MLS to Detroit? WTF? (Part 2 of ?)

Posted in MLS with tags , , , on November 27, 2009 by squizz

Last week we were all blindsided by the news that, apparently, someone in Detroit believed the arrival of a Major League Soccer franchise in that city was imminent, and had purchased the Pontiac Silverdome as a venue for said team. The buyer, who at first was known only as an “unnamed Canadian” (Joey Saputo?) was later revealed to be Andreas Apostolopoulos who is, in fact, not the new general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, but the owner of Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc.

Now, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Apostolopoulos is “not just thinking soccer, but football or baseball or whatever.” This comment followed a comment where he, seriously, said: “I like sports and I like being involved with sports, so I hope to bring sporting events people will like.”

Seriously? Is this a multimillionaire who just bought an 80,000-seat stadium or a 14-year-old debating which high school team he should try out for? Read more »

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Their ass is grass, so TFC better smoke it

Posted in TFC with tags , , , , on November 27, 2009 by squizz

That headline makes no sense, I know. But that’s not the point. The point is… all the political hurdles have been cleared. The bubble has been moved to Lamport Stadium. The shovels are in the ground. Even the most cautious and paranoid Toronto FC supporter can allay any lingering skepticism they may have had about the fact that there will be a natural grass playing surface at BMO Field for the beginning of the team’s 2010 season.

What does this mean, other than less turf burn for those involved? It means, quite simply, no more excuses. Read more »

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It’s Called Football Daily: Friday, November 27

Posted in Podcasts with tags , , , , , on November 27, 2009 by squizz

It’s a leaner, meaner version of the daily show today, as we hit on Philadelphia’s choices in the MLS expansion draft, the trade rumours surrounding Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei, and read a very special Letter to Santa from Donnie Garber. Spend your weekend however you want, but make sure it starts with Canada’s #1 “daily” soccer podcast!

Get today’s episode or, for added pleasure, subscribe to the show on iTunes.

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Why the match-fixing investigation doesn’t matter

Posted in International, Uncategorized with tags , , , on November 26, 2009 by squizz

I’m about to present to you a shocking revelation, so I hope you’ve braced yourself. Are you ready?

When there is money at stake, human nature will compel many people to act in morally dubious (or outright morally bankrupt) ways.

Have you recovered from the surprise? I hope so. Now that all willful naivete has been done away with, perhaps we can discuss the burgeoning European match-fixing investigation like grown-ups. Read more »

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The Marcus Haber conundrum

Posted in Vancouver Whitecaps with tags , on November 25, 2009 by squizz

What to do, Marcus? What to do?

Here you are, 20 years old, coming off a season with your hometown Vancouver Whitecaps where you potted 12 goals in all competitions, won the league’s rookie of the year and team fan favourite of the year, and came tantalizingly close to winning the USL1 championship.

And now, here you are, over in England, on trial for four days with West Brom, a just-relegated side that looks like a good bet for promotion back to the Premiership, sitting second in the Championship table. The Premiership, Marcus.

So without jinxing anything, let’s day the trial with the Baggies goes well… then what? What do you do? Or rather, what do the fans back in Canada think you should do? Read more »

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It’s Called Football Daily: Wednesday, November 25

Posted in Podcasts with tags on November 25, 2009 by squizz

Is it hump day already? Snap! Why not make it extra humpy by listening to us previewing the MLS expansion draft, USL v.s. TOA Round 39,402, FIFA’s refusal to step in on behalf of MLS players in their fight against ownership, and Ben getting mocked regarding Liverpool. And of course there’s this week’s edition of Squizz’s Seven: the continent’s new league will apparently be known as the NASL, the same as the league than ran from 1968 to 1984, so I looked at seven things that also ended in 1984 to see how well their legacies have held up and what lessons we can learn about the new NASL.

If you click here you’ll get today’s episode, and if you click here you’ll subscribe to ICF on iTunes, which will make you happy.

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Amado’s mum to run for mayor of Tegucigalpa

Posted in Honduras with tags , on November 24, 2009 by Grant

Well, now that TFC has left Amado Guevara off its protected list for the upcoming expansion draft I may soon have little excuse for posting arcane crap on this blog about him and his family.

So, in honour of that, one last item.

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Josh Simpson goal

Posted in CONCACAF, Canada, Honduras, International with tags , , on November 24, 2009 by Grant

Here’s something to brighten the spirits of Canadian soccer supporters on a dreary Tuesday afternoon. Well, dreary in Toronto at least.

This is not a spectacular goal by Josh Simpson this past Sunday, but it’s a goal nonetheless. And as pointed out by a few V’s, it’s a great thing that Simpson is getting playing time (and playing well) with Manisaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig.

I’ve never been to a match in Turkey, but have seen and read enough to state that the stadiums there are as ferocious and intimidating as you’ll find anywhere. Similar perhaps to those in Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador, exactly the places Simpson will go with Canada in search of results during the next World Cup qualifying cycle.

So this experience is great. And given that Josh Simpson, Marcel de Jong and Mike Klukowski will all be in the prime of their careers come June 2012, there is at least one area of the pitch – the left side – where Canada appears sorted. Jacob who?

Anyway, the goal:

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The Reserve Squad: New league seeks to continue American tradition of soccer failure

Posted in The Reserve Squad, U.S. soccer, USL with tags , , on November 23, 2009 by squizz

The continent’s newest professional soccer league, comprised mostly of breakaway franchises from the second-tier United Soccer Leagues, is set to be known as the North American Soccer League, it was announced Monday. The name is an homage to the original NASL, which operated from 1968 to 1984 and represented the continent’s most serious foray into “getting soccer to the cusp of mainstream notoriety and popularity before the whole operation completely implodes.”

Officials with the new NASL are hoping this incarnation of the league can be an even bigger breakthrough.

“The original NASL nearly put soccer over the proverbial hump before they shot themselves in the foot,” said one official with the new league. “But we are confident that with all of the attention heaped on the sport in the USA this year, with David Beckham, the Gold Cup and the Confederations Cup, we will find a way to help soccer crash back out of the mainstream in even more spectacular fashion.” Read more »

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The price of parity: Say hello to your MLS Cup champions, Real Salt Lake

Posted in MLS with tags , , , , on November 23, 2009 by squizz

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The headlines were already written — “Beckham Experiment Pays Off” — and the league brass already salivating at the thought of big-time media outlets running photos of David Beckham and Landon Donovan proudly grasping the Anschutz Trophy, flanked by the champagne, the streamers and a smirking Bruce Arena.

Then some group of nobodies from Sandy, Utah — where? – had to come in and screw it all up. Read more »

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The Reserve Squad: Canadian officials rebrand soccer as “foot hockey”

Posted in The Reserve Squad with tags , , , on November 20, 2009 by squizz

In an effort to increase the sport’s visibility and popularity across the country, Canadian soccer officials have undertaken a bold venture to rename and rebrand the entire sport as “foot hockey”.

Officials with the Canadian Foot Hockey Association (formerly the Canadian Soccer Association) say that the move will help those in the Great White North form a deeper emotional bond with the beautiful game, conditioned as they are to equate anything hockey-related with their own fragile, conflicted idea of self- and national identity. Read more »

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It’s Called Football Daily: Friday, November 20

Posted in Podcasts with tags on November 20, 2009 by squizz

Holy smokes, are you ready for the MLS Cup?!? We sure are! We break down the LA v.s. Salt Lake matchup, position by position, and make our expert predictions. Plus, Rycroft breaks the news on Montreal officially becoming MLS’s 19th franchise and we react to the official announcement of Preki as Toronto FC’s new head coach. Not only that, we cover the week’s World Cup qualifiers in a packed edition of The Full 90, and we conduct an exclusive interview with Thierry Henry’s left hand. Bam!

Spice up your Friday with today’s episode, or prepare for the whole weekend by subscribing to the show on iTunes!

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Honduran Superclasico in chaos

Posted in CONCACAF, CONCACAF Champions League, Honduras, International with tags , , , on November 20, 2009 by Grant

Update: On November 25 Marathon overcame the internal turmoil noted below and captured the Honduran Apertura with a 2-0 second leg victory at home over Olimpia, fighting back from a 1-0 deficit away in the first leg on Sunday.

The championship final of the Honduran National Football League slated for this Sunday has been thrown into chaos (Spanish link) after players from one of the participating clubs staged a training ground insurrection on Thursday to protest unpaid wages.

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Thierry Henry: Screwing more than just the Irish?

Posted in MLS, World Cup 2010 with tags , , , , , , on November 19, 2009 by squizz

Quick thought, as the bubbling outrage concerning the former Invincible’s “Hand of Dieu” heartbreaker against the Irish begins to subside… it’s been widely speculated that Thierry Henry hopes and intends to finish out his career as a member of the New York Red Bulls, in a year or two. I was a big proponent of the move — it would bring a marquee name to one of the league’s key markets, and Henry is a legitimate star who wouldn’t be using MLS as a springboard back to Europe. Anything that helps promote and legitimize MLS ultimately helps the health of the sport on this part of the continent.

But now I’m not so sure. Henry’s image is irrevocably tainted. Would his much-heralded arrival in MLS only serve to bring scorn upon the league? For those unaware of his long-time ambition to play for New York (that is to say, 99.9% of the population), would this seem like a cheap PR stunt by a league hoping to bring any kind of attention to itself? Or will the anger surrounding his flagrant cheating have faded completely?

I’m worried that it’s closer to the former than the latter… the handball has gotten an unbelievable amount of mainstream press, and the play might have ingratiated itself into the popular consciousness (even — nay, especially — among the sport’s non-fans and detractors) in the same way as the tragic final act of Zinedine Zidane’s career did. While Henry’s inevitable arrival may have been anticipated by some as a great promotional opportunity for the league, has his reputation now turned into a potential liability for MLS?

It seems to me that with that one flick of the wrist, it’s possible Henry didn’t just screw the Irish… he may have screwed the Americans (and Canadians) too.

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World Cup qualifying: At last, closure (part 2 of 2).

Posted in Canada, World Cup, World Cup 2010 with tags on November 19, 2009 by squizz

Whew, OK. A night to think. Part 1 was quick yet satisfying (that’s what she said?) but maybe I’ll say a few more words about the final day of qualifying for World Cup 2010, and the six nations that booked the final six places in the tournament.

Portugal instead of Bosnia. Suck it, Begovic. Suck it, suck it and — in Maradona’s immortal words — keep sucking it. Call it petty and juvenile if you must — or, as Jason Davis did, give me the award for bitterest Canadian — but it feels good to know that Begovic will be spending the next four years doing the same thing as the Canadian teammates he turned his back on: not playing in the World Cup. Read more »

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