Toronto FC Thread

[urban 2.0]

Originally Posted by ScrapeTheSky

Every game I've gone to lately there's been tons of booing at the refs for stupid calls. That said, I've never been to games for other teams so it's hard to say whether the refs are biased against us.

... it is Toronto. Why would you expect the Refs to like the city?

[ScrapeTheSky]

Originally Posted by urban 2.0

... it is Toronto. Why would you expect the Refs to like the city?

The real question is, why would you not expect a ref to make impartial calls regardless of which team it is?

[Canadian Chocho]

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!

[ladyscraper]

Originally Posted by Canadian Chocho

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!

We need to put this one away this year. It was embarrassing to lose last year.
I just wish the schedule wasn't so packed this month with MLS games and Canadian Championship games. They might start getting pretty tired.

Either way I'm really hyped for tomorrow night!

[ladyscraper]

Nice game last night! A solid victory!
The only issue I have is only being able to score one goal from like a dozen chances. We need someone to start burying these goals because you can't expect a clean sheet from Frei every single game.

Either way:

[Canadian Chocho]

I still hate Barrett.

[Tuscani01]

I noticed quite a bit of TFC gear for sale here in Vancouver. One lady at a shop I spoke to said they sell quite well. I can't wait to see how Vancouver treats the Whitecaps once they join MLS. Should be just a great as the TFC fan base.

[urban 2.0]

Football is going to do so well in Canada

Once we get a team in Montreal ... you're going to see Calgary and other CDN cities beg for a team.

I bet Football will become more pop. in Cdn than in the States ... it will be our Hockey replacement.

[urban 2.0]

... unless bettman moves to MLS!!

[ladyscraper]

Sweet game last night! TFC is now in firm control of the Canadian Championship. 2 wins to start.

Yesterdays game may have ended 1-0 but Toronto dominated from start to finish.

Total Shots: Montreal - 3 Toronto - 16

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by urban 2.0

Once we get a team in Montreal ... you're going to see Calgary and other CDN cities beg for a team.

Looks that way. Soccer has finally become a significant sport in this country. I wouldn't be surprised if this imported sport eclipses our own sports, football and baseball, in the not too distant future. It's probably already eclipsed that other Canadian sport already: basketball.

Hockey? It might one day eclipse that one too, but would take another generation or two. It's a little sad to lose our cultural uniqueness, but we're probably too small of a nation to resist complete assimilation.

[Skybean]

Real Madrid set to play in Toronto


Paul Attfield

TORONTO — From Friday's Globe and Mail, Friday, May. 29, 2009 03:00AM EDT

All signs are pointing to a Spanish summer in the GTA, at least as far as Toronto FC are concerned.

Plans are nearing completion for one of the world’s biggest soccer clubs to visit BMO Field, as Real Madrid are set to be unveiled in the next few days as TFC’s opponents for a friendly match to be played on Friday, Aug. 7.

The nine-time European champions will be travelling to North America for a two-game series against Major League Soccer opposition, with a game in Washington against D.C. United – announced yesterday – to take place on Sunday, Aug. 9, two days after the visit to Toronto.

As a result, the originally scheduled fixture against the New York Red Bulls has been moved from Aug. 9 to Saturday, June 13, which Paul Beirne, TFC’s senior director of business operations, confirmed yesterday.

Toronto FC will also be installing a temporary grass surface on top of the artificial turf at BMO Field to accommodate the 31-time Spanish league champions, although whether that surface will remain in place for the remainder of TFC’s MLS schedule is not known.

Ticket prices have also yet to be confirmed, although Toronto FC are said to be pursuing another opponent for a second exhibition game to fulfill their one-game commitment to season ticket holders, enabling the Real Madrid tickets to be sold at a premium, and not inclusive of season ticket packages.

Real Madrid themselves now begin an off-season of uncertainty, having watched fierce rival Barcelona sweep all before them in winning an unprecedented treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and, most recently, the Champions League, the first Spanish club to complete the trophy hat trick.

That will not sit well in the Spanish capital, and with a new club president set to be installed next month, the world’s second most valuable team – estimated to be worth $1.35-billion (U.S.) by Forbes magazine – could boast many new stars by the time it arrives on these shores.

The favourite to take over is former Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the architect of the galacticos era, during which time the club acquired soccer luminaries such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and David Beckham.

While those three have all moved on to pastures new, Perez has hinted he would try to sign Brazilian star Kaka in his “presidential promise,” although French winger Franck Ribery and reigning FIFA world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo are also high on the wish list. Whether any of them don the famous all-white strip of Madrid will be seen in due time, but just the thought of them gracing the “grass” of BMO is enough to whet the appetite.

source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle1158914/

[Taller, Better]

How cool! I'll bet tickets will be impossible to get for that one...

[G_DOG]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

How cool! I'll bet tickets will be impossible to get for that one...

not impossible, but damn expensive.

[ladyscraper]

After last nights embarrassing loss, it's clear that the management should be fired. It's clear that TFC almost always outshoot the other team but never scores. so what does that mean? It means that the strikers that are only paid to score can't do their job. Who put together this team including the strikers? Mo Johnston. Fire him.

[JustinB]

Originally Posted by G_DOG

not impossible, but damn expensive.

Going to be damned expensive.

And I'm going!

Ladyscraper: Couldn't agree more. That was an embarrassment. But having too many changeovers in one season is a recipe for disaster. Just look at Newcstle. That is what happens when you have too many turnovers in one season.

[You are to blame]

I think half the team and management should be fired after last nights game. I think it has been the saddest moment in TFC mostly depressing history.

[Taller, Better]

from the Globe. linl:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle1170035/


Real Madrid gets green, TFC midfielder sees red

"We don't get that respect," says Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario



PAUL ATTFIELD

TORONTO — From Friday's Globe and Mail, Friday, Jun. 05, 2009 09:34AM EDT

Whether Real Madrid is indeed the king of clubs - and even in Champions League final defeat, Manchester United might have something to say about that - there is no disputing the European soccer giant's connection to Spanish sovereignty, starting with its name.

Still, seeing its players treated like royalty when they travel abroad has left a bitter taste for some, including Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.

"Just because Real Madrid's coming here, we put grass in? So what does that mean to myself as a player for TFC? We don't get that respect?" the disgruntled Canadian international said yesterday after the Major League Soccer club officially announced an Aug. 7 visit by the nine-time European champions.

The exhibition match (first revealed by The Globe and Mail last week) will coincide with the installation of a temporary grass pitch over the artificial FieldTurf at BMO Field in Toronto.

"It's one of those [things] where you look at it as a player and you're disappointed, that it takes a team like Real Madrid to come here to get grass," De Rosario said. "We work hard every day, and we try hard day in and day out, and we deserve grass. I don't think because one team comes here we have to suit their needs to get grass."

Of course, the grass, like Real Madrid, doesn't come cheap.

TFC owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has said the installation will cost nearly $250,000. And while it is not known what the Spanish team will receive for its visit to Canada, it will pocket almost $1-million (U.S.) for its appearance in Washington on Aug. 9, for a game against MLS squad D.C. United.

As a result, the Toronto tickets will not come cheaply, either.

Although there will be loyalty concessions for TFC season-ticket holders, seats are expected to range from roughly $150 to $200 - a substantial hike from the $23 for the lowest-priced ticket for a regular MLS game.

Exact information will be released Monday.

However, the cost is not De Rosario's worry. As a long-time critic of artificial turf, he is simply concerned with getting the opportunity to play on grass permanently.

"I think we should keep it after the Real Madrid game and see for a couple of games, the difference of how it is," De Rosario said, before admitting that even temporary grass will be far from ideal. "Obviously, putting grass on top of turf is going to be difficult. I've been in that situation before. It's not the best surface because the grass moves a lot, there's no roots, it's not grounded."

[ladyscraper]

Way to go DeRo. Speak your mind on this. Screw this meaningless mid-season friendly. Why is priority given to a game that disrupts the season and may hurt the team's chances of making the playoffs.
Bring the real grass to our team forever. Not just for Real Madrid.

[You are to blame]

I can't believe they pulled it off.
TFC with a historic win over Montreal tonight.
6-1 TFC, they needed to win by 4 goals to win the Canadian Championship and to enter the Champions League.