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