It's Called Football - Guest: Boris Aguilar

Today, we're joined by the president of the Red Patch Boys, Boris Aguilar, to discuss the recent security problems at BMO Field and what's being done by the supporters and the front office.

We'll also get into the keys to the Houston game for Toronto, how it's time for corporate Canada to stand up and start supporting Canadian soccer and the importance of regional rivalry as Seattle and Portland get set to face off tonight.

Inter Milan and Panathaikos to play in Toronto

The World Cup is only on for a few more weeks, but there's going to be plenty of pretty exciting soccer in Toronto after that. In addition to the regular Toronto FC schedule and Manchester United - Celtic on July 16 [Noah Love, Posted Sports], it was announced earlier this week that The Score and Lexxec Corporation will be bringing UEFA Champions League winners Inter Milan to Toronto [The Score.com] to face Panathinaikos FC, who won the Greek Super League and the Greek Cup last season. The match will be at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday, August 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

This should be a tremendous fixture. Individual players who will participate can't be confirmed yet, but Inter can draw from a roster that includes Brazilian stars Julio Cesar and Lucio, Argentine striker Diego Milito, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and the Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder. Panathinaikos doesn't have quite as renowned of a lineup, but they're one of the most accomplished Greek sides and they do have some pretty impressive names on their roster, including French striker Djibril Cisse, Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva and Argentine winger Sebastian Leto. It should be well worth checking out.

Thanks to Jamie Uyeyama of Top Cheddar for the tip.

[Cross-posted to Sporting Madness]

For What (really) Matters

By now, if you live in Canada and are reading this blog, you have seen the commercials. Employees of Canadian soccer “supporter” CIBC are shown smiling while a graphic tells us what team they will be supporting during the World Cup.

It’s part of an overall attempt to position itself as a bank that really gets it when it comes to this whole soccer thing. CIBC, that’s the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for those unaware, has also been hitting social media hard to reinforce its branding/marketing efforts.

Here is a link to the contest they are running to win what is undoubtedly a pretty sweet little home entertainment system.

In 2004, CIBC came on board as a sponsor of Canadian soccer. They signed a five year deal with the CSA for $4.3 million (so, about $860,000 a year – as a point of reference CIBC earned $652-million during the first quarter of 2010). At the time it was called “historic” by the CSA as they had never been able to attract sponsorship to that level prior to that.

That has always been one of the CSA’s biggest problems (and, indeed, all of the so-called amateur sports in Canada) – an inability to attract any sort of significant support from the corporate sector. That has forced it to go hat–in-hand to the government and to take money away from each and every player registered in the CSA to fund the national programs (along with a bunch of other things).

Canada is one of only a handful of countries in the world that funds its national soccer program by player fees. Those 4-year-olds chasing butterflies are money signs to the cash-starved CSA. Pretty much everyone in Canadian soccer agrees that it’s a terrible way to do things.

However, there isn’t much option. The government is unlikely to put more cash in. The only way it could reduce that burden and still have enough money to run the programs is to drastically increase the support they get from corporate Canada.

Which brings me back to CIBC (to be clear, I’m not meaning to pick on them universally – they have just set themselves up for criticism by virtue of their efforts to be associated with the World Cup. The rest of bay Street deserves our score here as well). As we saw in Vancouver, Canadians are desperate to see Canadian success on an international stage. The staggering amount of pride shown by, say, a previously unknown skeleton racer winning gold before chugging beer in downtown Whistler, tells me that Canada at the World Cup would be something that would interest people. You might think that a forwarding thinking corporation might be interested in associating themselves with that.

The thing is, that will never happen without a hell of a lot more preparation. Preparation costs money. The CSA does not have enough money.

According to a source very close to the highest levels of the game here in Canada the CSA received $4,068,431 from corporate Canada (28.6 per cent of revenues) in 2009. One contract had a restricted use clause on the funds and $200,000 net of costs must be used on the Woman’s Nation Team. So, about $3.5 million in total was all that was available to us to fund everything that the CSA does (that includes seven national team programs). That is nothing. It is time that corporate Canada stepped it up and actually earned its association with elite sport.

Wouldn’t it be great if in four years time those CIBC employees were supporting Canada?

If you agree with me, I’d like you to do me a couple favours. First of all, I’d like you to spend a few minutes over the next few days writing a letter to me saying so. Just a couple words that says something like “I am a Canadian that feels that corporate Canada should do more to help Canada qualify for the World Cup.” Send the e-mail to: Canada2014@gmail.com

Second, let those that aren’t reading this entry know about what I am doing. Once we have enough letters I will take it upon myself to forward them to the CEOs of several Canadian companies that have a history of sponsoring sports.

Let’s show them we care.

MIA Canucks

"nolando" at the Voyageurs has compiled a list of Canadians that are out of contract or who have sort of disappeared. These are guys that have had a senior call-up, or who were involved with the Canadian youth set-up.

I felt that it was worth a re-post here because there are a lot of folks that like to obsess on Canadians that Canadian MLS teams should chase (not sure how many of that description are on this list, but).

Here is the list as of June 30. The last know whereabouts is listed:

Keegan Ayre - Trial with San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Gordon Chin - Vancouver Whitecaps (USL)
Mike D'Agostino - Blackpool FC (ENG-2)
Terry Dunfield - Shrewsbury Town (ENG Lg 2)
Ali Gerba - TFC (MLS)
Ryan Gyaki - Hansa Rostock II (Germany)
Kevin Harmse - Houston Dynamo (MLS)
Richard Hastings - Hamilton (SPL)
Nik Ledgerwood - Frankfurt (B2)
Alen Marcina - Miami FC (USL)
Paris Nakajima-Farran - AC Horsens (Den)
Riley O'Neill - SV Wilhelmshaven (Germany)
Andrew Ornoch - trialed with TFC after being released from Heracles (Holland)
Simon Rayner - Crawley Town (English Blue Square Premier)
Antonio Ribeiro - San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Carlos Rivas Godoy - U. Concepcion (Chile)
Adam Street - West Ham (EPL) reserves
Alex Surprenant - Montreal Impact (USL)
Massih Wassey - FC Schalke 04 II (Germany)

Win tickets to United v Celtic

Olympus is running a Twitter giveaway of United v Celtic tickets for July 16 in Toronto. In addition, you'll also receive a new Olympus camera.

So, not bad.

Basically they want you to to Tweet your favourite soccer moment to them. You need to use the hash tag #SP800.

You can get more info at their Facebook page.

No show tonight

Duane is still in jail after the G-20 protests.

We'll get back to our normal schedule soon.

- Ben

G20 update -- The show WILL go on

I spoke to Paul Beirne at 4:45 p.m. He said that there is no chance that the game will be cancelled. They are looking to find a way to be fair to those that cannot make the game and they will make an announcement soon as to how they might do that.

"The club is looking at ways to deal with fans who can't make it," he said.

If you can't make it you are encouraged to e-mail your tickets to someone who can.

Catching up: Portland's logo mess

Since this is a Canadian site, I have yet to get into the mess that was the Portland logo unveiling. There has been a lot of good writing on it already, but the long and short is that Portland put out a new logo and the Timbers Army told them what they could do with it.

If you work in branding, scenes like this would have to be your personal hell:



You gotta love the Timber Army (unless you are from Seattle).

At any rate the supporters and the club have worked together to find a compromise. I'm not sure it looks any better, but they seem to be happy.

Here is the new logo:



The lesson here for MLS executives: Listen to your core audience and listen carefully.

24th Minute Survivor

Yes, I'm an idiot. Moving on from that...

You know who you are if you're still in this. Click on the label to see your past picks and fire away. You can pick a game from this week OR next.

You say goodbye, I say hello

Well, the group stage is now over, and after Honduras tied the Swiss, we have only two teams who failed to get a point: Cameroon and North Korea. To be fair to Cameroon, they didn’t play poorly, if they could only finish their chances they too would have had at least a point, and poor North Korea was stuck in the group of death (ironically). I hope Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast all have solid Nuclear Defence programs.

Here are some of my other thoughts from the group stage.

Wayne Who?ney

I’m not going to sugar-coat it. Starting Emile Heskey with Wayne Rooney was a dumb idea. Heskey should have never been on the team, let alone starting. With that being said, Rooney hasn’t exactly kept up his end of the bargain either. I found it outlandish to hear some pundits call Rooney the best striker in the world going into the tournament, or even one of the very best.

It’s true that he’s a terrific goal scorer... when his teammates are setting him up. That’s why he has had such success at Manchester United. What separates him from the elite is the ability to make things happen on his own, like a David Villa, who I felt going into the tournament was the best pound for pound striker in the world, and he’s done little to prove otherwise. Rooney will usually finish his chances if given the opportunity, but England lacks the creativity to help him out. They should have been starting Defoe from the beginning, not only to complement Rooney, but frankly because he’s a better fit for the international game. He is an explosive player who does have the ability to make some magic.

I do, however, feel that Rooney can have some success against Germany. The game should be closer to what he would encounter in the Premiership. Two structured teams that certainly won’t be looking for a scoreless game. As long as his teammates play the way they’re capable of, he’ll have some chances to score, and I suspect that this time he’ll end up finding the back of the net.

Spain is Fine

No team has ever lost their first match and gone on to win the World Cup yada yada blah blah blah. Everyone overreacted after that first loss to the Swiss. If you watched that game, you had to know that Spain would be just fine. They dominated the game, and in all honesty, they looked every bit as good as they are. The only thing that was missing was the finishing, and a bit of luck, but that was always bound to come. The Swiss on the other hand, looked terrible. Spain beat themselves, the only reason Switzerland got the three points was because they were on the field. With two more attacking teams to play in Chile and Honduras, I didn’t have much faith in Switzerland’s chances.

In the end, Spain won their next two matches, while the Swiss failed to score again, meaning that Spain tops the group and avoids Brazil. Portugal is no easy matchup, and Argentina also stand in their way, but Spain remain the favourites and I still expect them to be there at the end.

The Guaranteed Darkhorse

Duane's pick in Paraguay is certainly looking capable of making a run. However, we've got a scenario now where we basically have a guaranteed darkhorse. One of Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana or the U.S. will make it to the semi-finals, one win from the World Cup final. Few would have predicted that (well, I almost did, but I had Nigeria instead of South Korea). Who will wear the glass slipper?

Heads Up Play

The smartest play of the group stage goes to U.S. ‘keeper Tim Howard. If not for his awareness, the yanks would be on a Safari right now rather than preparing for the round of 16. After nabbing a last ditch header from the Algerians, he quickly threw the ball up field to Donovan, probably 40 yards, sparking the 4 on 2 breakaway that won them the match. You may say that the save was easy, but that was only because he was in perfect position. It was incredible to see how fast he found Donovan.

Second place goes to Slovakia’s Peter Pekarik for his throw-in through ball, something you almost never see. Sure, the Italian defence was awful. Cannavaro looked like he was daydreaming about the weather in Dubai. Nonetheless, a head’s up play by Pekarik to recognize that and to send Kamil Kopunek in on goal. One of the most beautiful throw-ins you’ll ever see.

JabuYAni

There was a ton of negative talk leading up to the tournament about the awkwardness of the Jabulani ball that was being used. Fears peaked after the first round of games, but those fears have now been quelled as players have gotten used to the new ball. Some players more than others (see Japan-Denmark). After an early shortage, the goals are now coming aplenty (the lack of scoring in the latter stages was largely by either teams that had little to play for or that are not moving on now anyhow).

The rest of the tournament promises to be a treat.

Cheers,

Brandon

Interview Only - Guest: David Monsalve

Canadian International keeper David Monsalve joins It's Called Football for a special Interview Only where he speaks about his decision to play in Finland, where he sees himself in the Canadian keeper hierarchy, his relationship with National team head coach Stephen Hart and how the domestic game here is changing.

TFC G-20 travel plan

With the riff-raff in town, as well as those here to protest against them, there is a lot of worry about what it will be like trying to get to to Saturday’s MLS Cup preview. Wait, I’d better not say that out loud TFC game.

According to TFC big cheese Paul Beirne you shouldn’t fret. On Twitter he told me “downtown is empty. Delegates are not moving. G20 hysteria at max. It will be BETTER than normal. Not worse.”

He did suggest that since more people will likely be taking transit that it would be a good idea to take the earlier Go Train (eastbound from Aldershot at 4:04 p.m. and westbound from Oshawa at 3:41 p.m.).

The TTC says that service will be normal on all subway lines and on the Dufferin bus (if you don’t normally take the Dufferin bus south from the subway should know that you need to grab a transfer – the bus does not pick up in the terminal). The Harbourfront street car is running normally from Union Station, but is not picking up at Queen’s Quay.

Those driving in could find the traffic lighter. Or they could end up being re-routed away from the core. You won’t know until it’s happening, although most of the eastbound traffic delays will be today and westbound should be fine all weekend (although Gardnier Expressway/QEW traffic should remember the Jameson exit is closed to November 2231 -- or something like that – you’ll have to exit eastbound at Lakeshore and westbound at Spadina). If you are driving in city, I’d take Bloor over to Dufferin then go south to Exhibition Park. There are no planned Lakeshore closures.

If you’re walking or biking you’re healthier than I am. You’ll also be fine so long as you avoid the core security zone. The underground path will be closed in the city centre though – it isn’t winter, so why would be walking in the underground path?

As far as security goes, be aware that the police are pretty humourless right now. Drunken jokes that involve mock attempts to climb the security fence will likely result with your ass in jail. They also have “special” powers this weekend. If you’re asked to show your I.D., show your I.D. Not doing so will not end well for you.

That said in a Toronto Star chat yesterday Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows was asked about whether the TFC game would be impacted by G20 security. He answered: “Not much of a precaution, but again expect delays into and out of the city. Have I mentioned public transit? And as always, personal awareness and safety should never be out of your mind.”

One thing I would be aware of that wasn’t mentioned was carrying flagpoles around the security zone. A long, pointy object could be interoperated as a weapon. I wouldn’t wear my scarf all hooligan like either, but it’s your life.

Attempting to bring a vuvuzela into BMO Field will result in you being shot on sight. Ok, not really. But, that should be a rule.

As for the protests, the following are scheduled:

• Rally by Ethiopian Canadians and human rights advocates to protest repression in Ethiopia; 9 a.m., Queen’s Park
• G-420 parade (Toronto Cannabis Community), noon, starting at Dundas Square.
• People First, labour movement march, 1 p.m., starting at Queen’s Park
• Get Off the Fence, 1 p.m., Queen's Park

G-420! You can’t make that stuff up. Of course the scheduled protests aren’t really what you need to concern yourself with. The morons that give legitimate protesters a bad name wear all black and cover their faces like the cowards they are. Avoid them.

Of course the real villains Saturday will be in white with yellow strips. Do your best to drive those bastards out of town with their tail between their legs.

Belissimo!

I must admit, seeing Italy fail so horribly brought a tear of joy to my eye. It was especially pleasing to see them eliminated at the hands of the country that my grandfather called home, although it was Czechoslovakia at the time.

Italy's 2010 World Cup can only be described as a colossal failure. While they did win the whole enchilada in 2006, and they have every right to be proud of that, they were barely good enough to do so. This year's team wasn't even half as good as that one. Anyone who picked this team to do well was crazy. It was sad to see how far Cannavaro has fallen in 4 years. Frankly, he looked pathetic.

With that being said, I at least thought that they'd make it out of this group. Paraguay is certainly no pushover, Slovakia is capable, and New Zealand did themselves proud, but when you look at the entire field, for a team the caliber of Italy this was clearly the easiest group of the tournament. I thought that Italy would top the group, and at the very least finish second. But they didn't, they finished last. Behind New Zealand!

Personally, I couldn't be happier. They deserved it. Their antics drive me mad. Daniele De Rossi, for instance, needs to have his teeth kicked out. This last game had a perfect example of Italian disgrace. After Italy scored their first goal, Iaquinta barged into the net to try and get the ball from the Slovak keeper. Quagmirella then joined in, and out of nowhere flopped to the ground for no apparent reason, rolling around seemingly writhing in pain as if someone had cut off his genitals, although with this behaviour you wonder if he has any in the first place. It was embarassing, that's really all you can say. Even if I was Italian, I could never cheer for idiots like that.

That's why it was absolutely hilarious to hear Italian fans booing the Slovak players near the end of the game for laying on the ground and somewhat pretending to be hurt. The nerve! That moment was topped only by Quagmirella crying after the match. Maybe if he had some dignity he'd get better karma.

Poetic justice at its finest.

Good riddance,

Brandon

*Edit*
I'm picking on the Italians, but they're certainly not the only ones who disgrace the game of soccer, they're just most often the culprits. I in no way condone the despicable behaviour of Fernando Torres today with his atrocious dive. I just lost all respect for him. Nor that of Ivorian Kader Keita with his ludicrous flop. Both were also cases of terrible officiating and a shame for the image of the sport.

Sleeping with the elephant: USA World Cup success and the great Canadian footy dream

Some Canadian Guys Talking About the US National Team has been all over the U.S. World Cup run and what it might mean to Canada. It's a topic that many have touched on, including me, in the run-up to South Africa.

The thinking being that a good run by the U.S. will mean an increased profile of the sport in the U.S. and therefore a better situation for Canadians that rely on a strong American system.

Initially I believed that. How could a stronger status of the sport not help? After all, we rely on their two biggest pro leagues, the USSF D2 and MLS. But, as the U.S. progressed I started to really think about it. Would it really matter? I wasn't sure.

First of all, for Canada to benefit from American success we'd first need to see America benefit from American success. As excited as everyone is right now, I'm not sure a 1-2-1 record and round of 16 loss would prove to be overly inspiring to casual American fans. I mean it was Algeria for God's sake. Yes, the potential for a long run is there, but you'll have to forgive me for waiting to see it before believing it -- they haven't been that impressive.

The next question is whether a long run would have any tangible benefit for the game in the U.S. As respected and balanced U.S. soccer blogger Jason Davis wrote, the sport is already pretty strong in the States and this idea of it "turning a corner" or having a mythical "ah-ha" moment is spurious. Soccer, especially domestic soccer, is still a long way from even being the NHL. But, it's a long way from being cricket too.

Many Americans watch soccer the same way they watch Olympic swimming -- every four years after reading Sports Illustrated to learn what to look for. Unless I'm unaware of an emerging swimming subculture packing local pools to see the next Michael Phelps, I don't see how there is much evidence that Americans take their sporting curiosities and run with them. Unlike pretty much anywhere else in the world, Americans are country over club when it comes to the world's game. I doubt the Kansas City Wizards phone lines were burning Wednesday afternoon with crazed soccer converts looking to score some Wiz tickets.

That's where the U.S. winning equals benefit to Canada argument starts to fall apart. Without an increase in the financial viability of MLS and the USSF D2 there is no trickle down to us poor northern footy panhandlers. Even if there was a bump in the finances it would need to be sustained for a few years to allow for an increase in the cap and changes to the CBA the next time we're forced to fret for an entire offseason while the powers that be take us to the brink of disaster.

Since the NASL seems to view Canada as its most fertile expansion market, an increase in the game's popularity in the U.S. might actually make things worse for Canada. It would be harder for us to convince the Americans to let us tag along in their leagues. Also, more success by the U.S. national team means it will be even harder to catch them -- we are in direct competition with them you know (even if it doesn't always seem like it).

About the only way I can see U.S. success having a direct impact on Canada is that it might increase the reputation of CONCACAF. However, since the USA and Mexico have already gone to the knock-out stage of World Cups, I'm not sure if the US will change any FIFA minds this year. As I've said before Honduras likely has a greater chance of directly helping Canada as the third CONCACAF seed (although that doesn't look good now).

There are lots of good reasons to cheer for the U.S. They play the game in an honourable way. We have direct connections to their players. And, for those of us immersed in MLS supporter’s culture, we have a lot of American friends. However, cheering for them because you want Canada to get better is pretty weak.

Save your Canada passion for September at BMO and Saputo. Only Canada can make Canada better.

Canadian journalism 101: Always bite the hand that feeds.

Paul James compares Canadian soccer's struggles to those of France at this year's World Cup.

There is one big difference however between Canada and France. The public repulsion against the French players, including the input of President Sarkozy himself, sets standards of what is acceptable behaviour and protocol of professional athletes, irrespective of the decisions and idiosyncrasies of a coach.

In Canada in 2004 nobody cared about what happened outside a small minority of sycophantic supporters

The thesis is basically that Holger Osieck should not have been fired (only the players know what exactly happened after that German friendly and they aren't talking. So, I can't say for sure whether I agree. However, I tend to lean that way).

That's not what I want to talk about though.

Sycophantic? What the hell are you talking about Paul? And, what the hell is it about those that work in big media in this country that compels them to insult their target ****ing audience? Whether it's Damien Cox telling Leafs fans that they are stupid for being loyal, or a Fan 590 host cutting off a caller to proclaim their opinion superior, it's a disease. Journalistic neutrality has been interpreted as a need to be a cynic all the time, especially in Toronto.

Sycophantic my ass. Clearly that's why the Canadian fan painted BMO Field black in September 2007, or wrote a letter of protest demanding Dale Mitchell be fired. Sack the CSA is the unofficial motto of the Voyageurs. If anything Canadian soccer fans might be guilty of being too critical of the program.

I'm not sure where James gets off insulting the small group of dedicated fans that very much swim upstream to try and support the program to the best of their ability. Clearly the guy that jumped on a bus from the goddamn Yukon to go to Montreal to watch St. Vincent and the freaking Grenadines (to use just one example) deserves your scorn Paul.

Christ.

Sycophantic. Whatever.

Landyclutch

It’s amazing the power of one kick. Through 90 minutes the US had failed to score against Algeria – yes, they had most of the play and yes Clint Dempsey got screwed out of a legit goal on a very close offside call, but the bottom line remained the same.

Algeria zero. The United States of America zero.

Elsewhere the English were holding on to a slim and underappreciated 1-0 win over plucky Slovenia. As we entered stoppage time the results had the Americans third and out. Landon Donovan could have been in Toronto in time to kick-off against TFC Saturday.

Then it happened. Donovan runs onto a fat rebound, tucks it home and all hell breaks loose. The English go from top of the group and an easy touch in the next round to the national dread that is a match-up with the Goddamn Germans. Slovenia cruelly are going home. Being the smallest nation at the tournament is scarce comfort as their dream crashes down in front of them.

The US meanwhile wins the group. It’s an historic accomplishment and one that will grab headlines stateside. An American public that has only paid peripheral attention will not care that they were seconds away from a crushing defeat that would have had the soccer geeks crying in their beer for the next two years. No, the storyline now is simple. Never say die Yanks overcome adversity (crooked refs) and past failure (Landycakes) to find redemption. For the next few hours the US national team will be the story.

Of course this is America – the land of the free and the ADHD. One last minute kick is not going to turn the tide forever for the sport. No, for that to happen we’re going to need a bit more meat to the narrative of this story. Herb Brooks isn’t a household name in the U.S. if Finland plays spoiler. That’s why it’s impossible to rank today’s game in the all-time list of great U.S. footy moments. We need to know how the story ends.

It looks promising. South Korea, Uruguay and Ghana are the other three teams in the U.S. part of the draw. If you had told an American fan before the tournament that all they would need to do to get to the semi-finals of the World Cup was to get past two of South Korea, Uruguay and Ghana they would have needed to take a run down to the mall – because they would have peed themselves in delight.

I’m not sure how many knickers are damp tonight, but it has to be a dammed exciting day to be a fan of the US of A. It’s all in front of them now. If they do what they are capable of—favoured to now, actually – today will go down as the greatest day of all time for American soccer fans (unless they take it a step further by taking down a Brazil, Holland or Spain in the semi). I’m more than a little envious.

NOTE: For the record, the biggest games in U.S. history in order of importance.

6 – 2002 round of 16 win over Mexico – That was the moment that the U.S. asserted itself as the best program in North America. The Mexicans still don’t want to believe it, but the evidence says it’s true.

5 – 1950 upset over England – it’s more of a novelty game than anything of true lasting importance. If it was actually important the US would have built on it.

4 – 2009 Confederation Cup win over Spain – It wasn’t really important, but it gave the US the swagger and belief it is relying on today

3 – The 1994 win over Colombia – I have to think that getting to the second round in ’94 convinced just enough Americans that the sport was worth supporting that gave MLS thaaaaat much more of a chance to survive those early years.

2 – Today – Could go up, could go down

1 – 1989 Win in T&T to get the U.S. back to its first World Cup in a generation. It cannot be stated enough how important it is to get to the Finals. It’s what allows programs to build. It’s hard to remember now, but prior to 1990 the U.S. was, well, it was what Canada is now. Getting that win and getting to the World Cup was huge.

It's Called Football - Guest: Steve Wilson

On today's show:

Steve Wilson, author of The Boys From Little Mexico, joins us to talk about his book - a tremendous undergod story from a little highschool in the States. .

We also get into Sam Cronin heading to San Jose for Toronto FC's favourite commodity - allocation money. And discuss how that money will be spent as a new Designated Player appears on the scene.

That and we talk about England's win and what some are already calling America's greatest soccer moment.

Oh la la

"That's it. Their ordeal – our ordeal – is over. No longer must we support this team whose whims drained us all. Les Bleus are eliminated and got what they deserved: they were ridiculous till the end. At no point did this team show the slightest trace of a soul."

That's the lead paragraph of L'équipe's reporting of France's loss yesterday as translated by The Guardian.

There are a bunch more translations there. If you are a fan of train wrecks, Ireland or karma it's worth a read. You'll get a good chuckle.

TFC targets Spanish striker as second DP

TFC has targeted former Atlético Madrid and Valencia striker Mista as a second DP signing. Mista most recently played at Julian de Guzman's former club Deportivo La Coruña. de Guzman is said to be highly involved in the negotiations.

He played a major role with Rafael Benítez's Valencia, scoring 40 goals in 144 appearances. He scored in the 2004 UEFA Cup final. He has two senior caps for Spain.

His goal scoring form has dropped off significantly since leaving Valencia, with just five goals in 61 La Liga games. He was given a free transfer by Depor last month.

TFC is said to be offering a salary in the "seven figure" range, but less than de Guzman's $1.7 million.

My all-star vote

For some reason MLS gives me a media vote for the all-star team. I’m pretty sure my mom’s hairdresser gets one too, but I still feel a little bit privileged to have a tiny say in this (and I do mean tiny – media voting accounts for 25 of the final result). Like last year I wanted to share with you what my votes were.

Here they are:

Forward -- Edson Buddle (LA)- Landon Donovan (LA)
Midfield -- Dwayne De Rosario (TFC) - Patrick Nyarko (CHI) - G. Barros Schelotto (CLB) - Sebastien Le Toux (PHI) - Julian de Guzman (TFC)
Defenders -- Omar Gonzalez (LA) - Todd Dunivant (LA) - Jamison Olave (RSL)
Keeper -- Bouna Coundoul (NY)

I tend to favour players on teams that are doing well. Nyarko is the only guy on there that is on a team struggling to meet expectations so far, but he’s impressed me every time I watch the Fire. And Le Toux is doing everything for a bad Union team

The selection I really struggled with was Julian. DeRo is a no brainer, but arguments can be made either way of JDG. In the end I just couldn’t come up with another midfielder that was more involved than Julian. There are many out there that will get stuck on one bad play from JDG and try and write him off as a waste of money. I’m not going to say that those people don’t know the sport, but I am going to suggest that they haven’t watched de Guzman play very much. He does so much out there and is around the ball so often that you almost take it for granted (plus if you have 150 touches in a game you are bound to have a couple giveaways – that’s what sticks in the more casual fan’s head).

GBS is having a pretty typical season for him. He’s a default all-star until he retires.

If I could smuggle Jamison Olave out of Utah and into Ontario I’d die a happy man. Gonzelez is proving that his rookie season was no fluke and how can you not love how Dunivant has returned to form.

Up front it’s easy. I dare you to find me a combination playing better than the Donovan and Buddle.

I already explained why I like Coundoul over Donovan Ricketts earlier today – more work equals more impressive basically.

So, was I right? On crack? What are your picks?

Sober Second Thoughts: The 1/3 season MLS awards

Ok, so the MLS season is still on. I know, I know. I thought it was over too. I had a great column written congratulating Salt Lake for their repeat win too. But, then I learned that this World Cup thing will end and we’ll be back to the grind of 20 or so weeks of Major League Soccer action.

Not that MLSsoccer.com helped me gain that knowledge, what with its wall to wall World Cup coverage. What’s that all about anyway?

So, what about that first third of the season? It’s been an interesting ride so far. It almost makes me exited to watch Kansas play Dallas again.

Since we won’t see another one-third break until 2016 (‘Cause God knows they wouldn’t break for the Gold Cup – you know, when they really need to), allow me to present the first – and last – 24th Minute 1/3 awards.

Goalkeeper of the 1/3 year
It’s hard to ignore Donovan Ricketts, but I’m going to. Yes, he’s only allowing a goal every third game, but he has a nice little team in front of him. Mt pick for the best keeper so far is Bouna Coundoul. He’s seen a lot of shots – far more than the other keepers near the top of the goals against table (the most useless of tables) and has been a major part of the Red Bulls turn around.

Defender of the 1/3 year
Here is where I’m going with so L.A. love. Omar Gonzalez has continued to do what he did in 2009 and has been an important part of the league’s best back-line. It’s the kid’s time.

Rookie of the 1/3 year
This year’s Omar Gonzalez is Ike Opara. He’s been the class of the rookies so far.

Coach of the 1/3 year
Yes Preki gets a look here (as does suddenly back in style Canadian Frank Yallop), but you cannot ignore what is happening in L.A. Bruce Arena continues to show why he’s one of the best North American coaches of all-time. He gets the “honour.”

Newcomer of the 1/3 season

This is a tough one as a lot of teams seem to be hanging back looking to add after the World Cup. But, I do like that Roger Torres kid in Philly.

MVP of the 1/3 season

You could maybe make an argument about Edson Buddle, but there is no player in the league that has had even close of the impact that Scarborough’s own Dwayne De Rosario has. If the season ended today, DeRo would finally get a MVP award. I get the feeling he’s going to win at the end of the year too (the fact that he would be awarded it during the run-up to the MLS Cup being held in his hometown tips the balance. Voters for these awards are human and they understand the importance of throwing the home fans a bone. So long as DeRo is in the conversation, it’s his to lose).

Soccer hate and the inevitability of death

Sorry for the lack of updates. Between my World Cup work, watching the World Cup, lack of TFC/MLS news and other paid writing work, it’s been tough. I’m hoping to get a chance to blast a few more posts off in the next few days because of the lack of games at the 7:30 a.m. start.

As I type this I’m listening to Prime Time Sports on the Fan 590. Other than a sponsored feature with Steven Brunt, where they do their best to talk about everything but soccer, the World Cup is a no show on the program, Canada’s most listened to sports radio program.

In some ways that’s OK – there is a whole world of sports out there that I am, in theory, still (a little) interested in. I know someone out there wants to hear US Open and Wimbledon talk. So, why not?

I’m glad I don’t live in a monolithic sports culture. As much as I love football I’m glad to also have the NBA, NHL and the rest out there to take my attention too. If hockey is any indication, if Canada were a soccer 24/7 country I’d probably love it less. One of the reasons I started to love soccer so much was because I had to work at it.

At any rate, I’ve been thinking about the nature of soccer hate a lot lately. On one hand, who cares? Honestly, we have to stop feeding the beast when it comes to soccer haters. But, on the other, I have one thought that I do want to share. Well, it’s more like a question.

What is it about those that dislike soccer that compels them to tell us, at every opportunity, how much they hate the sport? When someone doesn’t like basketball, for instance, they don’t typically go on five minute rants about how “boring,” “gay” and “un-Canadian” it is. No, they simply ignore it. It would be lovely if those that disliked soccer did the same thing.

Immigration patterns, 20-years of having every World Cup game available to watch live and millions of kids playing the sport have shifted attitudes in Canada towards soccer. If you are younger than 40, soccer has been part of the sporting landscape in Canada your whole life. If you are younger than 30, soccer on TV has been the norm your whole life. It isn’t going anywhere and all evidence suggests that it’s only going to get more popular.

So, the soccer haters are likely to get louder. That’s annoying, but we can warm our heats with the realization that the haters will likely be dead before we are.

Thanks for your patience...I’ll be back in full tomorrow.

It's Called Football - Guests: Carl Robinson, Joe Pavicic

Today, we're joined by former Toronto FC midfielder Carl Robinson who speaks for the first time about his career in Toronto, his thoughts on the Ali Gerba and Chris Cummins interviews, his future in football and his recovery from knee surgery.

We're also joined by the President of Toronto Croatia, Joe Pavicic, who speaks about the rich history of his club, his aspirations for the CSL to be included in the Voyageurs Cup and the future of the CSL.

We also get into the topic of the day - the invisible foul against the Americans.



Interview Only with Carl Robinson

Coming to grips with England

I'm almost ashamed to admit how much of a role Mark Wright had in my development as a football fan.

As much as many dismiss Italia 90 as the worst World Cup ever (a title we are apparently chasing now), on a personal level it was what sealed the deal for me. I liked the sport before Italia 90 and I (badly) played it whenever I could, but I had few chances to watch it.

So when the World Cup rolled around I ate it up. Every day I would run home from school to watch the games. I had watched Canada's games in 1986 and I have vague memories of the Hand of God game, but it wasn't to 1990 that it was possible to consume a tournament the way that we do now.

My big satellite dish in the back yard illegally beamed me every game live. I couldn't get enough of it. And, without another tournament to compare it with, I was blissfully unaware that what I was watching was allegedly subpar.

With Canada having cruelly taught me the unfairness of the away goals rule 18-months prior, I needed a team to cheer for. The choice was easy. My grandmother was of British heritage and I actually had family living in Bristol. I was legit! England it was.

It was probably unfortunate that the Three Lions went as deep as they did in that tournament because my new found affection for them might not have stuck. It's bad enough to support Canada. Having England as a back-up isn't the best for one's mental health.

Alas, it was a deep run -- England's best showing since '66. Watching every game closely, I developed a clear favourite amongst the players. I think it was the Canadian in me that attracted me to a no-nonsense defender that was lined up as a sweeper on occasion. No fancy forwards for this kid. Nope, my favourite player at Italia 90 -- and therefore my favourite footballer in the whole world -- was a Derby County defender. In my defence he did score against Egypt.

To this day I maintain a soft spot for hard players.

In the build-up to last week's US - England game I realized that I have also maintained a soft spot for England. That surprised me. Two major tournaments featuring Owen Hargreaves in the line-up, along with a missed Euro, had driven me away from England. I hadn't really missed them. I was a Canada man through and through -- England wasn't a passion, rather it was an interest -- so I thought that I was past the need to have a team in the field. As a mature football fan I could enjoy the World Cup for the sport's sake. I didn't need to cheer.

Logically speaking I even felt that I should be rooting for a US win Saturday. It would be better for CONCACAF and therefore better for Canada.

My head was convinced of all this at kick-off Saturday. Then Steven Gerrard scored. I'll be dammed if I didn't cheer.

Where did that come from?

Old habits die hard I guess. Or, maybe, my British blood runs stronger than I would have guessed. It's hard to say, but I do know that I find myself daydreaming of a deep English run. Doing so has helped me come to grips with the hyphenated Canadians and their car flags that take over this city every four years. I judge a little less now. There is room for a little liquid nationalism in all of us.

I know who I am and if Canada were in this -- well, if Canada were in this I would not be getting anything done because I would be obsessing on them 24/7 -- I wouldn't be giving Rooney and the boys much thought. But, they aren't. So, I might as well indulge that part of me that remains an England fan and all it entails.

You can blame my grandmother. Or Mark Wright. It's a toss-up really.

Waving Flags

I was lucky enough to get to spend 10 days in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics including having a seat in Canada Hockey Place for the Gold Medal Game. My friends and I arrived on the 19th after Canada had already endured a number of heartbreaks and were expecting to find a bit of a downcast environment. Instead, we saw the kind of patriotic fervour usually reserved for our neighbours to the south. I am usually left lamenting Canadians' propensity for putting down our country or downplaying all that makes it great so it was incredible to see everyone decked out in Canadian flags and Canadian gear unabashedly proud of our country.

Stephen Brunt made a video essay at the conclusion of the Olympics that truly captured the moment:

So what does this have to do with the World Cup? Well, what made the Vancouver Olympics so special was that it highlighted that, at the end of the day, the country of immigrants can unify around the flag. It truly was a mosaic of peoples that were wearing the flag and celebrating as one. There are always struggles integrating disparate religions, cultures, and customs but I feel like Canada does a great job welcoming them and in turn they embrace what it means to be Canadian.

And every four years they dust off their former flags and fly them proudly. I've always been a proud Canadian but I've also immersed myself in Colombian culture as well. I know that it bothers some to see it but I think it does a great job of showcasing Canada's diversity. One of the things I've noticed this year is that more and more cars are flying a Canadian flag alongside the flag of their former homeland. I'm trying to see if I can see all 32 countries flags on cars before the end of the tournament. So far I've seen:

1. England


2. Italy


3. Portugal


4. Brazil


5. Germany


6. Spain


7. Argentina


8. Paraguay


9. South Africa


10. Nigeria


11. Cameroon


12. Slovakia


13. Uruguay


14. South Korea


15. Mexico


16. Brazil


17. Chile


18. Ghana


19. Australia


20. New Zealand


21. Netherlands


22. Serbia


23. Slovenia


24. Greece


25. France

I'm pretty close. There have been some interesting pairings. Today I saw a car with German and English flags. I know that the House of Windsor is originally German but there's a bit of rough history between the two. Greece and Italy made sense in a historical sense as one empire followed the other. And of course, what Portuguese fan isn't standing by with his Brazil flag for the later rounds of the tournament. So let me open the floor: What's the strangest pairing of flags that you've seen or the rarest one?

Salary cap comes to Europe

Well, Northern Ireland anyway.

The Northern Irish league has been particularly hard hit with financial issues and has been talking about doing something dramatic for a while.

The cap will be set at "60 per cent of total allowable income generated by each club for season 2011/12, with some variations which are subject to the club’s HMRC position."

If I'm reading this correctly the cap will be tied into the individual club's income, rather than being set league wide. So, it doesn't have the equalitarian bent that North American caps have. The big clubs (as big as they can be in Northern Ireland anyway) will still have more to spend than the smaller clubs. Rather, this is just a control on spending.

If you have to have a cap, to me, this is a better way to do it.

It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.

Balls kicked in anger in Alberta

Those six games in the Nutralite Canadian Championships will be more important to this team than our games in the NASL as far as I’m concerned.
FC Edmonton manager Mel Kowalchuk

Canada's fourth fully pro team, with a salary budget of a million dollars apparently, got things started last night with a 3-0 win over the Montreal Impact reserves.

The result doesn't much matter really. Other than for the fact that it was important that Edmonton not be overmatched in the games it plays this year least they sour their potential fans. What mattered was the bigger picture.

2,106 in attendance. Two goals from a 17-year-old kid. A small, but enthusiastic, supporter's group (that grew from about six people to 12 by the end of the game!). All and all it wasn't a bad start, especially when you consider that ticket prices were set at NASL levels.

The highlighted quote above is interesting. It shows, I think, how important the Canadian championships can be to smaller clubs. For years Canadian club football had nothing to aspire to. Why bother with becoming bigger, looking to grow, when there is nowhere to go with it.

Now, there is the Voyageurs Cup. It might not seem like much to those reading from outside Canada, but its growth and increasing influence here cannot be overstated.

If I allow myself to really dream, it could even be the start of what eventually becomes a full Canadian league. The MLS clubs won't be jumping to such an endeavour anytime soon, but a collection of D2 teams feeding three big clubs? There are a lot of countries in the world with less.

Farewell Sam, we hardly knew ya...

Poor Sam. It never seemed that he got a chance under Preki. Maybe he was a bit too thoughtful, a little too tender, too educated, or something. Regardless it's clear that he doesn’t fit into a Preki lead team. That the walking giveaway machine, Amadou Sanyang, was playing in front of him said it all.

Preki likes Martin Šarićs. Sam Cronins he's less enamoured with.

It's been rumoured for several days that he's on his way to San Jose for allocation. Apparently, he's not with the team right now and all that is in the way to completing the deal is league paperwork. The allocation will likely be used to sign Canadian international Andrew Ornoch. Like Cronin, Ornoch plays in the midfield. However, he is a domestic (not that TFC is short on international/USA slots) and has a bit more offensive touch. He'll also get stuck in a bit more than Cronin, which is likely a big factor in the move.

It was hard not to like Cronin. He was clearly a smart kid and he showed at the end of last year that he had some leadership abilities. Still, it's more than a bit frustrating that TFC used its No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft to bring him here. Omar Gonzalez went third.

Of interest is that TFC is now down to just seven players that were with the team at the start of 2009. Of those only three, Dwayne De Rosario, Chad Barrett and Stefan Frei, were starters.

It's Called Football - Guest: Jason Davis

Today we're joined by Jason Davis from Match Fit USA to talk about the Yanks start to the World Cup, DC United's DP signing and why he's sick of being asked 'Has soccer finally arrived in America?'

Plus we'll also get into Sam Cronin's impending departure from Toronto FC and who will fill his role. We'll talk about why the Swiss result shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone and talk about the hurdles FC Edmonton faces as they launched their professional life last night.

World Cup wind-up: It don’t have to be pretty to work

(More) Sober Second Thoughts

Yeah, that was ugly. And, predictable. No, really.

The Swiss learned from the USA’s win over Spain last year and, at times, had seven men lined up at the back The resulting 1-0 win puts the Swiss in a wonderful position to advance from this World Cup and, likely, means that one of Brazil or Spain are not getting past the round of 16. Portugal and the Ivory Coast might have been the real winners today.

Or not. The assumption there is that Switzerland is a soft touch in the knock-out stage. That ignores the five game clean sheet streak they are currently on.

Switzerland has now gone 454 minutes without allowing a goal (The last four minutes of their round of 16 loss against Spain in ’94, four straight games in 2006 when they were eliminated without allowing and today).

The shut-out record is held by Italy at 549 minutes, which, along with their first five games of ’90, 33 minutes of 1986 round of 16 loss to France and the first 66 minutes of 1990 semi-final loss to Argentina.

Pre-game warm-up

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I might be the only person in the world cheering against South Africa. I have a thing against cheering for host nations that don’t likely deserve the spot (it’s a hockey hold out from the 1999 Memorial Cup, a reference that is going to confuse my foreign visitors).

Normally, I’d be all over the atmosphere and might be able to overlook the don’t-deserve vibe to see the celebration. Of course in this tournament every celebration sounds the damn same. I’m a bitter man. I won’t cheer for any nation that insists that blowing a cheap plastic horn is a cultural institution. I won’t point it out here, because it’s been well shown other places, but anything that’s been happening for less than 10 years isn’t part of the culture. It’s a trend. Banning plastic horns (I won’t call them vuvuzelas because that makes them sound like they are something more than a trinket) would be like banning acid wash jeans – forgotten almost immediately and a betterment to society.

An Ambivalent Canadian reports

I love how the American media covers the World Cup like it does the Super Bowl. “Howard says ‘talk is cheap’ to Slovenia win guarantee.” Meh. It’s not entirely an American phenomena, of course. The Brits like their hyperbole as well.

Whatever drives the storylines against Slovenia, I guess. God knows you would want to keep it on the football.

I do wonder, however, how “But a lot of boxers talk, too, and then they are looking up at the lights and the next thing they know they are trying to figure out how they got there” is less inflammatory than “We are going to win this match.”

Is Howard planning on punching someone?

A CONCACAF minute

Oh Honduras. It wasn’t the worst result on the whole – if it was a friendly we’d be talking about how Honduras gained some respect by playing the favoured South Americans closer than expected. But, it’s the World Cup. Three points lost is three points lost and Spain just threw everything into a loop.

Prior to the Spain – Swiss result there was a chance, an outside chance, that Honduras could advance with three points. Now, to have a chance, they will probably need to take points off Spain.

Maybe that’s not as hard as we thought though.

As for the Mexicans, now that we’ve seen all 32 teams, it must be said that they were one of the more impressive. After the opening day draw I’m not sure many would have thought that would be the case, but they remain one of the few teams that seem willing or able to attack.

Javier Aguirre says he’s still going to go 4-3-3 against France. Good.

The Kim Jong Il Times

By 이 름 / 성명

Dear Leader was thrilled to watch Ji Yun Nam score the most beautiful goal in the history of football.

Nothing else of note happened during the game.

Things not really true

The first set of games in the group stage wrapped up with Mali smacking down CONCACAF side Costa Rica 3-1 and the Czech Republic getting by Turkey 2-1 in a game that neither team really wanted to play.

But, such is life in the (fake) B World Cup – an event that Canada actually has a chance (to maybe get out of the group stage) in!

World Cup wind-up: Italy and things too predictable

(More) Sober Second Thoughts

Isn’t it great when teams reaffirm stereotypes? Italy starts slow. That’s a rule. It was a 1-1 final yesterday against Paraguay. Italy might have been a bit lucky to grab the point (although it was all Azzurri for the final 10 minutes).

I must admit I was feeling pretty cocky at the half when Paraguay – my dark horse pick – was up the goal. Anyone that says they don’t want their pre-tournament predictions to come true is lying. Thing is, at this point I’ve adopted the Paraguayans as my team for the rest of this run – after a month of defending why I thought they were going to make a run deep I started to feel it.

So, VIVA PARAGUAY! (Is that a better choice Squizz?)

What else happened yesterday? Japan over Cameroon. So, Africa is more overrated this time around than Asia. Interesting. Holland over the Danes. God could we have not got some more goals. I’m not a WAG guy, but did you see that crowd – it was like a tall, leggy blond convention. They should have just had the camera pan the stands all game, but I digress.

Pre-game warm-up

New Zealand and Slovakia are going at it as I type. It’s actually an entertaining game, although one amateur comedian on Twitter described it as the “best non-league football game of all-time.” Hey, whatever works.
Didier Drogba apparently can play today against Portugal. That’s good because Africa needs something right now. I’ll let my North Korean correspondent preview the other game.

An Ambivalent Canadian reports

Before the tournament I was involved in a Twitter discussion on whether Tim Howard was the fourth best or fifth best keeper currently playing professionally in NW England (I said fourth).

Sadly for the English none of the three I ranked above are eligible for the Three Lions.

And that’s the thing. Howard was the best keeper on the pitch on Saturday and there is lies the difference between one point and none for the US of A.

There is a fair assessment, I think, of American internationals. Whereas in other parts of the world the international game is a distraction, something that falls behind club football in importance, it’s the biggest thing for Americans (that’s not to say it isn’t important in other places, just ever so slightly more so to the USA). The reason for that is that for many years international football was all they had – professionally football in the USA has been a tad bit scattered through the years. The end result is that players raise their game when they pull on the stars and stripes. So, Howard might as well rank above Shay Given in the NW England all-star line-up.

I do think Howard is the key to the Americans chances, even more than Landon Donovan. The USA has not really generated any offense at the World Cup level, pretty much ever. Slovenia is not going to give up many chances, so the States will need to grind one out.

A CONCACAF minute

Squizz will be happy to know that Reinaldo Rueda and David Suazo are doubtful for Honduras. Meanwhile, Mexico is busy practicing its volleyball skills in wake of the news that Thierry Henry is likely to start Friday.

The Kim Jong Il Times

By 이 름 / 성명

Brazil failed to arrive at the field today after their futile attempts to have the glorious North Korea eliminated from the tournament. North Korea is expected to bring glory to Kim Jong Il with an easy win over no-hopers Brazil.

Manager Jong-Hun Kim told reporters to expect much.

“Thanks to Dear Leader we are magnificent and unbeatable. Glory to all of the industrious people of North Korea. The victory shall be one of rejoice for the workers of the north.”

Brazil cowardly refused to speak to reporters. However, one player did say that he feared the attack of North Korea.

Speaking off the record the player said that he would likely “make water in his shorts” when the North Koreans attacked.

Things not really true

It was a tragic day in Ecuador for Canadian fans. Although hopes were high, the Russians revenged a hockey quarterfinal loss with a definitive 3-0 win over the Canucks. Rob Friend hit the post though, so many of the more positive thinking Voyagers are looking forward to Canada’s next game against Latvia.

The Latvians got by Iraq 1-0, so the game against Canada will be a must win.

Games simulated here.

BigSoccer v Ollie Irish

I know not everyone here cares about the politics of soccer blogging. I wish I didn't have to. However, I did want to provide (now former) BigSoccer blogger Ollie Irish with a bit of exposure tonight. For those not familiar he writes the wonderfully irreverent Who Ate All the Pies, which mostly covers the EPL. He was also, as indicated, blogging for BigSoccer as their feature British writer.

BigSoccer can be a wonderful resource. It can also be a cesspool of stupidity and hate. However, I'm not going to get into my personal baggage with the owners of the site. I've had some good dealings, in particular with Huss, and some dealings that weren't as positive. For instance Jesse and I didn't see eye to eye as it relates to how a certain someone was portraying me on their front page (we're all bored of that battle, so we'll leave it at that).

Jesse and Ollie didn't see eye to eye today either. Earlier today a blog entry by Ollie appeared on the front page. It didn't stay up long, but I was able to capture it before it was taken down. It deals with how Ollie feels he was treated by BigSoccer. As a freelance writer myself, I understand how important your reputation is. That's why I defend myself when others have attacked me, even when it seems pointless to do so.

It's with that in mind that I'm publishing Ollie Irish's blog posting in its entirety. I feel readers should know why he isn’t writing on BigSoccer anymore. When I was approached by BigSoccer a while back to blog on their planned .ca extension I was told that I was expected to write about three to five postings a week and that they would negotiate money with me down the line (they offered me a 20% discount at the BigSoccer store, which was a tad bit lower than my typical fee). After a few back and forths, I actually agreed to write for them, for free, provided that I was placed on the .com front page (I felt that it would be worth it to get a Canadian voice on the site). Initially they were positive about the idea. The last correspondence I received from Jesse was this: “Regarding our conversations, I think it's fair to say I need to talk to Bill and we all need to find a way to shake hands and make peace. Let me reach out to him. Fair?”

I never heard back. I’ll let others judge why that was.

Regarding the Ollie’s entry, to be fair, I will post any response I receive from BigSoccer unedited. They know how to get a hold of me.
Here is the Ollie Irish piece:

Breaking-up news! I just got an email from BigSoccer founder Jesse Hertzberg, the man who was good enough to give me a platform on BigSoc. Here it is:

"Since you aren't man enough to respond to my last email, and since then you stopped posting, allow me the pleasure of tell [sic] you to go ******** yourself. Thanks, I feel better.

"As I recall, you begged me for work. You gave me your word you'd be around thru the WC. As a result, I DIDNT' [sic] HIRE SOMEONE IN ENGLAND. I've been paying you on time and giving you home page exposure. 1.5mm uniques last week. You haven't kept up your end of the bargain. And the big day of the year, when I want and need an English perspective, you aren't anywhere to be found.

"Bridge burnt. You are no professional.

"When given a choice between believing a man's word, or learning from his past actions, I should have known better."

Here's my open reply to Jesse, just to show how unprofessional I really am:

J,

Man enough? I've just been INCREDIBLY busy is all. As you may have noticed, there's some big tournament on.

I got offered a couple more World Cup-related gigs (So there is a world outside BigSoc? Yay!) not so long ago, both of which pay 30x times (yes, I did mean to type that zero) better than BigSoccer and literally I couldn't afford to turn down either. Like, literally as in an 'I can't pay my rent this month' sort of way.

But I have busted a gut to keep up my end for you.

I've written 10 posts for you so far in June, which I'm pretty sure is one every working day this month, as you requested and as I promised I would give you.

I had prepped an England- USA post to go up today (I was working ALL weekend on other stuff), then I got your lovely email, so... you do the maths (yes, I did mean to put an s on the end of math, because that's how we do it Limeyside). Let's look at the numbers, because I know from this and previous correspondence how much you love the numbers...

Bill A: 10 posts in June so far. Dan L: 10 posts in June so far. Me: 10 posts in June so far.

Ow, ooo, so this is what it feels like to ******** myself.

J, you may not understand what it feels like to be in a position where you can't pay your rent, as your approach to soccer seems to be all business - look at the BigSoc Shop, people! - and I'm sure you're doing quite well enough out of it.

Anyhow, I can't remember the last time you emailed to say 'Hey, I really liked that post Ollie.' Or, I suspect you never really read my stuff anyway.

Maybe if you paid me a wee bit more than £7 per post (one post = roughly 300-400 words), I would have been able to turn down more work and be your English bitch exclusively. But your notion of 'hiring' someone, for that money, in this internet age, did give me a laugh. I wasn't holding out for a gold watch engraved with a message from Bill and Dan, J. There is no contract, just my word (which I believe I've kept so far). You get more from me than I've got from you, trust me.

* * * * *

Back story break: Last year I found myself in a position where, with regret, I couldn't continue posting for BigSoc. Then, a few months later I found myself in a position - thanks, global recession! - where some other freelance work went away (this is how freelancing works) and so asked Jesse if I could restart my blog. Perhaps begged is too strong a word but that's moot; J said yes.

* * * * *

Okay, back to the present...

As for replacing me, please don't fret. Football bloggers are everyfrickingwhere. You make it sound like the hiring process involves three interviews and an induction week. You could have another English guy posting good stuff by this time tomorrow. Earlier even. Maybe if you cared more about the actual game than shirt sales through the BigSoc shop.

I don't know why I'm being quite so defensive anyway. It's not like I haven't been around (see the maths bit above).

Have a nice day.
Ollie

PS. Hearty thanks to all those BigSoc readers who welcomed me warmly and were mostly way too kind thereafter. You're a lovely bunch. I mean that and say it without a hint of ingratiation. Cheers.

PPS. This World Cup sucks so far, huh. Unless you're German.

Edit: BigSoccer's Jesse Hertzberg's response - "in my apology to Ollie I offered no excuses, and I won't offer one to you or your readers. I offered Ollie an unqualified apology and I'm glad he accepted it. Next time I'm in London, I'm certain I'll be emptying my wallet and buying a lot of beer. We pulled his post off of our site, just like he pulled his post off of Pies.

DC United gets a DP

Branko Boskovic has signed with DC United. This is a bit out of the blue. He's just 29 and a current international so it's promising.

He's been with Rapid Vienna since 2007.

Interesting. More as it develops.

Monnnney...

The MLS salary list was released today. Here are the TFC numbers:

TFC Attakora-Gyan Nana D $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC Barrett Chad F $ 2 05,000.00 $ 212,500.00
TFC Cann Adrian D $ 5 6,592.00 $ 65,342.00
TFC Conway Jon GK $ 6 0,000.00 $ 69,833.33
TFC Cronin Sam M $ 5 7,500.00 $ 105,500.00
TFC de Guzman Julian M $ 1 ,670,796.00 $ 1,717,546.00
TFC DeRosario Dwayne M $ 3 75,000.00 $ 443,750.00
TFC Frei Stefan GK $ 8 0,000.00 $ 135,000.00
TFC Gala Gabe D-M $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC Garcia Nick D $ 1 90,000.00 $ 198,750.00
TFC Gargan Daniel M $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC Gomez Emmanuel D $ 4 0,000.00 $ 45,600.00
TFC Harden Ty D $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC Herold Zachary D $ 6 0,000.00 $ 109,166.67
TFC Hscanovics Raivis D $ 1 14,000.00 $ 120,250.00
TFC Ibrahim Fuad F $ 1 00,000.00 $ 133,000.00
TFC Joseph Nane M $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC Kocic Milos GK $ 4 0,000.00 $ 40,000.00
TFC LaBrocca Nick M $ 7 7,000.00 $ 79,500.00
TFC Peterson Jacob F $ 1 25,000.00 $ 143,000.00
TFC Sanyang Amadou D $ 4 0,000.00 $ 46,555.55
TFC Saric Martin M $ 9 0,000.00 $ 90,000.00
TFC Usanov Maxim D $ 9 6,000.00 $ 102,250.00
TFC White O'Brian F $ 1 05,000.00 $ 182,000.00

The rest

Silly season in TFC land

Does MLS have a silly season? If so, we're in it. With a couple weeks off all MLS fans have to do is to make up look for transfer rumours. We all know about Henry to NYRB and all that, but what about TFC?

How's Canadian (sort of) international Andrew Ornoch sound? Uninspiring, you say. Well, he is playing (sort of) in Holland right now, so he can't be that bad.

I've heard this one a couple times through the past few months. Ornoch isn't really playing in Holland and wants to get back on the pitch. He's also a Canadian and it's a rule that every player to ever feature for the Canadian national team has to be rumoured to be signed by TFC at one point or another.

Still, there is some logic here. Ornoch is a creative midfielder, something TFC has been missing since a certain someone went back to Honduras.

The question is how TFC can afford to add a player. The answer might be to sell a player that isn't playing. I'm hearing rumours of that nature as well, but they do sort of come off as something dreamed up at 3 a.m. on the public Red Patch forum.

So, I don't want to say who was suggested to me to be going to San Jose for allocation, but I will say that his name rhymes with Bam Dronin.

Take it for what it's worth.

World Cup wind-up: The Adequate Game

(More) Sober Second Thoughts

Ok, so let’s be honest. The football has been horrible, hasn’t it?
Terrible, defensive stuff. If it wasn’t the World Cup we’d probably turn the TV off at half-time and, I don’t know, spend time with our families or something. Maybe it’s the ball, maybe it’s tactics, who knows, but man...

Except the Germans, of course. Germany looked positively Dutch-like (which was good because the Dutch looked German-like). I generally cheer against the Germans because they typically play like robots, but if the form stands I might just be OK with a long run by the Fatherland (besides, the kids on the German team are too young to remember the wall let alone the war, so we can probably cheer for them without too much guilt). That said when did Klose become Chad Barrett?

We still haven’t seen the Spaniards or the Brazilians so maybe there is hope (on the other hand Italy has yet to grace us, so it might take a turn for the worse first). Let’s hope because when the damn horns finally force me to hurl myself from my 18th floor window I don’t want this to be the last football I see.

An Ambivalent Canadian reports

So, that’s six World Cup games with one real goal then. Yes, I know we’re supposed to look at the positives of the U.S’s 1-1 draw with England – Gooch, where was Rooney, Landon looking OK, Howard, Howard and Howard – but I can`t get past the fact that the Yanks are still struggling to generate offense. England was the better side (not by much, but they were) and before the Green Gaffe ™ they looked to be cruising. Slovenia had another clean sheet by the way. Lose that one and it could all but be over for the Americans. It’s a cruel game, isn’t it?

A CONCACAF Minute
As likely the only person in the world (outside of Honduras and Chile) looking forward to the Honduras – Chile game in two days time, news on our Central American friends is lacking. However, before you count them out, it should be pointed out that Honduras has won the last two against Chilie and has scored in every game it’s played against them.

VIVA HONDURAS! (Right Squizz)

It seems like six years ago that Mexico failed to get the win in the opener against South Africa. When you consider all that was going on around that match, the draw was likely a good result and Uruguay and France sure as hell didn’t give us much reason to worry about Mexico’s path to its typical round of 16 exit.


The Kim Jong Il Times

(translated by 24th Minute correspondent 이 름 / 성명)

Group B round up –
Much shame was bestowed upon Asian people Saturday and the football team representing the illegitimate bastards of the south was forced to forfeit its game against Greece.

After receiving a record seventh straight red card the poor mores of the south were shown to all. Without the proper amount of players to finish the match the bastards were told to leave.

Lacking morals they refused, fighting the referees and fans. The people of South Africa were fullof tears as the ungrateful bastards abused all, taking particular note of old women and young children.

Tomorrow the glory of the North are favourite to honour Kim Jong II with a masterful display against minnows Brazil.

Things not really true

Canadian fans flocked to Ecuador for the World B Cup and the Canucks looked to advance from a tough group G against Russia, Iraq and Latvia. Canadian action doesn’t get underway until the last game tomorrow, when they open play against the Russians.
Lots of action so far though as the next best look to bring glory-ish home.

In Group A Tunisia surprised Norway with a well earned 1-0 win, while Israel won a thriller 4-3 over Venezuela.
Group B saw lots of goals with Bulgaria smoking the Saudis 4-1 and Egypt getting by Panama 4-3.

The hosts got off to a flying start in Group C by beating African side Burkina Faso 4-0. Sweden slept through a 1-0 win over China.

Ukraine was full measure for its 2-0 win over Benin, while Iran upset Romania 3-1 as Group D kicked off.

There was joy in the streets of Scotland as the Scots finally got a win in the (fake) Finals, beating Bahrain 2-1. It took five days for the competition’s first draw, but Croatia and Gabon get it, finishing 1-1. The Scots lead Group E!

Group F action saw Colombia beat El Salvador 2-1 and Peru draw with the despondent Irish 2-2. No hand balls though.

Tomorrow Canada v Russia in a re-match of ’86. The Voyageurs are pumped. Also, Iraq versus Latvia.

Games simulated here.

Hate to say I told you so

Ahh who am I kidding, I don't hate it at all.

The 1-1 draw in today's U.S.A.-England match hardly comes as a surprise. Most of the Americans ply their trade in Europe, and the majority have played in England. Every single player on that U.S. squad understood what they needed to do to get a result. England, meanwhile, never seems to be able to find a consistent rhythm for 90 minutes, and they haven't looked great in their warm-up matches. A draw always seemed the likeliest scenario.

What surprised me was the mass consensus amongst experts that England would be far superior, that they'd run away with the match. I almost believed it for the better part of the first half. England looked like the talented team that they are. They looked comfortable, hardly burdened by the pressure of an entire nation. The U.S. on the other hand looked overwhelmed. That was until Robert Green’s gaffe. Suddenly, things changed, and the match played out as I expected. England was shaken, and could never quite get their rhythm back, and the U.S. gained confidence as the game went along.

Although this result means little, some of that pressure has likely returned to the English squad and could carry over into their forthcoming matches. For all the talk of the Yanks having trouble with Slovenia, maybe it’s the Three Lions who best beware.





You’ll have to excuse me for my self-promotion, but I’ve got to take a second here to pimp myself.

I’ve entered a contest for The Score television network called Gillette Drafted. They’re searching for their next sportscaster to hire.

As part of my campaign, to you, loyal readers of the24thminute, I promise to vouch for increased MLS coverage if chosen.

So join the armada, enter the facebook group:

Draft Timko

Watch the video (as many times as you see fit).

YouTube

In fact, if you can correctly identify every sports jersey, shirt or sweatshirt in the video, I’ll hook you up with my sister’s phone number. But you only get one guess for the complete list.

Thanks for your support soccer fans!

Cheers,

Brandon

England - USA live blog

Join me at The Score for a live blog of today's gam

It's Called Football - Guests: Ron Davidson and Rudi Schuller

On today's show we talk about the final game before the MLS World Cup break and discuss what the hell is going on Seattle after another loss.

Then, we break down the South African opener and talk about the mob scene at our local pub. Truly amazing - 300 South Africans singing and dancing in a pub in Toronto.

We're then joined by Hamilton Croatia coach Ron Davidson to talk about their strong start to the season and talks about their system of development and why it's not just about winning trophies.

Finally, we're joined by Rudi Schuller, who is in South Africa, to set the scene - from security, to ticket prices, to why he has changed his mind on vuvuzela's.

The things Google will tell you

A Google ad that appeared on my site earlier today:

Blue Jays™ Baseball
Soccer is a beautiful game, but so is baseball. Get your tickets today
toronto.bluejays.mlb.com

As someone that can remember when a Blue Jays ticket was a scarce commodity, it is still surprising to see how far they have fallen in the Toronto market.

If you would have told someone in Toronto in 1993 that the Blue Jays would be paying for ads targeting soccer fans in an effort to sell tickets in 2010...well...

Exclusive: Preview of ESPN's planned World Cup coverage

Did I stutter?

Lord Bob of the Maple Leaf Forever thinks the Vancouver Whitecaps were screwed last night. At the three minute mark you will see the Carolina Railhawks Etienne Barbara take a PK. He hesitates in the run up. Lord Bob says doing do was in violation of FIFA's new anti-paradinha rule. To me, it looks like a kick that is still within the rules.

My understanding of the rule change was that it was only preventing players from stopping over the ball -- a player must take the kick in one motion, but hesitations/stutters are allowed so long as a complete stop wasn't made. It then becomes a judgement call for the officials. A soccer version of baseball's balk rule (and we all know how consistently that's called).

Any officials out there that would care to chime in? Again, the kick starts at 3:00.

24th Minute league at The Score

Join me in the 24th Minute league at The Score's $100,000 soccer challenge.

Password is Dichio

Where Am I and What Am I Doing Here?

If you're reading this you're either wondering "who's the new guy", "what the heck is he doing here", or some combination of the two. To be fair, when Duane asked me to contribute to the blog during the World Cup I was probably just as surprised as the rest of you. What am I here to contribute? "Colour". What does that mean? Well, I'll guess that on a blog that tends to focus on Sober Second Thoughts, Duane wanted to add a little Drunken Bias for the World Cup. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First, an introduction.

The reason some might be surprised to see me writing for this site is that I run SB Nation's Toronto Maple Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets so my writing tends to be focused on Canada's official winter sport. Right about now, I should probably try to establish my bona fides. As the eldest son of Colombian immigrants to say I was born with a soccer ball at my feet might be an exaggeration but only by about a year. Since I could walk I've played at least some form of soccer and have spent every four summers living and dying with the World Cup. My dad and I still have every game of France 98 hidden from my mom lest she throw them out, many an early alarm was set during the summer of 2002, and long lunches were the norm four years ago.

One of the reasons that I'm glad to be contributing is that I've always enjoyed this blog. Aside from the reasoned reflections - in the comments as much as the posts - on Toronto FC (season ticket-holder since day one) Duane's also written posts on the international game that speak to me personally. I'm a first generation Canadian that switches seamlessly from hockey to soccer. I share Duane's desire that Canadians would support Canada. Few things have bothered me as much as having to endure first or second generation Canadians with Honduran, Jamaican, or Chilean backgrounds cheering against Canada because in our family it has never been a question of split loyalties. The 2000 Gold Cup was celebrated loudly and proudly.

But what about South Africa 2010? Well, I'm probably in the same boat as most of you folks. The PVR will be fired up all day while I count the hours down to 5pm. Since Canada and Colombia have graciously decided to cede the international spotlight I'm pulling for a couple of proxies. It should probably be weird for a South American to cheer on Spain but as a Liverpool fan I fell hard for Fernando Torres plus La Gran Colombia began their decline as a colonial master. We owe them. And of course, as any good Canadian who grew up only being able to watch English football, I am cheering for the Empire.

The beauty of a World Cup lies in enjoying the festival of futbol. While those two teams will garner most of my attention I'll drink in as much soccer as I can over the next four weeks and share my thoughts here with you folks. Once the tournament begins I tend to take every game as it comes in terms of rooting interest. I seek only enough beautiful soccer to carry me over until the next World Cup. Well, that and early exits for the Axis of Footballing Evil: Italy, Portugal, and Argentina. Give me those two things and I'll have a great summer.

Not your daddy's 'Caps strip

Here they are:



And:



Not sure this isn't better:

Why I hate Canadians*

Sorin Mihailovici is in my good books this morning. The OMNI TV producer was on CBC Newsworld this morning being interviewed as a "World Cup superfan." Edmonton's Rick Murti, a NDP candidate of all things, was with him. Both men are going to South Africa and this was a perfect colour story for the morning news.

Murti, who coaches soccer, serves on committees with the aim of keeping Edmonton safe, and is probably a very nice man, sat there decked out in Spain gear, with a France/Portugal scarf from 2006 around his neck. So, a typical Canadian then -- showin' his support for a big Euro side.

Mihailovici, however, was wearing a Canada strip. This was actually deemed noteworthy enough that the interviewer mentioned it. He said that he would be "proudly" wearing Canada's colours at the World Cup. Even though they, you know, suck (he didn't say that, but you know many were thinking it).

I normally wouldn't point this out, but it's relevant here. Of the two men, Mihailovici was the one with the accent. He didn't say where he got that accent because, well, he was too busy telling us that he was proudly wearing a Canada strip.

I point this out because it runs counter to the perspective of many Canada fans. It's not us hosers that are the problem. It's those damn ex-pats that can't let go. In reality, in my experience, it's always been the opposite. The men with accents have always seemed more willing to support Canada. It's the born and bred that struggle with the idea -- but, but, but...we suck!

Last fall I met an older gentleman at Scallywags in Toronto. A Canadian for 50 years, but British by birth, he was there as part of the Chelsea Supporter's Club. We got to talking about the growth of the sport in Canada. In spite of the accent this was a man that was very informed about the situation here. Yes, he cheered for England, but he also supported Canada. He said that he very much wanted Canada to do well and that he wasn't sure how he'd react if Canada played England. His only complaint with Canadian soccer was that he felt that the CSA hadn't done enough to promote itself to people like him. He said that there were Canada games that took place in the area that he wasn't even aware of until it was too late to make plans to go -- "A lot of guys would have enjoyed going out to watch Canada play, but they seemed to want to keep the games a secret."

The point of this is that we sell ourselves short when it comes to the possibility of Canadians supporting Canada. Even with the changes at the CSA there is still a reluctance to stop pandering to foreign support. Even the August 20 game against Jamaica -- universally accepted as the best turn out by involved Canadian fans ever -- had elements of that thinking. A 200 minute version of the Jamaican national anthem before the game, a refusal to create a true supporter's section (Jamaican fans were allowed to buy tickets among the hardcore Canadian support), and the fact that the game was in Toronto in the first place, all spoke to the underlying belief that you can't make Canadians care about Canada.

It's all bull you-know-what.

It was a good thing that I saw Mihailovici on my TV this morning as it calmed me down a bit after listening to the authors of At The Rails last night on The Fan 590. They were brought on as World Cup experts (based on their three months of soccer blogging and the fact that they work in mainstream media as sports reporters for big sports -- and thus are legitimate, I guess). They were asked by host Roger Lajoie about the state of Canadian soccer. In an incredible condescending tone (Lajoie said "you're smiling" to them after he asked) they proceeded to give the most surface, clichéd and dated answer possible. In short, they conveyed the opinion that Canada was hopeless and that there was no point in even paying attention.

One guy even said that Canadians were "used to cheering for Canadians that play for other countries," bringing up Owen Hargreaves as an example. They obviously don't read the Voyageurs forum.

If Mihailovici represented the untapped possibility of Canadian soccer support, the At The Rails crew represented the roadblocks. If you read their blog there is literally no domestic content on it. It's all EPL and international football. Blogging is a personal thing and there are no rules about what you should and should not do, but I have to wonder what value another EPL blog brings -- especially one that's written by an AP stringer who covers the Raptors and Leafs.

Call it Eurosnobbery if you like, but I prefer to call it ignorance. Unfortunately it’s ignorance that, by virtue of a press pass, has access to an hour of airtime on the most listened to sports radio station in the country.

* Title borrowed from the wonderful Will Ferguson book of the same name (which, ironically, is actually a love letter to Canada and needs to be read by every Canadian).