BMO Field Expansion

Earlier I was unimpressed with the MLSE wanting to expand BMO to accommodate a CFL team but with the latest news I think I’m leaning towards the expansion, but just a little. I mentioned a few months ago that an expansion to the BMO field would take away the intimate experience you get watching a TFC game, sure in the eyes of MSLE making the 22,000 seat arena into a 30,000 – 40,000 means lots of $$$$ but it will also mean we will lose our natural turf (real grass) field which was put in when TFC played Real Madrid.

I am happy to hear that the MLSE is pumping in $90 million of the $120 million it is going to take for this revamp, sure I still think that the seating size was fine considering where the stadium is located but with the upcoming Pan Am games the added seats make sense. Timing couldn’t be better for this, Pam Am games, Argos looking for a new home and with 95% of the season seats sold the extra added means I can actually go to a game without spending 100’s. Seriously, scalpers … you were selling a $25 ticket for $250, ridiculous.

My main issue with the expansion was what will happen to the grass, hosting both TFC and Argos on an open concept stadium would be bad for the pitch, awhile back I saw a video (below) on what Wembley Stadium in England did where they planted synthetic grass combined real grass to strengthen the playing field. Hopefully BMO does the same thing or at least something better with the $120 million budget.

Diving is an Olympic Sport

As I was watching the games this past weekend I could not believe the blatant diving the occurred, but this is common place in today’s game. When challenging a ball where contact occurs I agree with embellishing  the foul to gain a free kick but the video below titled “It’s an Easter miracle, Suarez rises from the dead” on most sites is one example of how diving should needs to be dealt with by the league heads.

As I mentioned before that I understand that over acting a foul can put you at an advantage but it makes you look like such a terrible person, especially when you don’t even make contact with the other player.

The referee saw the whole play, if Liverpool did not push the ball after the tackle on Suarez there would be a definite free kick but what if after Suarez got to his feet after what seemed like his leg was tore off, received the ball and scored. Would that be a goal? Yes it would because the league does not call back goals and Suarez would be branded the villain as he is right now. He continues, along with many other players to make these blatant dives and it has been ruining the game forever. Sure, he did limp around and seem like he was in pain after the play stopped and I know he probably ran because he wanted to score for his team but COMMON! He is notorious for this type of stuff. He is such an amazing talent but oh man, this guy is one of the worst players when it comes to diving, HE EVEN BIT A PLAYER!

Check this video out of Suarez's antics:

All leagues need to get their act together and start handing our suspensions and harsh fines for these Oscar winning performances! FIFA finally decided to add goal line referees let’s hope some more changes can be made.

Mini Bio - Dejan Jakovic

Toronto to Washington to Japan with stops all around the world, Dejan Jakovic is a seasoned pro playing in J-League’s division 1. From the beginning he captained his high school team (Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy) where is was easy to see that he would one day excel in this sport, Dejan was amazing to watch, he is a natural with high soccer IQ and made his high school team that much better, he was a true captain and acted as a player coach on and off the field without being asked. Scarlett heights went on to two finals with an undefeated regular season senior year with Dejan at the helm. He came to Canada at the age of 6 from Croatia with his parents prior to the Croatian war in 1991. During his teens Dejan was a part of the Canadian national youth program and played for Woodbridge Strikers who are a two time Ontario Cup winner with him on the roster,

Dejan acceptable a scholarship with University of Alabama where he played four years, in 2008 he joined Red Star Belgrade where he started 3 games but did not see the pitch after a new coach was appointed. In 2009 he brought his skills back overseas and signed with D.C. Untied of the MLS where he played until 2013, as you can imagine his friends and family were thrilled by the news of being able to see him play professionally on home soil while visiting TFC. Dejan controlled the back line and started nearly all (26) 28 games for the club as was a regular call up for Team Canada during the Gold Cup, Olympic and World Cup trails/tournaments.

Dejan is currently playing for Shimizu S-Pulse D1 J-League.

We will catch up with shortly and get a glimpse of a pro athlete making the jump overseas, if you have any questions for him please send them in or place them in the comment section.

Practice Makes Perfect

Season is over, lost in a shootout but had a few cold ones to make everything better. No one likes losing a game on any level no matter how many millions you’re paid or how many bucks you spend to play, a player goes onto the pitch with winning on the mind. One thing I have learned over the years is to take the advice from others, many will think when you are being screamed at during a game by your very own teammates is in a negative way but it always boils down to the passion a player have that comes off as screaming. But, there are a few things that anyone can take advantage of to better yourself as a player and team.

Many playing recreational do not have time to practice as a team but that does not mean you don’t have time to work on yourself. Go for a run to keep yourself conditioned and practice on dribbling a ball around in a field or backyard, set some cones up and practice passing through them or make yourself a circuit. Be sure to work on juggling the ball, this will not make you a better player by being the best juggler but it will improve your touch on the ball.

Know the positions of the soccer team, if you don’t know where or what a players position is you will be forever confused. Learn the lingo, its called a pitch not a field.

When attacking a ball go for the ball, don’t be afraid to go into a tackle and don’t just stand there waiting for a reaction because you will be left in the dust. Another alternative is jockey the ball, this is running with the player slightly in front of them, you move along with the player keeping the ball between the both of you while shutting down any passing lanes available.  

But most of all make sure you have centre mid who can control the ball, many people get together to make a team and always have forwards and defenders but always forget to have a centre midfield that can receive and distribute the ball and is able to control the games. This sounds like a tall order, but a player like this will improve your team and improve you as an individual by playing structured soccer.

Soccer With Benefits

Many conversations have been raised among friends with valid to absurd points whether this sport or that sport is better or what actually constitutes a sport to be a sport, usually the conversations are rational but tend to linger off to what boys to best, break things and yell when they don’t get their way. This has lead me to spell out what soccer can do for someone, it helped me more than just physically and will benefit others to level that they could not see before.

Physically, with consistent play soccer will lead to a healthy weight by running 5-10 kilometers per game recreationally where as a pro athlete will run 10 kilometers or more every game while controlling the ball for 200 meters (average) and sprinting 800-1200 meters (average) per game.

Soccer will keep your brain in check, your brain ends up doing many things at once which is ideal because just one play can change the game in seconds. Soccer requires a player to be on their toes and mentally alert, controlling the ball while running, anticipating the play and making calculated decisions to advance the play and keeping in mind where your players and the other team is on the field. 

Soccer teaches sportsmanship, leadership and good worth ethic. To play soccer well and gain all the good the game can give you, you need to train hard and focus on your play. As a recreational player of any age you are able to benefit from what soccer can give because as you progress so do your skills and soccer IQ.

Socially soccer can do wonders, playing on a recreational team can lead to lifelong bonds with teammates and bring like minded people together and share similar interest. 

I gave up playing soccer for a couple of years after high school to concentrate on college, then I was sidelined for two years with a back injury. I didn't think I would be able to play again, it was a dark time recovering from back surgery, gaining weight, being unproductive, did not have the best outlook to get myself back in shape and not actively thinking about bettering myself after a painful recovery. It was a close friend that became a teammate who helped out, encouraged me to get on my feet and got me playing soccer again, it was the common interest in soccer (and his need of a goalkeeper) that shaped our friendship. 

After my surgery I really found the true benefit of being apart of a team, with conditioning and playing I was able to appreciate what this sport provides more than competition. The physicality and being mentally alert can really take a person who absolutely out of shape to (eventually) make them into a scoring machine and introduce you to people who otherwise would pass you by on the street. I have made new friends and become a better player but above all improved my health.

Be it baseball, basketball, hockey or soccer, whichever sport you call your own you will benefit from it. Playing co-ed, beer league or competitive you will gain from it and increase your circle of friends. It doesn't matter what constitutes as sport and doesn't matter how many arguments you will have defending your sport of choice, the real winner in the end is you and the benefits you gain from playing what you love. 

Footie and Me

Growing up playing organized sports was never a thought in my head; sure my brother and I would get together with the other kids and end up playing road hockey with curb post made of bricks or piles of leaves. All the activities we did play did take some organization, limited, but joining a team was not something that we knew much about growing up since we had each other, family and friends on the block.

My first taste of organized sports came in grade 6; I tried out for the basketball team only to be turned down after hours and hours (over two days) of practice which in my head made me as prepared as Michael Jordan in game 6. As sad as I was something began to stir about, I had an itch for something that was missing, that competitiveness, drive, longing, the feeling of proving myself.

Soccer tryouts were next, the only time we ever played soccer as a group would be during lunch recess where every boy and few girls would head on to the soccer field and play class vs. class FULL BODY CONTACT soccer. I loved it! I made the first cut, starting defense but it didn't translate. My first tackle was a full on body check, red card and a very upset coach. Who knew that wasn't allowed, a body check was commonplace during lunch time.

Playing soccer became a serious thing for me in high school, I learned proper technique and structure and we went all the way only to lose in the finals at home. My senior soccer year almost didn't happen, no keeper, no coach and we had to recruit players from anywhere that we could. Baseball was ending so we grabbed our star pitcher, there were a couple of guys playing Magic cards in the lunch room so we grabbed them, basketball wasn't doing too well so we grabbed the star on that team, another one who didn't speak much English and we had at least two guys with bum knees. I was the defensemen for our team, I held the back in check over years at school and one day we were told “even If god came down here, you still wont have a team," I looked around the locker room for a response yet no one opted to play keep so I did and let me tell you something, (well you have no choice since you’re reading this) it was the best decision ever! You have to be a little bit crazy to allow yourself to be pelted by shots but I had an ace up my sleeve named Dejan Jakovic, our star, he taught me how to play net. We organized our own practices and seeing how much passion we had for a team a coach eventually showed up one day on his own.

It was fun! Our band of misfits went onto an undefeated season, unfortunately our season ended in the quarters 1-0 to what in my opinion should have been a cancelled game due to the fact I was knee deep in rain.

There is this feeling that words cannot explain when you launch your body across the goal to parry off a ball after the opposing striker battles through your players only to be shut down, your teammates get energized and the opposing team is left wondering what just happened. That passion never went away transitioning from defense to goal, I still felt it as my teammates put the ball past other keepers as my role and drive was now not to let a single ball past me, I found something better, something even more invigorating, being the last line of defense, controlling the back line, telling my defenders where to be with my eyes on the whole pitch seeing the play develop and being the voice that encourages the team to push on. 

Jermain Defoe - March 10, 2014

Laba Gone - Pre-Season Defeats

Toronto FC knew he would end up elsewhere, that was the sticking point in an article the Toronto Sun did regarding Matias Laba, really? What do you expect when you add the likes of Cesar, Defoe, Bradley and Gilberto.  They traded Laba for future considerations which are not made public, for that reason it’s hard for fans to see this as a fair deal. Just words taken away with the wind, it would be nice to see what these “considerations” are but I guess it makes sense to get rid of that salary since TFC still has to pay out on injured Bright Dike who will miss the entire season and World Cup 2014 Brazil representing  Nigeria.

Going winless in preseason is concerning, watching a deflating final 4-2 loss against an U-23 Brazilian team is a reason to question what’s going on, sure our golden boy Defoe is over in England (with a hamstring pull), Gilberto is nursing and injury and the coach rested Cesar are the answers but, we have seen this before. The Blue Jays, all the star power and look what happened, a mid level team gets overhauled and in a second becomes the Las Vegas favourite to with the World Series. Now before everyone starts to roll up their sleeves and lash out on me saying soccer isn't baseball lets look at what is expected. We need players to gel together, that’s what this preseason was for and with the injuries and/or international call ups that our DP’s will get will take away from TFC’s bonding. That gelling/bonding will have to take place during the season and cannot afford to piece together team chemistry during that time. I for one really do hope that TFC does not continue to live up to the stigma of Toronto as a joke city for sports.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Toronto teams and am always one to say that our teams with go all the way (jokingly with enthusiasm with and a hint of seriousness) and really do genuinely wish for a strong successful TFC , Raptors, Leafs and Blue Jays season with no more heartache.

TFC!!! TFC!!! TFC!!!

Well its official, Julio Cesar is Toronto FC bound, he officially signed to the team on loan from Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR) which is also where Ryan Nelson came from (TFC coach). Current keeper Joe Bendik sure got a shot to his ego for TFC acquiring Cesar but not many players, especially keepers, will get the one-on-one mentorship that Cesar will provide. Julio Cesar is on loan, he will leave eventually and Joe Bendik should make the best of having an EPL/Serie A experienced keeper at arms length.

Why the move for Cesar? He wasn’t getting the playing time at QPR, just like Dafoe, both of them wanted to play and keep themselves going ahead of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

It’s not normal for Toronto teams to dish out on players, with the exception of the Toronto Blue Jays last season. Many heated discussions have taken place among friends and family of the lack of seriousness MLSE has to succeed and get players since they make money regardless of making post seasons, but the question has always been …with all the money in the world, why don’t you spend it on players? Sure, the answers are salary caps and trades not going through but finally we have a TFC team to be excited about!

MLSE and TFC are showing us fans that they are serious, and thank the football gods for this! TFC have not made a post season appearance since their arrival to MLS in 2007.

Here’s what we added:

Julio Cesar: 77 international caps for Brazil and starting keeper, on loan from QPR and former Internazinale keeper from Serie A.

Jermain Defoe: 55 international caps for England, signed from Tottenham Hotspurs of the EPL.

Michael Bradley: 82 international caps for USA, signed from AS Roma of Serie A and former MLS player with EPL experience.

Gilberto Oliveira Souza Junior: Comes from Brazil’s Serie A, the last team he played for was Portuguesa where he scored 17 goals in 24 games. He chose to come to the MLS turning down offers from Germany and Mexico.

Make sure you buy your tickets in advance because TFC will be the hottest ticket to get.

Messi or Ronaldo?

Who’s the best player in the world? Or at least, who will be the best player at the world cup?

Of course the debate will always be Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo … But are these players truly the difference makers for their team? Neither has won a world cup and both have supporting players that make them great. Maybe a one on one match will solve this ..

Lionel Messi is no doubt a legend still playing, his presence on the field always makes the fellow players better and if Messi wins the World Cup this year he will surpass the likes of Maradona and Pele as one of the greatest.

When Messi is missing from play, soccer is missing highlight reels. He is the player you always want on the field and the one you want to feed the ball to, he gets kicked, hacked, chopped and box him in but rarely does that stop this man from putting that ball in the back of the net and making you look pathetic in the process .. Messi is a true showman.

Christiano Ronaldo is an all around prime player and does not show any sign of fading away, its no doubt a fact when Ronadlo is on the pitch you better watch out. He has the speed, talent and solid soccer IQ to get he job done. However, no World Cup title in this name (as of yet) and his team is in a very competitive group.

He has finished as the top scorer in the Champions League and La Liga and is always a game changer for Real Madrid; the confidence is higher with him on the field. He hardly ever gets injured, has patience with the ball and if and when he get past you .. good luck trying to catch him.

In the end its hard to tell who will be the better player this World Cup, it really depends on who advances further but if either of them goes all the way you can definitely give the stamp of approval to the winner.

124 days left

Construction Woes

Today marks 134 days until World Cup 2014.

But one questions, is 134 days enough time to have everything ready for the first game?

Brazil has developed many of the greatest players in soccer history, soccer is Brazil’s livelihood, and soccer runs in their veins but what happens when they host the World Cup? It becomes a joke.

Preparations leading up to the World Cup have been lacking, what Brazil needs is stadiums to host games, 12 for that matter which are still under construction.  The Brazilian government is being highly criticized due to the lengthily expensive process, in an interview with the Brazilian assistant coach he stated that "We missed an opportunity to show the world what we can do in this country," and "We missed an opportunity to provide more comfort to Brazilians and to show a different kind of Brazil."

The country had 7 years to build everything needed for the World Cup which might be completed just a few months before the competition is due to start. Most recently construction was halted when a crane crashed killing the workers this past November in Sao Paulo, which is a main stadium for the games. Also, Heavy rains, , labor strikes, a court-mandated halt to construction last year due to safety issues, and financial problems have hampered construction.

The two main venues being affected are Arena de Sao Paulo and Arena de Baixada in Curitiba which FIFA is threatening to take away hosting duties if they do not meet the February 18^th completion deadline.

In the end, completed or not, World Cup 2014 will take place in Brazil and the world will cheer. 

BMO Field Expanding?

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/01/19/mlses_leiweke_taxpayers_would_be_paid_back_for_bmo_field_expansion.html#

An expansion to the BMO field will take away the intimate experience you get watching a TFC game, sure in the eyes of MSLE making the 22,000 seat arena into a 30,000 – 40,000 means lots of $$$$ but it will also mean we will lose our natural turf (real grass) field which was put in when TFC played Real Madrid.

You cannot expect to have natural turf for our soccer team when the Argos will chew it up while playing football.

BMO is special because they moved away from the artificial turf, go ahead and expand but don’t take away the grass.

Group Of Death

Hello soccer fans!

With the World Cup approaching today marks 143 days left before the world turns its eyes to Brazil, but what’s on everyone’s mind is who’s in the group of death? In my opinion, we have two this time. Group D consisting of Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, and Italy and Group G consisting of Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA.

As statistics go, no European team has ever won the World Cup when hosted in either North or South America, but with heavyweights Germany and Portugal maybe this stat will get trumped. Uruguay was the dark horse before but with a Copa America win and finishing well in their group Uruguay looses their element of surprise and are now known as a team to watch out for.

We have three teams in Group D that will be fighting for the top two spots, Uruguay, England and Italy, Costa Rica will have a tough time against these teams. Although being solid defensively, they should hope to draw or push for the wins in their group stage to move to the next round.

 In Group G everyone will be looking at Germany and Portugal, you don’t even need to be a fan to know that these two teams are great but Ghana and the USA are going to be knocking at the door and might sneak in to the next round. Ghana (one of my personal fav’s) got to the quarter finals but lost on penalty kicks so this year they will be coming in with force, the USA on the other hand may have the hardest time getting to the next round. The players are good but consist of mainly MLS players, this is not a knock at MLS but facing players that play in the best league(s) in the world may pose a problem.

My prediction for Group D will be Uruguay and Italy going through, in Group G Germany and Ghana will advance. But whaaaaa? No Portugal??? They will most likely advance but Ghana is one of my favorite teams of all the African nations so I will give it to them to advance.

World Cup 2014

The World Cup 2014 will be held in Brazil this year, stay tuned for my country analysis and group breakdowns next week.

Every Toronto FC goal in 2013

Jermain Defoe Arrives in Toronto

New Faces in Toronto FC

A few weeks ago Toronto FC signed Brazilian national Gilberto Oliveira Souza Junior who was a surprise signing and a good one but Monday marks a new day in Toronto with the signing of Jermain Defoe from the Tottenham Hotspur of the EPL and English national player and Michael Bradley from AS Roma of Serie A and USA national player, it was a packed house at the Real Sports Bar outside the Air Canada Centre for the player introductions with fan shouting their approval and genuine enthusiasm. The media and TFC press are labeling this new era "A Big Bloody Deal" and that is absolutely bang on! Toronto FC is a team that's tries yet fails but as a die hard fan it is about time that TFC finally got it right, we need playoffs, we need some sense of belonging in the league and we need TFC to give us fans something back!!!

March marks TFC's season start with these new signings and the return of Dwayne De Rosario who left TFC because he wanted more money but as the forgiving bunch we are we are happy to see DeRo back in red.

It has been many years of heartache for the post season, time will tell if Toronto FC does in fact finally have the right guys on the pitch to get the wins or will this team continue to produce sub par results leaving us devoted fans slumped over in our seats?

I'm excited, you should be to!