Full-Time: Whitecaps v TFC match recap and review

In their second match of the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Wednesday evening, Vancouver Whitecaps FC (0W-0L-2D) had to settle for a disappointing goalless draw with Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC (2W-0L-1D) at Swangard Stadium.

Mike Martignago, Tyler Green and Marc Weber from the Vancouver Province broke down the match. Listen to the Full-Time midweek podcast here.

You can also follow Full-Time on twitter here.

Photo courtesy of Bob Frid

CONCACAF Champions League Sched

Two-time runner-up Cruz Azul of Mexico will face Panama’s San Francisco in the Preliminary Round of the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League while the Los Angeles Galaxy and Puerto Rico Islanders also will square off when the third edition of the tournament begins in July.

The draw conducted Wednesday by deputy general secretaries Ted Howard and Italo Zanzi at the confederation’s New York headquarters set the Preliminary Round pairings and matchups for the Group Stage.

Other Preliminary Round matches will have the Mexican Clausura runner-up -- either Santos or Toluca -- facing San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad, Costa Rica’s Brujas facing Joe Public of Trinidad, the Canadian champion – either Toronto FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps – against Motagua of Honduras, and Xelaju of Guatemala against a Central America club.

The Seattle Sounders will face an as yet-to-be determined Central American side in the Preliminary Round, while Marathon – a quarterfinalist this past season – will take on Tauro FC of Panama.

Two berths originally were allocated to El Salvador, but FIFA has suspended the country due to governmental interference in the federation’s affairs. The government has until June 8 to comply with FIFA’s non-intervention requirements or its teams will be barred from international competition, including the Champions League – and its berths will be reassigned.

CD FAS already has qualified with one of El Salvador’s berths, and the second would go to either Aguila or Metapan.

Cruz Azul reached the finals in the first two years of the Champions League, losing to fellow Mexican sides Atlante in 2009 and Pachuca in May. This is the third consecutive season Cruz Azul has been forced into the Preliminary Round and is one of six teams to qualify each year since the Champions League was inaugurated.

In the Group Stage, MLS champion Real Salt Lake will lead Group A with Arabe Unido of Panama, the Cruz Azul-San Francisco winner and the winner between the Canadian champion and Motagua.

Group B will consist of the Columbus Crew, Municipal of Guatemala, the winner between Jabloteh and Toluca/Santos, and either Brujas or Joe Public.

Monterrey will head Group C, potentially the most difficult, with Costa Rica’s Saprissa, the Seattle-Central America 12 winner and either Tauro or Marathon. The Mexican Clausura champ, either Santos or Toluca, will top Group D with Olimpia of Honduras, the Galaxy-Islanders winner and the Central America 11-Xelaju winner.

The tournament will begin July 27-29 with the first leg of the Preliminary Round and the second leg a week later. The winners will advance to the Group Stage, the first round is set for August 17-19.


PRELIMINARY ROUND
(Host of first leg listed first)
Central America 11 vs. Xelaju (GUA)
Brujas (CRC) vs. Joe Public (TRI)
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) vs. Santos-Toluca (Mexican Clausura runner-up)
San Francisco (PAN) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX)
Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR)
Tauro FC (PAN) vs. Marathon (HON)
Seattle Sounders (USA) vs. Central America 12
Toronto-Vancouver (Canadian champion) vs. Motagua (HON)

GROUP STAGE
Group A
Real Salt Lake (USA)
Arabe Unido (PAN)
San Francisco/Cruz Azul winner
Toronto-Vancouver/Motagua winner

Group B
Columbus Crew (USA)
Municipal (GUA)
San Juan Jabloteh/Santos-Toluca (Mexican Clausura runner-up) winner
Brujas/Joe Public winner

Group C
Monterrey (MEX)
Saprissa (CRC)
Seattle/Central America 12 winner
Tauro/Marathon winner

Group D
Santos/Toluca (Mexican Clausura champion)
Olimpia (HON)
Los Angeles Galaxy/Puerto Rico Islanders winner
Central America 11/Xelaju winner

Rogers Sportsnet announces Nutrilite Canadian Championship broadcast schedule

The Canadian Soccer Association and Rogers Sportsnet have announced the broadcast schedule for the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. All six matches featuring Impact Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet over six consecutive Wednesday nights from 28 April to 2 June.

Now in its third year, the Nutrilite Canadian Championship is Canada's professional club championship. The champion of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship advances to the confederation championship, the 24-team CONCACAF Champions League which will also be in its third season this coming 2010-11 season. The confederation champion then moves on to the FIFA Club World Cup.

"The Nutrilite Canadian Championship is the premier soccer championship in Canada featuring Impact Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC," said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. "We are thrilled that Rogers Sportsnet will be the destination for fans across the country to view all six matches of the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship."

"It's with great pleasure to continue our partnership with the Canadian Soccer Association and the commitment to promoting the sport of soccer in Canada," said Dave Akande, Vice-President of Content, Rogers Sportsnet. "Our viewers were treated to a great tournament last year and we expect nothing less featuring the country's top professional soccer clubs."

Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast all six matches, with five of the six shown live on Sportsnet East and Sportsnet West. The opening match is 28 April featuring the two previous winners: 2009 champion Toronto FC hosts 2008 champion Impact Montréal at BMO Field in Toronto, ON. The championship then visits Vancouver, BC for the 5 May match featuring Whitecaps FC and Impact (22.00 ET / 19.00 PT) before moving back east to Montréal, QC for the 12 May match featuring Impact and Toronto FC (20.00 ET / 17.00).

On 19 May, the Whitecaps FC-Toronto FC match from Vancouver will be broadcast (23.00 ET / 20.00 PT). The championship then returns to Montréal for the 26 May match between the Impact and Whitecaps FC (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT). The final match is 2 June featuring Toronto FC-Whitecaps FC in Toronto (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT).

CanadaSoccer.com will once again be the official home of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. After six weeks, the team with the most points will win the Voyageurs Cup as Canada's national champion. In all, each team is playing four games - two at home and two on the road. Just last year, the three professional clubs played in front of an average capacity of 92% at Stade Saputo (Montréal), BMO Field (Toronto) and Swangard Stadium (Vancouver).

2010 NUTRILITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Impact Montréal
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS
2009 - Toronto FC
2008 - Impact Montréal

2010 BROADCAST TIMES ON ROGERS SPORTSNET
28.04.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - BMO Field - Toronto FC - Impact Montréal

05.05.2010 - 22.30 ET / 19.30 PT - Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Impact Montréal

12.05.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - Stade Saputo - Impact Montréal - Toronto FC

19.05.2010 - 23.00 ET / 20.00 PT - Swangard Stadium - Vancouver Whitecaps FC Toronto FC

26.05.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - Stade Saputo - Impact Montréal - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

02.06.2010 - 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT - BMO Field - Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

TOP 5 REASONS TO CHEER FOR TFC IN THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

So many fans in Vancouver, upset about the way the Nutrilite Canadian Championships finished up. At the same time, many in Vancouver, Montreal and the rest of the country will have a very difficult time cheering for TFC in the CONCACAF Champions League. I'm not saying you have to, but here are 5 reasons why it might be a good idea to actually support Toronto FC in Champions League play.

1) like all the Canadian teams, having Canadian players playing in hostile and strange environments is only going to a good thing for the Canadian National team. It would have been good if it was Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto. It will give Dwayne De Rosario a chance to lead the team for all of Canada. It will give a young Canadian, Nana Attakora the chance to shine on a bigger stage and put pressure on Adrian Serioux, giving him a chance to shine also. Providing all of them a chance to see the games played at different levels and different styles. Valuable down the road in a Canada match.

2) Toronto is the centre of media in Canada, and more coverage of soccer in this country is a good thing. If that can only be achieved by the team from Toronto going, then so be it. More coverage means that more people may get interested in the game and follow it on a national level. Springing up more teams around the country will better Canada's hold on the game.

3) The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in the early 90's. The benefits of those teams winning are showing up now. Jason Bay, Justin Morneau and Jeff Francis, to name just a few, all young and great baseball players that watched the Blues Jays win the World Series and then got them even more interested in playing baseball at a high level. Those benefits will be felt by all Canadians. Sure it was Toronto that won, but those three players are all from BC. The game can build beyond just Ontario.

4) Rivalry. With the way Toronto won this tournament, it's going to make Montreal want to beat Toronto next year, to show they aren't pushovers. Vancouver is going to want to prove again that they can beat Toronto as they will be heading into the MLS the following season. It will also provide the Whitecaps with desire to go out and destroy Montreal next time around. If Toronto does well, and Canada cheers them on, teams in Montreal and Vancouver will want to achieve similiar success.

5) Right now, Canada doesn't have a full spot into the CONCACAF Champions League, they compete with one another for the right to represent Canada, then have to play another club team for the right to play in the group stage. Montreal did a fabulous job going deep into the tournament. If TFC can do the same (I feel they have a better chance of winning than Vancouver would have had), it is only going to benefit Canada in receiving an automatic spot into the group stages. Down the road Canadians can think about a 2nd spot, right now, they need to focus on performing well enough to get an automatic spot.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE...

NEW YORK (Tuesday, June 23, 2009) – With the qualification of the last of the 24 teams in the CONCACAF Champions League, the definitive schedule for the Preliminary Round has been determined.

The first of 78 games in the 2009-2010 Champions League will start with D.C. United at home against Chalatenango of El Salvador on Tuesday, July 28. The Preliminary Round will finish with the second leg between Real Espana of Honduras at home against Liberia of Costa Rica on Thursday, August 6.

With Toronto FC’s 6-1 victory over the Montreal Impact on Thursday in the final game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, the Major League Soccer side claimed its first berth in the Champions League and will open at home against the Puerto Rico Islanders on Wednesday, July 29. Puerto Rico will host the second leg on Tuesday, August. 4.

The eight winners of the Preliminary Round will advance to the Group Stage, which will begin the week of August 18-20.

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE
Times local (USA Eastern in parentheses); home teams listed first

FIRST LEG
Tuesday, July 28
D.C. United (USA) vs. Chalatenango (SLV), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Pachuca (MEX) vs. Jalapa (GUA), 9 p.m. (10 p.m.)

Wednesday, July 29
Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
San Francisco (PAN) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Liberia (CRC) vs. Real Espana (HON), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

Thursday, July 30
W Connection (TRI) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Herediano (CRC) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Olimpia (HON) vs. Arabe Unido (PAN), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)


SECOND LEG
Tuesday, August 4
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) vs. Toronto 8 p.m. (CAN), (8 p.m.)
Jalapa (GUA) vs. Pachuca (MEX), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Chalatenango (SLV) vs. D.C. United (USA), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Wednesday, August 5
New York Red Bulls (USA) vs. W Connection (TRI), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Cruz Azul (MEX) vs. Herdiano (CRC), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)

Thursday, August 6
Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Olimpia (HON), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) vs. San Francisco (PAN), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Real Espana (HON) vs. Liberia (CRC), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

TFC WINS NUTRILITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Toronto FC won the Nutrilite Canadian Championship after beating Montreal Impact 6 - 1 on Thursday evening. TFC needed to win the game by 4 goals in order to win the competition. Vancouver fans were not the only ones disappointed with the effort from Montreal, “Tonight’s result is extremely disappointing,” said Impact President Joey Saputo. “The players wearing the Impact jersey have to show pride and they did not tonight. Even though the match had no significance, we can’t hide our heads in the sand. This is not the way this club should perform in front of our fans, in our stadium. Being first and foremost a fan, I know that this is not acceptable.”

Whitecaps fans were disappointed with Montreal's performance, and how could you not. Montreal had nothing to play for ini terms of positioning, but pride is something that they apparently could care less about. Last year, Vancouver helped Montreal into the competition by picking a result against Toronto that gave the Impact the title and were hoping Montreal would do the same for them this year. It truly is is a disgrace with that effort. Joey Saputo is right, it's not acceptable.

For Toronto, it proves that they are currently Canada's best team. Let's hope that they show the same fire and goalscoring (yes, it's shocking, Chad Barrett actually scored) when they meet Puerto Rico in the preliminary round to qualify for the group stage. It would be nice to see TFC show some muscle and do well in this competition. It will also be good for players such as Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux, Gaining experience in tough stadiums abroad. More importantly, it will give young Canadians like Nana Attakora valuable experience down the road. Playing for TFC in those countries will surely benefit the Canadian National program down the road when he will get a chance to lead his fellow Canucks to hostile enviroments he's played in and hopefully conquered.

Finally, as much as it pains me to say this. GO TFC GO!! Canada is supporting you now. Do us proud.

Why do I feel like I need to wash my mouth out with soap now...

GERBA SET FOR TFC / RICKETTS SET TO LEAVE

ALI GERBA

Ali Gerba is set to sign with Toronto FC, or already has. Various sources and various media are indicating that the contract is signed, sealed and waiting for league approval before it can be officially delivered.

He apparently is also with the squad in Montreal and could play a part in tomorrow's Nutrilite Canadian Championship final game against Montreal. TFC needs to win the game by a 4-goal margin if they hope to qualify to the next round to play Puerto Rico, otherwise the Vancouver Whitecaps FC will claim the spot.

ROHAN RICKETTS

Meanwhile, The 24th Minute is reporting that, Full-Time favourite, Rohan Ricketts is set to be released. Full-Time has received confirmation that Ricketts will be leaving TFC and it will officially be announced in the next few days.

MARC DOS SANTOS IS THE NEW IMPACT HEAD COACH

MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced the nomination of Marc Dos Santos as interim head coach of the Impact on Thursday, to succeed John Limniatis in this role.

“After having analyzed the situation over the last few months, we have realized that the team was not playing to its level and that the positive results were not there,” said Impact technical director Nick De Santis. “The message was no longer getting through in the locker room. John will nevertheless remain in the Impact family and he continues to be one of our great team builders.”

Marc Dos Santos was the assistant coach of the Impact since June 10, 2008. He was also the head coach of the Trois-Rivières Attak for two seasons, in 2007 and 2008. Dos Santos took training internships with three first division clubs in Portugal: Boavista FC (November 2004), SC Beira Mar (November 2004) and FC Porto (March 2007). He has the UEFA B licence since July 2006 and is currently in the process of obtaining his UEFA A licence.

“It’s an honour for me to become interim head coach for the Impact,” said Marc Dos Santos. “I am ready today to take on these new responsibilities. It’s a great challenge in my coaching career and it’s a mandate in which I will invest myself fully. I have acquired a solid experience in the last years with the Impact and the Attak, as well as in Portugal. I will do everything I can for the team to be successful again.”

Dos Santos will count on three assistant coaches: Andrea Di Pietrantonio, who held the same functions last season, Mauro Biello, who becomes player-coach, and Youssef Dahha, who remains goalkeeper coach.

John Limniatis became Impact head coach on June 10, 2008, succeeding to Nick De Santis who in turn became technical director. In his first season at the helm of the team, he led the Impact to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals and to the semifinals of the USL series. In 2009, the team had not won in its first four regular season games (0-3-1) and was shut out 1-0 by Toronto FC, Wednesday, in its first game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

Dos Santos becomes the eighth head coach in Impact history. He will coach his first game this Friday when the Impact will face the Charleston Battery.

Meanwhile, John Limniatis released the following statement through the Montreal Impact, "First of all I would like to thank everybody for their support when I was on duty as head coach. The management of the club, the organization, the fans, the media and the partners have all been extraordinary. I will never forget the moments I have spent with the Impact in the last year. Should this change help the team, I completely support the club's decision. In order not to interfere with the team's preparation for the upcoming games on Friday and Sunday, I will not make any further comments until next week".

C'mon Toronto... 1 goal ain't good enough

It isn't going out on much of a limb to say that Toronto FC is the best team in Canada playing in the best league. The players that I have had the chance to speak with have all told me "there are a bunch of interchangeable guys playing in both leagues and then the game breakers, Major League Soccer has those types of players, the USL doesn't".

Before the Nutrilite Canadian Championships began, I told my co-host Mike Martignago during our radio show (Sunday nights at 10pm on the TEAM 1040) that Toronto would win the tournament this year and so far I am looking pretty good. The problem is, predicting TFC to win isn't that big of a stretch. The part that has me annoyed though is that Toronto has won both games by the simple score of 1 - 0, and truth be told, it was a terrific hand save from Frei to keep the Vancouver v Toronto game 1 - 0. Frankly, it's just not good enough.

Hey, you got the result and you deserved the wins, but scoring just one goal in each game? I want to see 2 or 3. It's not like you are sending out the scrubs to play in these matches. I want to see goals, I want to see forward movement, I want you to claim it and show you are downright superior and I want you to beat Montreal and Vancouver into submission. I want to see a blow out.

Having said all that, hope is not lost for Montreal or Vancouver. This tournament is still far from over. If the Impact or Whitecaps can sweep the other USL team and beat Toronto, they would have a chance. Perhaps even hope their USL brother can do them a favour a draw or beat TFC. It might even come down to goal differential (which is why I need and beg of TFC to score more). Wouldn't that just infuriate Toronto fans as the claims of USL dominance would once again be chanted against Toronto.

It would begin to show a pattern that in a one-off game, TFC or a USL franchise could beat anyone else, but it would also show that over a 6 game tournament, Toronto FC just wouldn't have what it takes. Call it depth, call it fate, call it whatever you want, it surely would put a black eye on Canada's best team.