After John Carver’s shock resignation this weekend, reported early on Saturday on ASN’s twitter feed, there was a pessimistic attitude at fortress BMO Field. Toronto’s bosses at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, once seen as providing the support needed for club management to succeed, were suddenly seen as the villains in a saga that saw Carver resign citing “personal reasons” after being fined last week by the league.
Toronto’s head coach had been given the penalty for his outspoken comments regarding the standard of officiating in TFC’s 3-2 loss to FC Dallas two weeks ago, and while the Englishman said his resignation had nothing to do with MLSE, some reports suggested he had been upset with a perceived lack of support by the board.
Carver was in the stands when Toronto defeated Chivas USA last week and handed in his resignation just a day ahead of the home clash with Kansas City Wizards on Sunday. Assistant coach Chris Cummins has stepped in and performed well, leading the side to 1-0 wins on both occasions.
Against Chivas, it was Amado Guevara who provided the finishing touch with his third goal of the season, while against Curt Onalfo’s wizards, fan favourite Danny Dichio broke the deadlock in the 55th minute.
A cross from the left looked to have resulted in a lost chance for Toronto, but Marvell Wynne, showing remarkable hustle all game (and indeed all season), kept the ball in play and played it across the face of goal. Sam Cronin swept it across to an onside Dichio to poke it in and open his account for the season.
Dichio is the club’s all-time leading scorer and was even mentioned as a potential replacement for Carver as club manager and acquired his Canadian permanent residency (equivalent to a US green card) recently, with some tongue-in-cheek suggestions that Toronto’s all-time leading scorer could suit up for Canada. The Italo-English striker has not been capped at a senior level internationally, leaving him available to play for his adopted nation.
Both games have shown a new Toronto, working just as hard as in the past but with the added cutting edge that has seen two straight wins. The team looked sloppy in a 2-0 loss to Seattle in the home opener and couldn’t hold a lead one week later against FC Dallas.
Against Kansas City, offensive spark and defensive stability were shown in equal measure by the Reds, and while Carver’s imprint was still very much in evidence on the side, credit has to go to Cummins for moving into the role with minimal fuss.
Marco Vélez was drafted into central defense ahead of Kevin Harmse on Sunday while Cummins opted for three forwards in the absence of the injured Dwayne De Rosario. Guevara slotted into his usual midfield role while Chad Barrett, Dichio and Pablo Vitti combined to torment the Wizards’ defence.
Toronto, oft-criticized for a reliance on American players and British veterans, has shown an increasingly Canadian backbone this season. After the club’s first season in 2007 ended with a wave of home-grown players shipped off after failing to compete at this level, things looked bleak for soccer in Canada. In 2009, however, club captain Jim Brennan and goalkeeper Greg Sutton have been joined by two-time playoff MVP De Rosario and Adrian Serioux, who regularly partners Harmse in defence for Toronto.
Hometown spirit has been matched by the impressive play of draft picks Cronin and Stefan Frei, with young goalkeeper Frei regularly keeping Sutton and Brian Edwards out of the starting lineup.
Cronin is a tireless midfielder in the vein of Carl Robinson, with the duo providing ample cover for Wynne and Brennan to provide marauding runs down the wings. Cummins looks set to count on his full-backs just as much as Carver, with the only down-side (along with the defensive liability it results in) being the increased attention on Wynne.
The wing-back, brought from New York by former coach Mo Johnston in the club’s first season, has been steadily growing into one of the club’s top players over recent seasons. Aston Villa have reportedly been interested in Wynne since their friendly at BMO Field in 2007 and will be keeping a close eye on his development. MLS and its’ salary cap may prove too small a pond for the American international over the summer transfer window.
To DP or no?
Toronto FC general manager Mo Johnston has stated his interest in bringing a designated player to Toronto for 2009, but the recent signing of Dwayne De Rosario may mean that the club’s ambitions of getting DPed will have to wait at least another year.
While no promises have been forthcoming from team management about bringing in a player above the league’s maximum payscale along the lines of LA’s David Beckham or Seattle Sounders’ Fredrik Ljungberg, club brass have been adamant that the club would build a winning side this season.
Swapping young centerback Julius James for attacker De Rosario was a step in the right direction, but may have signalled the peak of Johnston’s ambition for the off-season. De Ro is a proven attacker in this league and will form a potent front line with the likes of Rohan Ricketts, Danny Dichio and Amado Guevara, although his addition leaves precious little cap room for a designated player.
Carlos Ruiz found himself surplus to requirements at the club this season, after zero goals in five games at the tail end of 2008. He’s been replaced with Pablo Vitti, the on-loan Argentinian forward who hasn’t scored in four, but the young striker’s work rate and raw talent should see him get off the mark soon.
One or two odd men out would leave room for a designated player, with only $400 000 of the DP’s wages counting towards the annual salary cap. Toronto FC chiefs have been reluctant to show their hand, but have indicated that a designated player, as the final piece of an MLS Cup-winning puzle, could be in the cards in the coming years.
Several big names have been linked with Canada’s MLS franchise. Most are borne of wishful thinking, but reports have indicated that club management have, at various times, entered negotiations with European stars inthe interest of bringing a designated player to Toronto.
Alessandro Del Piero was last the subject of heavy speculation linking him with a North American move in 2008, before he signed a contract until 2010 with Juventus, the team he’s been synonymous with since the 1990s. Top scorer honours in Serie A last season proved he can still compete at the highest level, and any MLS move will likely have to wait until 2010 – when Del Piero will be 35.
Towards the tail end of last season, it emerged that Johnston had been in contact with Portuguese striker Nuno Gomes, a name that has been linked with Toronto FC since its inception. Club management have been reluctant to pin their fortunes on a big name designed to draw out a particular ethnic group, but Nuno Gomes was evidently thought to be the type of player who could provide the finishing touch to Toronto’s slick build-up play.
32-year old Gomes, who still has the same baby-face he did at Euro 2000, may still have goals in him, but the same might not be true of that tournament’s co-top scorer, Serbian forward Savo Miloševic. The 35-year old was repeatedly linked with TFC and trialled with them ahead of last season but ultimately failed to sign a deal.
Another striker with European experience that could be on the move this summer is Michael Owen. The Newcastle striker has been out of form this season and will likely be shuffled out in the summer if the Magpies are relegated, an increasingly likely proposition. Owen’s most probable destination is a European club, but the striker’s killer instinct would fit in perfectly in Toronto. Unlike former Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler, a one-time target of MLS, Owen is on the right side of 30, another plus for a league criticized for turning to aging stars.
Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman has been spotted in attendance at BMO Field and lists playing for his hometown side as one of his professional ambitions, albeit one in the future. The Scarborough native has trained with Toronto in the past and will likely suit up for the Reds in the twilight of his career, but at the moment, European sides are closely monitoring his contract situation in Spain.
MLSE speaks
A source high up in MLSE recently spoke informally on the club’s priorities, with a designated player falling behind real grass at BMO Field. Club bosses hope to see grass in Toronto by next season and are currently developing a practice facility that will likely take over BMO Field’s duty as a community field over winter.
Stadium expansion is another aim for MLSE, but nothing concrete has been developed. The organization have also been in contact with the much-maligned Canadian Soccer Association about providing marketing for the men’s national team in much the same vein as their partnership with Basketball Canada.
Soccer in the Forest City
Pro soccer has a new guise in London, Ontario, where Ian Campbell has led a group of investors in launching FC London to compete in the Premier Development League. The PDL is the fourth level of North American soccer behind Toronto FC’s MLS.
Campbell explained to ASN the need to create an avenue for young players to further their playing career at a competitive level. Having coached a group of u-11s over the past several years, Campbell found that his 17 and 18 year olds had few professional avenues open to them, a problem he was used to as president of the Byron Minor Soccer Association.
With an upper age limit of 23, FC London is set to address that problem, with head coach Martin Painter already busy adding to a roster stuffed with young Canadian talent. The majority of the team will be under 23 and university students, with the PDL season running in the NCAA off-season from mid-may until July.
The success of Toronto FC has helped to awaken Canadians to the potential of professional soccer in every corner of this country, and Campbell has been in regular contact with the MLS side in hopes of bringing that success to London.
For Campbell, a PDL playoff match between eventual winners Thunder Bay Chill and Michigan Bucks last summer showed him the growing level of the league, convincing the entrepreneur that professional soccer could thrive in London. FCL calls North London Stadium home and will field a youth team in the OSA under-21 league, providing further opportunities for youngsters in the area.
Trillium Cup continues
Toronto host Columbus Crew on Saturday in the second match of this season’s Trillium Cup, to be decided by the regular-season matches between the rivals. Crowd trouble marred the clubs’ 1-1 draw in Ohio in March, with defending league, cup and Trillium Cup champions the Crew so far struggling to keep up last season’s form.
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