Canada's goalkeeping situation + more

Asmir Begovic is getting some good action to close out the season for Portsmouth. David James is set for shoulder surgery, which means that Begovic will likely start next weekend. He did do enough to get the job next week. The chance for Begovic at the end of the season has provided an opportunity for his to show his stuff of what he can do against some of the best players in the world. With that experience, does he get into the mix as the starting goalkeeper for Canada at the Gold Cup this summer?

His competition will try and show that they should get the gig and depending on how Stephen Hart wants to head into the tournament, they might. First, the competition and forgive me if I have missed someone, trying to find a Canadian goalie playing quality minutes outside of North America in like trying to find a needle in a hay stack.

Josh Wagenaar had a good string of games for Yoevil Town in League One. but did not feature in a long stretch of games near the end of the season before coming on for 6 minutes in his final match action on May 2nd, 2009. Hardly game ready.

Lars Hirschfeld plays for CFR Cluj. But playing is a hardly a word I would use. Featuring in very limited action during his time in Romania. Can he be ready for the summer?

Kenny Stamatopoulos is in Norway and so far during the season has featured in one match. Hardly someone you can have as your starting goalkeeper on a national level.

On this side of the water, Greg Sutton has been a mainstay in the program, but he's only played twice this season for TFC and has been beaten out for the starting job by Stefan Frei.

The biggest competition comes from the 109 year old (actually 41 years old) Pat Onstad. Who is once again proving that he has what it takes to play the game at the MLS level. Starting in all 8 games for Houston and providing 4 clean sheets.

The biggest question on Onstad is whether he still wants to play or whether Hart still wants him. he may not want to compete on the internation stage anymore, he did afterall, get a lot of blame for a certain goal in qualifying. Hart must decide whether Canada is making a run to win the Gold Cup or building for 2014.

If the decision is to win the Gold Cup, the choice is obviously Onstad, with Begovis backing up and learning. If it's to build for the future, Begovic is your main guy. I feel like the Gold Cup should be a building block for the younger players while continuing to build the core which features De Rosario and de Guzman. I would start Begovic and bring Onstad as the back-up to tutor the young netminder. The future starts now and it's time to figure out whether Canada can sink or swim with what they have.

Elsewhere on the field, I like the Canadian back line at TFC. I would love to see Adrian Serioux as the main man on the backline with David Edgar slotting beside him. With Nana Attakora-Gyan proving that he can play with MLS calibre players sitting on the right. While I like what I have seen from Jim Brennan this season, I think the left side is still up for grabs.

In the midfield, I would like to see Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman with Daniel Imhof playing a holding role, a job he's done very all season at Bochum in Germany. And to mix it up, Will Johnson starting all 9 matches for Real Salt Lake.

Up front, I'm going with Simeon Jackson, who is ripping it up in England and Rob Friend. It would feature a nice mix of size and speed.

Barca to Vancouver?

Following the announcement that Barcelona would be playing two friendlies on the west coast (August 1st in LA and August 5th in Seattle), rumours started that a 3rd west coast game would be added. Immediately in the Vancouver market, people in Vancouver, including Full-Time host Mike Martignago, were claiming that the Whitecaps would be a perfect fit with the schedule. It also fits because of a large stadium to play in (BC Place holds around 60,000) and a future MLS franchise.

The other option is Barcelona playing the San Jose Earthquakes. The 'Quakes could broker a deal to play at Stanford Stadium for a one off match and could likely fill the stadium and perhaps get people interested in a team already in the MLS. The other thing that puts San Jose as the front runner would be the higher Spanish speaking population.

In Vancouver, BC Place is open for a possible match on August 9th, 10th, 11th... following a BC Lions game and prior to an Aerosmith/ZZ Top concert.

Schedule wise, it would work out perfectly for Barcelona to play in Vancouver however, it's unlikely to happen. Well, let me rephrase that. It would work out perfectly for Barcelona to play in Vancouver, but they likely won't be playing the Vancouver Whitecaps. "We currently do not have any plans for an international game", that's what Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi told me. He also said that it would be nice, but not this year.

It's not really a secret that the Whitecaps, once in the MLS, will probably bring some top international clubs to the city and BC Place, it's a natural fit. It just doesn't sound like anything will happen this year.

Here's trekking down to Seattle for two games this summer as the Sounders play Chelsea and Barcelona. And here's to looking forward to 2011 and debating which clubs Vancouver should try and bring to BC Place.

FRANCE'S CHAMPIONS CUP - my thoughts

As we talked about earlier in the week, Quebec, or more specifically Montreal, will play host to France's Champions Cup. It's the winner of league facing the winner of the French Cup. For those not in tune with this competition, it would be similar to the Community Shield in England, where the league winner plays the FA Cup winner (last year it was Portsmouth v Manchester United). I'm not exactly sure how this tournament draw in France. I do know that most people in England have a bit of pride with their team winning the Community Shield, but if they lose, they aren't exactly running for the nearest bridge. For most teams, it's just part of the pre-season warm-up, not something they desperately need to win. united fans have other events to worry about, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the League.

All that leads me back to the French Cup. While it is nice that it will be played outside of France for the first time, it's hard to get overly excited. Seeing the Ligue 1 winners (at time of writing may be either Bordeaux or Marseille) will be a thrill, but seeing Ligue 2 side, En Avant Guingam is hardly a name that most will recognize or even get excited about. All in all, it should be an entertaining match. For En Avant Guingam, it's about showing what they can do against a Ligue 1 side. For the team that wins the title in France, it's about getting ready for the season and the Champions League... and perhaps a little pride.

What would be nice, is to see either Marseille or Bordeaux play some friendlies while in Canada. Perhaps they are already working out a deal to play the Impact or maybe even TFC (although unlikely against TFC). Friendlies are rarely enough to get excited about, but it's also nice to debate the level of play between the leagues. Duane Rollins from "The 24th Minute" likes a good league contrast and compare. I've seen my fair share of French action on Setanta (unfortunately, never live and in person) and while it's not at the level of England, Spain and Italy, it does offer a very entertaining brand of soccer with young players on the cusp of greatness (or at least a big fat contract with the big 3 leagues). Hopefully, as I doubt I can make the trip to Montreal this summer to see the match, it will be broadcast on television for fans across Canada.

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.

France's Champions Trophy heads to Quebec

The Trophee des Champions between the winners of Ligue 1 and the French Cup will be played in Montreal, Canada on July 26, the French League said on Tuesday.

It will be the first time the curtain-raiser to the season is to be played outside France.

"Time has come for French soccer to capture new markets," League chairman Frederic Thiriez said in a statement. "Montreal is the best gate to enter the North American market."

Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp won the French Cup on Saturday. Olympique Marseille and Girondins Bordeaux are level on points at the top of Ligue 1 with four games to play.

"We are very happy to see that the city of Montreal has been selected to host the Champions Trophy," said Executive Vice President of the Montreal Impact and Saputo Stadium Richard Legendre. "The Impact has taken significant steps in the last few months for this important match to be held in Montreal. However, there are currently various elements that need to be settled, including the venue, as well as significant financial considerations. The organization continues its work with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) in order for this event to take place."

Nice to see that European teams and leagues are coming over to North America more and more. Hopefully that can really drive the product here to a higher level.

Honduras gets third team in Champions League?

NEW YORK (Monday, 11 May 2009) – Honduras will get a third team in next season’s CONCACAF Champions League due to Belize not meeting the standards for an adequate stadium, the confederation’s Executive Committee decided Monday.

Tournament regulations require teams play their home games within their own country in facilities that meet minimum requirements with regard to the field, lighting, changing rooms and fan amenities. CONCACAF allowed for a one-year grace period for teams to meet the standards but after that, teams were to be replaced from other countries based on the performance of their clubs in the previous Champions League.

Marathon already has assured itself of a berth in the 24-team field as winner of the Honduran Apertura championship, while the Clausura winner will claim the second berth. The team with the next most total points from both seasons will earn the third place.

The inaugural Champions League winner will be crowned Tuesday when Atlante hosts Cruz Azul in the second leg of the final in Cancun, Mexico.

The first thought is why does Honduras get a 3rd team when Canada still only gets one? Here's my thoughts: Canada has three teams playing for the right to play in this tournament, Honduras has ten. However unfair it may seem, Canada doesn't really deserve a 2nd team to be added. Once Canada gets a few more teams expanding into the USL or MLS for that matter, then it's time to take a look at it.

Overall though, I do think that there still needs to be some minor tweaking. The MLS Champions get into the tournament, however, should Toronto FC win, they do not gain automatic access. That should be fine tuned to represent that, sure it means that the U.S. lose a spot, but with increased expansion to Canada, that rule needs to be amended. Secondly, the USL Division 1 Champions should also be given a spot. You win a league, you deserve entry. Again, it would need to be fine tuned to see who wouldn't get a spot, etc, but I think it's worth a change.

So yes, Canada, down the road should get a second spot in the league, but not right now, instead fine tuning the other ways in would give Canada a better shot.

-TG