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Toronto FC vs. Cruz Azul - Aug 17th


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Pity about the late Cruz Azul goal, might end up costing TFC 1st place in the group, but otherwise a pretty impressive performance from Toronto's B+ Team tonight. The Mexicans got more than they bargained for and it showed. Well done all around.

Have to say The Guz is looking more and more his old self. Still some dodgy bits here and there, especially with the passing when he sometimes seems all alone on his own page but is beginning to show signs of earning at least some of that DP money he's collecting.

Thought DeRo had a great match and if Attakora and Cann don't triple their wages during the off-season they're respective agents are useless.

Should also mention I was pleasantly surprised by the book-ends out there on defense. Surprised as much by their not becoming a liability as I was with their individual contributions. Everyone knows Hscanovics has some quality to offer going forward (at the expense of defending qualities) and Usanov can bring the fear of Gawd to the pitch (at the expense of other critical defending qualities) but the pair found their role tonight and added to the sum of TFC's positive performance. Good for them.

Really growing on this tournament. Am learning to quite enjoy the helter-skelter which comes with stirring all the various CONCACRAP leagues together. The Cruz Azul we saw tonight is not going to be the Cruz Azul we'll see towards the end of the group stage and that's a wonderful thing.

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Very good game by TFC. Got the 3 points and looked good doing it. Playing Cruz Azul now when they are still in preseason is actually a good thing. Now that you've woke them up they will probably take it out on RSL and the Panama club. Great start to the round.

Cruz Azul has already played 4 games in the Mexican Apertura. They have 3 wins and 1 loss so far.

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...There’s a New Number Ten in Town

There were a lot of empty seats at BMO Field on this evening and that was something of a shame. For those that did attend, this was a firecracker of a match and a righteous performance by the men in red. For all the fanfare and plaudits that Cruz Azul came into this match with, Toronto FC were the team that dominated the proceedings from the beginning to the end. Many of the usual performers delivered exactly what you would expect from them. The Canadian contingent of De Rosario, De Guzman, Cann and Attakora were at the heart of this victory and each delivered splendid performances. Conway was not challenged as often as would have been predicted, but he delivered a couple of very big saves that were key to the win. Fullback Maksim Usanov also had a strong game that suggested he can be a consistent performer for the team. Mista delivered his best performance since joining TFC and his class was on evidence almost every time he touched the ball. While the Spaniard was the clear man of the match, Martin Saric was another key performer who looked very good in his first appearance after a layoff due to injury.

Post-game report and podcast for anyone interested:

http://www.rednationonline.ca/TFC_Deliver_The_Goods_In_Stunning_Champions_League_Win_august_17_10_news.shtml

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Great To Be Wrong! Cruz Azul Loses to TFC in CONCACAF Champions League

In my pre-game blog I got it all wrong. I thought TFC would not win Tuesday Evening against Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League. But lo and behold TFC plays some of their best soccer in franchise history to win their first foray into the Champions League Group Stages 2-1 at BMO Field.

Some video thoughts along with scenes from the south stands.

http://viewfromthesouthstands.com/2010/08/tfc-wins-over-cruz-azul/

Comments always welcome.

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I must say, that last goal not withstanding, that was one of, if not the best performance from TFC ever.

It was a game that mattered, and they defeated a team that was likely the strongest/talented (on paper) they ever faced.

Well done.

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One of the most fun nights at BMO ever, to be sure, marred only by that late goal which should never have happened since (a) it wasn't a foul and (B) even worse, they shouldn't have had the ball up there anyway because in the build up to the play Ibrahim got elbowed in the head by Torrado with no call. After the alleged foul they did call they sent Ibrahim off the field to repair the bleeding that had resulted from Torrado's elbow so we had one less player to defend the free kick with. Then five minutes later Torrado (a dirty player that I have never liked) applies a choke-hold to De Rosario and somehow they both get a yellow - Torrado should have been sent off. I hope in the game in Mexico, no matter what the score is, that in the final minute of play Usanov delivers on of his patented two-foot challenges to Torrado - but this time directly to his head.

Speaking of Usanov, nice to see that he and our other eastern European fullback finally had the type of game that justifies the salaries they are being paid - both involved in the build-up to a goal, and for once they didn't hurt us too much defenisively, other than one horrible panicky whiff of a ball by Usanov after the Cruz Azul goal that led to another late free kick for the Mexicans (a whiff that the tv cameras did not show, for those of you wondering why you didn't see it happen). The whole team played pretty well, although I'm concerned that O'Brian White is not really progressing and he seems to still have trouble anticipating plays, something that is vital to be an effective striker. First time I think we've really seen Mista come into his own, and De Rosario and De Guzman were both played in their ideal positions and each were quite effective - if I'm Preki I would leave Julian at the bottom of that midfield diamond (although someone else will have to take that spot against New York).

Overall though very pleased, arguably TFC's most impressive win in their short history, and while the crowd was understandably smaller than usual (I'd guess 15 or 16 thousand) in part because some of the season ticket holders don't understand the significance of the tourney but also because MLSE had a short two weeks to sell tickets for this game to the rest of the public, it was also a louder crowd than usual despite the smaller-than-usual size.

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Have you watch TFC this year? Barrett has been one of the most important player for the club so far, specially in the V's Cup and the Champions League.

Indeed. And White has been one of the worst. Serious step down in quality last night in that position last night.

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Cruz Azul has already played 4 games in the Mexican Apertura. They have 3 wins and 1 loss so far.

I sit corrected. Early season form. I was not trying to downplay TFC's accomplishment in any way. They looked as good as I've ever seen them look against tough opposition without 2 key forwards! I've never seen TFC play that solid all over the field. I can't think of a position that didn't play effectively. OBW is no Santos or Barrett but he did have some good moments and was effective in his role. The rest of the team was very good. Conway was solid if a bit late in reaction time. Good win.

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People who have read my posts will know that I normally don't get too excited for TFC victories, but I have to say I'm more than impressed with this result. I didn't get to see much of the match, but any victory over one of North America's best teams is worth celebrating.

I'm also interested in loyola's point above about Cann and Attakora partnering at CB for the Nats. I think this is an experiment that might be worth trying, at least for a half, in the near future. I've been surprised by Cann's play this season, but never really thought he had the class to play the position against elite competition, but I'm beginning to come around on that. He certainly has elevated himself into the conversation among our first tier of CBs.

Somehow, though, I highly doubt we'll see that in September, as there is no way Preki lets go of his whole central defense pairing during a playoff run.

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Overall though very pleased, arguably TFC's most impressive win in their short history, and while the crowd was understandably smaller than usual (I'd guess 15 or 16 thousand) in part because some of the season ticket holders don't understand the significance of the tourney but also because MLSE had a short two weeks to sell tickets for this game to the rest of the public, it was also a louder crowd than usual despite the smaller-than-usual size.

Thats was the loudest crowd in a long time. Its a strange thing with the crowd and I alluded to the same thing you did in regards to people (the corporate crowd) just being clueless about the competetion structures for soccer. Then again there might be some other factors: remember that although there were already some 9K season tickets sold before the "Beckham to LA announcment" prior to year one, there were still a significant 4-5 K who bought tickets just after the announcement or as result of the announcement. So in terms of who was not there, I'll bet that I sizable amount of that group constitutes the absent ones or those clueless types.

I could undertand the reluctance to fork out more money when Season tixs are already pretty expensive. So now we are asked to wonder where was the walk up crowd? My answer to that is that now we are seeing the challenges that the pro game suffers in many major markets in Canada and the US. Namely, the lack of mainstream media exposure that raises the awareness of the product and the event. Without any mention of the chat shows, editorials, morning shows etc. the product doesn't get the boost needed to generate the big walkup crowds like what would happen with the big four sports. The event needs to be on the mind of teh average non diehard soccer fan to get those crowds. So its the Toronto lynx symdrom re visted but to a lesser extent.

This is the lesson for the Caps and Impact. A strong season tickets base is essential to your success. Because the event will always be on the mind of the season ticket holder when you have paid in advance for the ticket. The average Joe, needs to be reminded that there is game tonight, otherwise he'll forget. And he needs to know and believe that its a big event so that he could brag about having been there.

About the game. Cruz azul was the most talented team that I ever saw on that pitch who wasn't playing a non competive match. TFC plyed well and got timely goals just when Cruz Azull were stating to gain momentum later in the first half. TFC got good play from many players and a bit fortune with the timely goals. Cruz Azul should really hand it to RSL if they play them when they need a win so thats why TFC were hand a great group schedule.

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Somebody already mentioned that this was the first time an MLS side had beaten a Mexican side in CCL play. It is also only the 11th loss by a Mexican team to a non-Mexican one in this competition: other countries to accomplish this feat are Honduras (3 times), Puerto Rico and Panama (twice), and Costa Rica, T&T, Guatemala, and Canada (Montreal); once each.

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This is the lesson for the Caps and Impact. A strong season tickets base is essential to your success. Because the event will always be on the mind of the season ticket holder when you have paid in advance for the ticket. The average Joe, needs to be reminded that there is game tonight, otherwise he'll forget. And he needs to know and believe that its a big event so that he could brag about having been there.

About the game. Cruz azul was the most talented team that I ever saw on that pitch who wasn't playing a non competive match. TFC plyed well and got timely goals just when Cruz Azull were stating to gain momentum later in the first half. TFC got good play from many players and a bit fortune with the timely goals. Cruz Azul should really hand it to RSL if they play them when they need a win so thats why TFC were hand a great group schedule.

This makes the most sense to me, I was in transit (on a plane and I missed the game) was Cruz Azul lackluster and did they field a first team? I only ask this because when the Impact played Santos in Montreal it was clear the Mexicans did not take the Canadian team seriously... was this the case yesterday or are TFC full value for the win?

its important that that distinction be made in my opinion, so as not to loose sight of all the work that is still be done. Great Job TFC.

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This makes the most sense to me, I was in transit (on a plane and I missed the game) was Cruz Azul lackluster and did they field a first team? I only ask this because when the Impact played Santos in Montreal it was clear the Mexicans did not take the Canadian team seriously... was this the case yesterday or are TFC full value for the win?

It was a bit of both.

Cruz Azul clearly underestimated TFC, given their lackluster start and resting of six starters. That said, Toronto played the best half of soccer I've ever seen them play, and that prompted Cruz Azul to throw in their three best players in the second half, but it didn't matter.

As for the crowd, that number is legit in my opinion. What we're seeing from these CCL games is that although there are generally smaller crowds (but still great crowds by CCL standards), the people there are far more involved and thus much noisier than a run-of-the-mill MLS sell out. I believe it's because these games are not included in the season ticket package, so those making the effort to buy tickets actually want to be there.

An interesting phenomenon.

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was Cruz Azul lackluster and did they field a first team?

In Montreal it was clear the Mexicans did not take the Canadian team seriously... was this the case yesterday or are TFC full value for the win?

TFC were full marks for thw win. But I saw some things from the Mexican side that tell me that, if TFC played them again and they took the match more seriously, TFC or any MLS side would be in trouble. It was great to draw them right from the start. I noted that, on an individual level and the with ball movement, they were different from MLS. Granted, the game is about execution also. Which they didn't quite do very well.

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