jpg75 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 May as well start this thread since the game is tomorrow night. Open practice is tonight with tickets available at $15 a pop for the public (STH's were able to buy for $10) - bit of a gouging if you ask me, they should have made it free. Anyways, the grass has been laid and it's a matter of playing the game now. By the way, the match is being shown on GolTV live at 7:30pm. http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20090806&content_id=6276150&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280 http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Soccer/article/676995 I love this comment on the Star article in regards to Real Madrid only playing on grass, quote by Bob Hunter of MLSE: "They only play on grass" Diving hurts more on artificial turf. Submitted by Clarty Breeks at 7:11 AM Thursday, August 06 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squizz1402635577 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I'd like to take bets on what percentage of the crowd is comprised of Real Madrid fans with no interest in TFC and/or screaming, swooning women hoping to get a glimpse of Ronaldo. Over/under is 60%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Real Madrid has most certainly played official matches on artificial surfaces. After checking I see they played a Cup game vs. 3rd tier Playas de Jandia, on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, on October 10, 2001 http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2001/10/11/futbol/1002753408.html And the B team regularly plays on the stuff, meaning a lot of the youth players coming up have seen it, and a lot. Another thing is whether the current coach demanded grass, or the deal was signed with MLS requiring grass, here and now. But let´s not make a generalization out of their preference. The only 1st division team in Spain that has refused to play an official match on artificial surfaces, and had the right to do so under an odd Spanish rule giving preference to the higher division side, was Deportivo de la Coruña. They refused to play 2B Hospitalet in a Cup game, the local side refused to change venues even though the federation changed it to the Mini Estadi of Barça, and the game was forfeited. All other major sides in Spain have seen plastic and competed on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Wow, making people PAY to watch an open practice. Shameful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKottonmouthed1555362307 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I think this freindly could back fire on TFC. think about it we have a possible 3 players who could get a real look at from European teams if they impress against Real Madrid. It could spell the end of Marvel Wynne, Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin. All three players would jump at a chance in Europe and there is no better showcase than playing Real Madrid. It will be intresting to see if this friendly will open the eyes of some Eurp leagues to the like of Wynne, Frei, and Cronin all who are young and have the potential to be integral parts of a low tier team in Europe. Not sure if this will be good or bad exporsure for TFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 ^ The only one of those three that i'd miss is Frei. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 ^ Doubt very much that Euro scouts would be salivating over Cronin at this stage in his career. TFC's friendly could also backfire if they were absolutely crushed and humiliated at home by RM, which, going by the last couple of TFC appearances, could be a real possibility Fri night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Daniel Wow, making people PAY to watch an open practice. Shameful. But yet, 18,000 fans were at Madrid's open practice. Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/08/06/realmadrid-toronto.html [:0] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regs Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Haven't seen this posted anywhere else: High Def presentation Shaw: 318 4PM-8PM Pacific (it's a sports HD PPV channel but the game is actually free) Shaw Direct: 267 Bell: 390 Rogers: 501 Cogeco: 734 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the biologist Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 ^ (TFC07) Still shameful. Gas prices rise up everytime but yet, everybody use their car. Oil companies' behaviour still ain't less shameful because of that. You really want to grow up the popularity of TFC & soccer in general ? So why don't you make it free ? There are no GOOD reasons (besides $$$). It's TFC's behaviour that makes us [:0] . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Sitting next to my very good friend Dick Howard he shook his head in total disbelief,he said have you ever seen this,looking out the media box on the field, and there they were a sold out stadium of soccer kids and screaming and having a great time. Dick I said this is surreal,I never ever expected to see this in my life time.Going back to the media confrenece it was a dandy and again mindboggling. Never seen so many cameras and media people. The place was filled to the rafters.Yes the coach said they would play attacking soccer and that I know,hey there are six Dutch players on that team and they don't know any better. Yes He was aware of TFC and he watched several games.Jim Brennan said he was in awe and said that he was very aware of the competition and said the boys were ready. I was sitting in the front and when Jim exchanged his jersey with the Captain of the Real team. I stood up to take some pictures and a choir of voices screamed hey sit down. All the TV cameras were behind me. It was a marvelous experience and upon leaving the practise there were hundreds of kids waiting for the players to leave, These kids and very many were girls.They were looking very smart and very excited as well,never stopped screaming during the practice. Christian put on a show as did all players.Robben scored some great goals,five if I recall.The grass looked great and that bounce was there and not that crazy hop. I am sure that all these RM guys will go home believing that we are just as crazy about soccer as back home. An enormous spectable and only soccer can do this said my other neighbour Alfons Rubbens of Inside Soccer Magazine. This was one of the most remarkable soccer evenings ever in my life and I realized that this is here to stay and this thing is now unstoppable. I really wondered what went through the minds of all these media guys. Kelly was there so was Lance and Gerry,no Craig,I wondered about that.At the end of the practise about 20 practise balls were kicked into the stands and I wondered who would pay for this,were they TFC property,anyway it was one great ending and the players had a great time doing this. What a night and what a day to look forward to. Oh yes I got my credentials since my radio producer spoke to Michelle and I was in,still very strange. Yap six Dutchmen and who shall I root for,let you know after the game. The ultimate winner is soccer at it's finest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by TheKottonmouthed It could spell the end of Marvel Wynne, Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin... I suspect playing for the USMNT would have been more important from that standpoint for Wynne and Cronin and MLS performances have not gone completely unnoticed in Frei's case because competitive games tend to be taken more seriously than friendlies. All three of them could play at a reasonably high level in Europe without any problem at all (although Wynne would probably be limited to northern European countries where there is less emphasis on possession and more on athleticism). It's just a question of whether the big money deal that is too good to turn down ever materializes like it did with Mo Edu or whether top European clubs will make a move to try get them on a Bosman at the end of their current contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Absolutely shocked that 18,000 people jammed BMO to watch Real Madrid frickin' practice. As i was telling my pops, the only reason i'd have gone is to observe their training methods...But if as John says it was mostly screaming young girls, then it's not too surprising [V] Thanks for the heads up Regs, i'll be watching in HD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdroze Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I can believe getting 18K people out to a Real Madrid practice, considering the high price and relatively low availability of tickets to the game itself. What I can't quite believe is that GolTV would actually televise a practice, and pay for a whole crew and have commentators gabbing away for half an hour about nothing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuscan Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Well... Barca destroyed Seattle 4-0, and Seattle is a solid side in MLS (something that can't quite be said about TFC at this point). I can forsee at least 4-0 or maybe 5-1, but let's all just hope it isn't something disgraceful like 6-0 or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by TheKottonmouthed I think this freindly could back fire on TFC. think about it we have a possible 3 players who could get a real look at from European teams if they impress against Real Madrid. It could spell the end of Marvel Wynne, Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin. All three players would jump at a chance in Europe and there is no better showcase than playing Real Madrid. It will be intresting to see if this friendly will open the eyes of some Eurp leagues to the like of Wynne, Frei, and Cronin all who are young and have the potential to be integral parts of a low tier team in Europe. Not sure if this will be good or bad exporsure for TFC. If someone gave TFC a bag of uninflated balls for Marvell Wynne, it would be a miracle. That's overly harsh perhaps but that man is not of high enough quality to warrant a look by a global superclub. In fact, none of those 3 really are good enough. Frei is the only one I'd attach the MAYBE tag on. Cronin is good enough to one day play in Europe but not for Madrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by VPjr If someone gave TFC a bag of uninflated balls for Marvell Wynne, it would be a miracle. That's overly harsh perhaps but that man is not of high enough quality to warrant a look by a global superclub. In fact, none of those 3 really are good enough. Frei is the only one I'd attach the MAYBE tag on. Cronin is good enough to one day play in Europe but not for Madrid. I agree. I'd like to see how Cronin does without Robinson there before I rate his abilities. quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard I suspect playing for the USMNT would have been more important from that standpoint for Wynne and Cronin and MLS performances have not gone completely unnoticed in Frei's case because competitive games tend to be taken more seriously than friendlies. All three of them could play at a reasonably high level in Europe without any problem at all (although Wynne would probably be limited to northern European countries where there is less emphasis on possession and more on athleticism). It's just a question of whether the big money deal that is too good to turn down ever materializes like it did with Mo Edu or whether top European clubs will make a move to try get them on a Bosman at the end of their current contracts. When you say nothern European countries, do you mean Norway? I could see that, but not much more. The thing with Wynne though is that he's still just 23 (it's hard to believe that he's a year younger than O'Brian White!), so he has time to improve. However at his current state, I don't think he'd have too many options in Europe unless a team is willing to gamble on his potential alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Think some of you guys watch the Premiership and serie A and assume everything is like that over in Europe and have no idea how big a step down some of the also rans in smaller top tier European leagues can be in comparison to that. Marvel Wynne would have plenty of options in Europe. I suspect he'd get a regular game in the SPL no problem at all. He just wouldn't get the big money move to a Champions League qualifier like Mo Edu did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Tuscan Well... Barca destroyed Seattle 4-0, and Seattle is a solid side in MLS (something that can't quite be said about TFC at this point). I can forsee at least 4-0 or maybe 5-1, but let's all just hope it isn't something disgraceful like 6-0 or worse. The scoreline is whatever Madrid wants it to be, in my opinion. TFC has very little to say in the matter. If Madrid's stars have their legs and feel like pumping in some goals, they'll score 4 or 5 easily. The only factor is Frei. If he absolutely stands on his head, maybe he keeps it respectable. If Madrid wants to play the role of polite visitor, they'll keep the scoreline lower and possibly give TFC some room to try to create some chances of their own. If they choose to pressure the ball with some tenacity, TFC won't enjoy much of the ball. Barca spanked Seattle playing at a very pedestrian pace except for a few burst here and there. I fully expect the same will happen tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard Think some of you guys watch the Premiership and serie A and assume everything is like that over in Europe and have no idea how big a step down some of the also rans in smaller top tier European leagues can be in comparison to that. Marvel Wynne would have plenty of options in Europe. I suspect he'd get a regular game in the SPL no problem at all. He just wouldn't get the big money move to a Champions League qualifier like Mo Edu did. Yeah, I could see Scotland too outside of the big two. And maybe the bottom half of Denmark or Belgium. I think he'd have problems finding regular playing time in Germany. I was just curious as to where exactly you put his talent level. The thing with Wynne is that his crossing is spotty at best, positioning can be nightmarish sometimes and seems to make some simple errors (I think letting the ball skip over his foot to go for a throw against PRI would be one of those). But as I said, if a team feels they can work out the kinks, he's still young enough that he could become half decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I haven't watched any of the traditional sports channels lately, but has Real Madrids presence in Toronto gotten any play on the mainstream networks and sports news shows like Sportsnet Connected and Sportscentre? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 ^ Yes. Gerry Dobson covered the press conference for Sportsnet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I think Gerry asked the first question and if I recall something along the lines to the RM coach what do you know about TFC as a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolbertos Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 5 - 0 Portugal..err..I mean 5 - 0 for RM . This will be scrimmage for RM and depending on how serious they take the game, could be higher. I take it MLSE is probably just happy getting money out of this friendly and nothing more, rather than investing in a proper future for TFC to make it more competitive with "sexy" futbol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portuguese Sensation Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Mainstream media has been all over this - from coverage of Real Madrid arriving in Toronto's airport to the practice and I'd suspect tonight it will be heavy coverage as well. I just hope TFC can be competitive and play some exciting soccer - if they get humiliated, it doesn't really give the casual fan any incentive to consider wanting to watch any future non-exhibition TFC games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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