The final Nutrilite Canadian Championship match versus Vancouver Whitecaps will give everyone in the stadium the rare chance to watch a completely stress-free Cup game in which the outcome really doesn’t matter.

TFC is already 2010 Voyageurs Cup champion, yet they are required to play out the schedule against a Whitecaps team that will once again finish second. Those same ‘Caps flew to Montreal last year sitting in first place in the competition, only to watch their Cup dreams completely fall apart before their eyes. Now they get to watch as the same team that snatched the Cup from their grip last year is again awarded with the championship, this time without the high drama that 2009 provided.

TFC has already gone public that this match will likely feature many of its lesser-played players. Some of the Academy kids, including a 15-year-old, will also be available for selection when Preki fills out his lineup card before the match.

Given that seven Academy players have been called up to the big squad, it’s a fair bet that at least one or two of them will see game action tomorrow, with perhaps one of them lucky enough to start.

Make no mistake, this is a nothing game to Toronto FC the MLS side, but as a top-to-bottom club, the mere inclusion of the U-18’s in the 30-man roster is a huge step. The kids will be ready if called upon too, as the crowd at BMO Field will be the biggest that any of them has ever played in front of before. What great motivation that must be.

TFC’s winning the competition early may just be the biggest credibility boost that the Academy has ever had in its short lifespan. Play for TFC Academy and you could end up playing a match or two in front of the famous BMO Field crowd for real. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

As for the Voyageurs Cup tournament, sources say that it will officially conclude with the presentation of the trophy at the end of the match. Maybe the Whitecaps players will even stick around to watch. Again.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Join us at Maro (135 Liberty St.) for pre-game libations, starting at 5:30pm.

Last year, it seemed that everyone connected to the Whitecaps was whining high and low about the Montreal Impact “bending over” for Toronto in last year’s final Nutrilite Canadian Championship match.

Montreal was, as you all well know, already eliminated from Voyageurs Cup contention heading into that match, and decided to rest some regulars ahead of a crucial league game against those same Vancouver Whitecaps only two days later.

The result was a right thrashing never before seen in either Montreal or Toronto’s respective histories, which sent ‘Caps fans into a tizzy as TFC needed to beat the Impact by four goals in order to win the Cup. Toronto won by five, and Vancouver – though tied with the Reds on point total and actually holding an advantage in the head-to-head record – were left to watch Toronto celebrate its first ever bit of hardware.

As a result of that match, Vancouver demanded that all three teams enter into a “gentleman’s agreement” for this year’s tournament, in which the teams agreed to play a better calibre side even if eliminated.

So of course, that set up tonight’s showdown between Vancouver and Montreal at Stade Saputo, site of last year’s “disgrace.”  The ‘Caps absolutely needed a win tonight to simply have a chance at remaining in contention next week, and they were facing an already-eliminated Montreal side that had agreed long before to not roll out the reserves should they be in this situation again.

Predictably, Montreal played tonight’s match with far more fire in their bellies than last year’s final match, and Vancouver – lacking any sort of identifiable desire to actually win the match – limped through the 90 minutes en route to a 1-1 draw.

Upon the final whistle, the ‘Caps were eliminated and TFC started looking ahead to old friend Amado Guevara and his Motagua side, the first opponent in this year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Vancouver got its just desserts after spending the better part of 2009 complaining about that year’s Voyageurs Cup tournament. They wanted Montreal to take it more seriously, and the Impact did just that.

Regardless, Vancouver’s fate was still in their own hands, and they did nothing throughout the competition to step up and grab that brass ring that they claim is so important to them.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

In what hopefully will be the most forgettable TFC performance of the season, Toronto held on for dear life to scratch out a 0-0 draw at Vancouver Whitecaps.

You could tell before kickoff that this one wasn’t going to be a classic. The pre-match weather forecast called for gale-force winds and possible thundershowers that threatened to postpone the match. Toronto’s starting line-up included names like Jon Conway, who had yet to play a single minute for TFC this year, along with recent dog house dweller Raivis Hscanovics. Julian de Guzman was out again, replaced by 18-year-old wrecking ball Amadou Sanyang. Even everyone’s new favourite Red Chad Barrett saw himself pinned to the bench to start the match, with a still-hobbled O’Brian White – who sat out Saturday’s match at LA with an ankle ailment – taking his place up top.

Thankfully, the severe weather held off, with a bit of rainfall and a nice second-half sun shower taking is place. Unfortunately, TFC’s scrubs could not pleasantly surprise in the same manner.

Vancouver’s game plan was obvious. Throw as many guys on Dwayne De Rosario as possible, and hit long, hopeful balls up to their towering targetman Marcus Haber. In the first 25 minutes, they did both of those things to perfection, completely neutralizing Toronto’s main offensive weapon while giving their own main attacker every opportunity to create something going forward.

It almost worked, too. Haber skinned Adrian Cann in the early going and set up a decent chance for the ‘Caps. The Vancouver striker’s superb holding up of the ball showed most in the work of young ‘Caps forward cornelius Stewart, who proved himself a handful for Toronto’s backline all night.

Eventually, TFC caught on and its backline, anchored as usual by the stellar play of Nana Attakora (for the first half only), once again rendered the opposition attack useless. With both sets of forwards not doing much, the battle reverted to the midfield, and that’s where the Whitecaps held steady.

To be fair, Toronto’s starting central midfield pairing of Sanyang and Nick LaBrocca was completely makeshift and just a slight step down from the usual DeRo-JDG pairing. That said, there were times when Vancouver’s central mid pairing were dominant, which is unacceptable regardless of the circumstances.

Regardless, Toronto held steady against a highly-motivated opponent which has historically fared excellently against them, away from home, on the tail end of a brutal road trip that saw TFC reach just about every corner of the continent over a nine-day stretch. That has to be a positive going forward, as the Reds of previous years would have simply crumpled in similar circumstances (see the same fixture in 2009).

Vancouver is now on the back foot, needing wins away at both Montreal and Toronto in order to claim its first Voyageurs Cup. It says here that, with a little bit of rest and some home cooking for TFC, the results will be a bit different when these two teams meet again.

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Pros and Cons for Toronto FC at Vancouver Whitecaps, played May 19, 2010:

PROS

• Playing tired and hurt, TFC still keeps its opponent off the scoreboard (for the third straight match)
• Gabe Gala’s confidence to take on players, and beat them
• Jon Conway proving himself a steady backup to Stefan Frei

CONS

• Gala not being able to go for more than an hour, despite hardly getting many minutes all year
• O’Brian White being completely invisible, leaving Dwayne De Rosario to fend for himself
• TFC not scoring against an inferior opponent
• The midfield pairing of Nick LaBrocca and Amadou Sanyang
• The team as a whole losing possession, a lot
• Vancouver’s Marcus Haber wearing gloves. Haber, you’re Canadian and your strike partner from freaking St. Vincent is gloveless! Man up, FFS.

HIGHLIGHTS

Posted by Rudi Schuller

For TFC fans, the answer is simple: Win.

The Reds can wrap up this year’s Voyageurs Cup tournament with a victory tomorrow night at Swangard Stadium in suburban Vancouver. The Whitecaps’ home has proven a terrible host for TFC, as Toronto has only managed a single point in its two previous visits there.

This time around, Swangard could see TFC hoisting its second consecutive Canadian Championship on away turf, following last year’s famous 6-1 tournament victory in Montreal.

Of course, Toronto does not actually need to win on Wednesday to etch its name on the Voyageurs Cup, as a draw or even a loss tomorrow will still see the Reds sitting atop the standings for at least a week.

Depending on the result of Vancouver’s visit to Stade Saputo on May 26, a Toronto draw or loss tomorrow night could set up a bonafide championship match at BMO Field on June 2. Exciting as that may be, I don’t think anyone connected to TFC wants to gamble its chances on a one-off, regardless of home field advantage. Especially to Vancouver, which to holds a winning record against the Reds.

So the goal is clear, as it has been from the start. Go for the jugular tomorrow and let the lesser lights take the field on June 2.

Just win, baby!

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Toronto FC – who sources say will ditch the grey kits for its primary red – has never lost to the Montreal Impact. Many of us take great pleasure in reminding their fans of that fact.

Sure, Montreal won the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship on our turf back in 2008, but even that “victory” was actually just a draw. In fact, every other game between TFC and the Impact has resulted in a win for Toronto, a little tidbit that surely weighs heavily on the minds of Montreal’s supporters.

To be fair, TFC’s record against the Impact is probably a bit more lopsided than the actual games have been. Included in Toronto’s 4-0-1 record versus their Quebec-based rivals is a pair of 1-0 victories, the fateful 1-1 draw at BMO Field that propelled the Impact into the Champions League two years ago, the infamous 6-1 TFC win at Stade Saputo last year, and last month’s 2-0 slugfest.

Also included in those meetings is the dominance of Montreal by one Chad Barrett, who in three matches against the Impact has tallied three goals and two assists. Joey Saputo’s side seems to bring out the best in Barrett, and given the Toronto forward is coming off perhaps his finest performance in a TFC jersey against former side Chicago this past weekend, Barrett will no doubt be looked upon to help lead the Reds in a game that could see Montreal eliminated from contention.

The Impact will be without three players due to suspension, as Adam Braz, Reda Agourram and Roberto Brown will all be sidelined due to red cards in previous NCC matches. Brown is actually also on indefinite suspension from his own club after using Nick Garcia’s face as a punching bag during the tournament opener.

With a very tough road match at Los Angeles on Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of changes Preki makes to his TFC side. Fears about the Toronto coach not placing proper importance on the NCC proved unfounded, as the tournament opener saw the gaffer field a very strong lineup featuring most of his “A” squad.

Expect to see the same on display in Montreal, as Preki pushes for an early Toronto victory in this tournament. Some starters will be rested, but for the most part  Toronto should have close to its strongest squad out there tomorrow night.

The math is simple for Montreal. After a defeat in their first NCC match and a draw in their second, if Montreal loses to TFC on Wednesday they are out.

Toronto will be well aware of this and must be prepared for the fact that the Impact will be fighting for their tournament lives. Montreal coach Marc dos Santos will be forced to instruct his side to push for a victory, which could work right into TFC’s hands provided they can withstand the early pressure. Nothing up to this point suggests that they cannot.

History is on Toronto’s side in this one, contrary to anything the UM02 might sing tomorrow.

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For those traveling to Montreal, please join us for pre-match bevvies at Peel Pub (1196 Rue Peel) from 5:00-6:45pm. Anyone who has ordered match tickets through me will be able to claim them there.

For those staying in Toronto, feel free to head to the Duke of Gloucester (649 Yonge St.) for the U-Sector Away Game Viewing.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Courtesy TFCpics.com

Well that was fun, wasn’t it?

If there is such a thing as a temporary cure for any ill that TFC (both club and supporters) is feeling, a match versus the Montreal Impact is certainly it.

The rivalry between fans is hot, the games are chippy, and TFC is undefeated against the Impact. Wednesday’s game followed suit, with a dogfight of a match that resulted in numerous cards, a lot of bad blood, and two goals for the good guys.

Dwayne De Rosario, the Toronto FC captain who can seemingly do no wrong in 2010, notched his customary goal for the home side, his fourth in three career matches against Montreal (and sixth in as many games for TFC this season). Chad Barrett, much maligned for his lack of scoring prowess, put himself on the scoreboard with a dazzling run through the heart of the Impact goalmouth -his second in about five minutes – before blasting a right-footer past Montreal keeper Matt Jordan.

Those two goals were all that was needed for the Reds (in grey), as their opponents’ attack was as anemic as anything TFC has ever displayed in its worst games.

That De Rosario and Barrett were the heroes has to be a bit of a sucker punch to a Montreal fanbase that has suffered a few from Toronto’s way over the course of this tourney.

De Ro is, of course, the man who nearly single-handedly dismantled the Impact in the famous “Miracle in Montreal” match last June. His hat-trick woke up the rest of his teammates on that day, and TFC strode on to a 6-1 victory and the Canadian Championship.

Barrett has taken his fair share of abuse, including from some fans of the Impact, for his inability to score the easiest of chances. So it must hurt then, that Montreal seems to bring out the best in the American, against whom he has tallied three goals and two assists in three total matches.

Barrett seems to save his best for Montreal, including scoring a highlight-reel goal at BMO Field last year that secured a narrow victory for TFC, and scoring the clinching fifth goal at Stade Saputo in Toronto’s Voyageurs Cup victory a few weeks later.

Whether Barrett can use yesterday’s strike as a catalyst for further goals remains to be seen, but he’ll surely take solace in the fact that TFC plays at Montreal in less than two weeks time.

The game had an ugly side, as both Ty Harden and Nick Garcia were forced to leave with injuries. Harden’s leg was lacerated to the bone – to the tune of 22 stitches – in the goalmouth scramble that led to De Rosario’s opening goal. Garcia got knocked flat on his back from an incensed Roberto Brown, who decided to bring the UFC to Ontario for a few seconds rather than playing the sport he is paid to play (highlights below). Brown was red-carded for his succession of punches, and Garcia was replaced by O’Brian White following a lengthy delay.

Many of the (many) less obvious fouls were called too, on both sides, as yellows rained down from referee Paul Ward throughout. Despite the card-happiness of the official, Montreal’s game plan of “hack the shit out of Julian de Guzman whenever he has the ball” remained constant, although to de Guzman’s credit he simply shook it off and continued his run of stellar play of late.

The ugliness was not limited to the field of play, though. Some Montreal fans found it necessary to spit upon passing TFC supporters below before the match, the latest in a line of regrettable actions from both sides of the feud. (To be fair, it must be tough for Montreal fans, knowing ahead of time that their team is going to lose to their most-hated rivals.)

Hopefully this latest incident will be the last, but with the teams facing off again so soon, one cannot be so sure.

For TFC, the win has to give them an added bit of confidence heading into Saturday’s MLS game at Salt Lake. Will they be able to recover physically in time for a match at altitude against the defending MLS Cup champs?

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Pros and Cons for Toronto FC vs. Montréal Impact, played Wednesday, April 28, 2010:

PROS

• Dwayne De Rosario finding new ways to score
• Chad Barrett’s continued dominance over Montreal
• TFC’s ability to fight through against a physical, rough-tackling team
• Julian de Guzman’ emerging consistency as a DP-level player
• The willingness to kill off a game through possession and passing at the back
• The supporters as a whole, likely in the best form we’ve been in for a long time

CONS

• Allowing Montreal just a little too much possession (especially after they went down a man)
• Robert Brown impersonating Robert Duran
• Light Grey vs. Light Pink, the TV production staff must have been having fits

HIGHLIGHTS

Posted by Rudi Schuller

No one knows the importance that Preki places on this event, and no one will until shortly before kickoff.

Toronto supporters, of course, relish this tournament. The Voyageurs Cup competition has resonated with this fan base, much more so than the average, run-of-the-mill MLS match.

Perhaps the fact that a real rivalry with Montreal (the city) existed long before either TFC or the Impact ever kicked a ball in anger helps fuel the passion, a rivalry that doesn’t really exist with opposing MLS cities. That the civic rivalry translated onto the field of play, backed by rather large fan bases that genuinely dislike one another, really comes as no surprise.

There are so many angles at play in a match involving TFC and the Impact. MLS versus USL/NASL/USSF-D2. English Canada versus French Canada. Multiple Voyageurs Cup winners versus the brash new kid on the soccer block.  And so on.

The fact of the matter is, we (the TFC fans) want to beat them just as much as they want to beat us.

But does Preki share that sentiment?

This is a tough stretch for Toronto, a team that will be averaging roughly a game every three days for the next month. Preki is already on record as saying that his priority is MLS and having his side reach the playoffs for the first time ever, which would suggest that we’ll see many of the benchwarmers (Nick Garcia, anyone?) in red tomorrow night.

Of course, Preki has also been quoted as saying that every match is important to him and his coaching staff, and that he’ll treat the Canadian Championship matches the same way as he does every game.

So which is it? Will Preki throw out the scrubs versus Montreal and hope for the best? Or will we see the De Rosarios, de Guzmans, Freis and Attakoras out there on the BMO grass?

TFC is finally showing signs of coming together as a team, so perhaps Preki will use the modest bit of momentum that Toronto built up in Sunday’s victory over Seattle.

Only time will tell.

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As for Montreal, they are only two games into their 2010 USSF-D2 campaign, and still looking for their first win.  They lost their season opener 2-0 at Austin Aztex before drawing Portland Timbers 1-1 at their 2010 Stade Saputo debut.

The Impact showed a bit of rust in those games, and could be ripe for the “outwork the other team” philosophy that TFC has implemented this season.

Montreal remains largely unchanged from the squad that only scored one goal in the NCC in 2009, with young striker Reda Agourram taking over Joey Gjertsen’s roster spot after the American departed for San Jose Earthquakes. A couple of Euro imports have also joined the Impact, with varying degrees of success thus far.

Last year’s form means nothing, and Montreal will have the advantage of familiarity amongst its players. The Impact will obviously be motivated to keep the game competitive, and will feed off the hostile BMO Field crowd that will likely be the biggest they play in front of in 2010 (not including friendlies).

The “Miracle in Montreal” match notwithstanding, every TFC versus Imact match has been a close one, and it would be wise to expect more of the same on Wednesday.

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Join U-Sector at Maro (135 Liberty St) for pre-game bevvies, starting at 5:00pm Wednesday. We will be marching with RPB to the stadium starting at 7:30pm.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

TFC will sport a star for winning the Voyageurs Cup

Apparently, Toronto FC is the biggest  collection of morons in the history of world sport, for (possibly) donning a star above its crest in commemoration of last year’s Nutrilite Canadian Championship win.

So says repeat Canada-baiter Bill Archer, who apparently hates all things Canuck so much that he finds the time to laboriously pore through every piece of available information on us in order to feel better about being a Crew supporter. All supporters of the Columbus Crew are supposed to hate all thing Canadian soccer, especially the stuff emanating from Hades’ lair also known as Southern Ontario, in case you weren’t completely up to speed.

His blog entry this morning has elicited the requisite guffaws and “yeah, Canada is, like, so stupid and stuff” responses from the lemmings other Crew supporters, as well as from the (other) unenlightened folk who incredibly take at face value anything that BigSoccer’s resident Fox News correspondent writes.

Sure, on the surface, a star over the crest for being the champion of a three-team tournament is ridiculous. But as soon as one delves into the Archer-free auspices of context, it soon becomes apparent that the symbolism is far more meaningful than the self-aggrandizing that Archer and ilk are accusing TFC of partaking in.

Firstly, the star was announced at the CSA press conference detailing this year’s NCC. That is a big point, because it shows that it was not simply Toronto FC choosing to award itself in some sort of footballing equivalent of autofellatio. The CSA awarded the trophy to Toronto FC, the CSA awarded the squandered spot in the CONCACAF Champions League to Toronto FC, and the CSA awarded the star to Toronto FC.

Secondly, the Voyageurs Cup, while short on history compared to many similar trophies around the world (including the hundred year-old Lamar Hunt US Open Cup), is actually taken seriously by followers of the game up here. The Voyageurs Cup itself represented a huge step in the evolution of soccer support in this country, as fans threw their own hard-earned money and created a cup and tournament for the top levels of the pro game here when no one else would. Now that the national federation, sponsors, and television has responded in kind, The NCC has quickly become the highest profile of the domestic cup competitions north of Mexico. That point must hurt someone like Archer, whose own team can’t even muster enough support to fill half its stands for the continental championship tournament, let alone the flies it draws for the US Open Cup.

Montreal wore a Nutrilite "scudetto" in 2009.

Thirdly, and here’s the rub, this star wasn’t simply created for TFC to big itself up, as BigSoccer’s Misinformation Minister is alleging. In fact, Montreal wore a similar scudetto-style patch in 2009 (see image left). CSA exec Peter Montopoli mentioned as much immediately prior to the unveiling of the star (which apparently replaces the Nutrilite “scudetto”)  above TFC’s crest on Thursday.

Where was the outrage and snarky, thinly-veiled bigotry on this issue last year? Oh right, Archer was pre-occupied creating “facts” about Canadians pissing in front of weddings that did not actually taking place. He was far too busy conveniently ignoring the number of Ohioans arrested vis a vis Canadians during the aftermath of last year’s infamous opening match between Toronto and Columbus.

My personal feeling on the NCC star is that it’s just another small step in legitimizing a competition born out of little more than the gumption of a few hardy soccer supporters nearly a decade ago. Yes, our tournament is small and limited, but (if the parties involved are to be believed) the plan is to grow it into something grander. Treating it as a “real” competition now rather than waiting for the rest of the country to catch up to the Big Three furthers the professionalism of the tourney, which is all we can ask for.

As long as the star is only worn during the NCC (and maybe the Champions League, because one leads directly to the other), and no more than one team sports it at any given time (ie. only the defending champs wear it, which seems to be the case), than the “spirit” of the symbol – be it a star or a scudetto – is intact and fully justified.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

The USL has indicated that interested investors from Edmonton and Ottawa may land teams in its First Division within the next two years, effectively replacing (or joining) the disgruntled Whitecaps and Impact as the Canadian flagbearers of USL-1.

TFC won the Voyageurs Cup in 2009.

Should Edmonton and Ottawa kick off next spring, and Vancouver and Montreal figure out their situation (USL or otherwise), the CSA will have little choice but to organize a five-team tourney to crown a Canadian club champion. And while I’m sure the long-term strategy was to eventually have more clubs of a certain level – the minimum standard being USL-1 level at the moment – involved in an expanded competition, I don’t think anyone could have fathomed the possibility of that happening by the third year.

Should all the pieces fall into place, TFC supporters groups can look forward to planning an in-province road trip next year in addition to their annual pilgrimage to Stade Saputo to collect three points.

Before anyone starts asking when the bus leaves for Ottawa, there are some other questions that need answering. Who is behind these potential expansion teams? Are they committed, deep-pocketed owners, or are they the same type of fly-by-the seat-of-your-pants operations that proved so disastrous the last time the USL expanded to Canada?

And what about on the field? Can Edmonton and Ottawa reasonably expect to put together a competitive side on six months’ notice? If indeed one or both of those teams kick off in 2010, they will find it nearly impossible to field a team to be competitive in USL-1, there’s simply not enough time to put together a technical staff and quality roster in such a short window. And a bad team would be would be a hard sell in markets with no real track record of supporting club soccer, especially with so many other attractive options for local fans to watch on TV, domestic and otherwise.

That’s not even mentioning the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. For my money the NCC is a calibre somewhere between USL-1 and MLS. If a team hastily thrown together finds it hard to succeed at the USL-1 level (and it will), it’ll find it nearly impossible to win in what is arguably the most hotly-contested domestic cup competition north of Mexico. For those fans still bemoaning a certain 6-1 scoreline as a blemish on the integrity of our beloved little tournament, imagine what two more teams at the level of the Trois-Rivières Attak will do for the credibility of the Voyageurs Cup.

For the good of the game in this country, let’s hope that the rumours of Edmonton and Ottawa joining USL-1 are true… for 2011. Canada needs more success stories in the club game, and diving into a turbulent league just because the opportunity has presented itself is not the way to write those stories.

Posted by Rudi Schuller