FC draws Partizan 2 Feb 2011 On a day designed for new Toronto FC head coach and technical director Aron Winter to look at fresh faces, a couple of veterans were the talking point of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade in Turkey. TFC defender Nana Attakora scored just six minutes in and Dwayne De Rosario, TFC’s all-time leading scorer, missed a penalty in the Reds’ first preseason friendly of 2011. Partizan fans, eager to see the team’s new striker pairing of Prince Tagoe and Dominic Aidiyah — both nabbed in the transfer window, and both played for the first 45 minutes —had to settle for a penalty goal from Nemanja Tomic.
Whitecaps win in three periods over Real Salt Lake 1 Feb 2011 Niagara Falls, Ont. teenager Russell Teibert scored and then delivered the corner that led to Terry Dunfield’s winner as the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 in their first preseason game. The match, held in Arizona, was broken into three 45-minute segments to allow both clubs the chance to get as many prospects on the field as possible.
MLS All-Star conflict with CONCACAF Champions League sends the wrong international message 1 Feb 2011 Major League Soccer continually talks about the importance of having its teams succeed in international competition but, once again, the league has placed its All-Star game in direct conflict with the CONCACAF Champions League. MLS announced that it will host its annual All-Star Game July 27 at Red Bull Arena. But, as has been the case with the last two All-Star events, it clashes with the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League. CONCACAF has already slated July 26-28 as the window for the first legs of the opening round.
Reading signs Canadian U-20 player of the year Ethan Gage 1 Feb 2011 Reading, currently sitting ninth in the English League Championship, announced Monday that it had agreed to terms with reigning Canadian U-20 player of the year Ethan Gage, who was out of contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
All-Star Game announcement creates interesting MLS Cup questions 1 Feb 2011 With the Red Bull Arena being awarded the MLS All-Star Game, not MLS Cup, there is plenty of food for thought about who is going to host the final game of the season. If MLS is to retain its system of awarding the game to a neutral site — something the league reviewed in 2009 but decided to continue on with after Seattle fans packed the house on a rainy Sunday November night to see Real Salt Lake take the title in penalty kicks over the Los Angeles Galaxy — New York is out for 2011. Commissioner Don Garber said the MLS Cup “could be at some point” awarded to the New York area, but he and the league are concerned about the cold November weather. That means the league may have learned something from holding a night game in Toronto last season, where there were thousands of empty seats. Temperatures near the freezing mark and bitter breezes off Lake Ontario made the game a chilly one. MLS Cup was held in cold-weather venues before, such as Foxboro, Mass. and Columbus, but those were day games. And that’s a massive difference.
FC Edmonton still waiting on NASL combine lists 31 Jan 2011 The NASL combine is set for this weekend. FC Edmonton is looking to stock its roster.
Bas Ent back as a trialist with Toronto FC 30 Jan 2011 Judging by his status as a trialist at Toronto FC’s training camp in Turkey, Dutch winger Bas Ent will need to start over in his quest to join the Reds.
Houston Dynamo makes the move East 28 Jan 2011 The Houston Dynamo will spend the next season in the East. MLS announced that, to keep the conferences balanced at nine teams apiece and, with two Pacific Coast teams, Vancouver and Portland, joining in 2011, the Dynamo will be the team on the move.
MLS relaxes Canadian-content rule, but agrees to work with CSA 28 Jan 2011 Major League Soccer and the Canadian Soccer Association will work together on a plan to develop Canadian talent. That announcement came Friday, at the same time the league announced it was dropping the number of Canadian players its Canadian-based teams would be required to carry to three each.