Best rumour involving a former Red ever

[SweetOwnGoal]

No really, it's WAY good! (http://www.24thminute.com/2009/05/best-rumour-ever.html)

[Ageroo]

ok...that is too good to make up.......very interesting.

[Markham_RPB]

Andrea Lomardo

LOL

[Mojo]

LOMBARDOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo

[boban]

Good luck to him. Hope it works out.
The kid needs a break.

[Damien]

It says Hamilton Steelers though...

[Lucky Strike]

Lol, thread of the day.

Seriously, I hope it works out for him, but I think he scapegoated himself (didn't do anything - score a goal - to prove everyone wrong) in his time here.

[Oldtimer]

He did score a goal in a freindly...

I think he was under wayyyy too much pressure for a young striker and couldn't take the heat.

[C.Ronaldo]

he sucked for canada to

but man that kid worked hard

[Lucky Strike]

He did score a goal in a freindly...

I think he was under wayyyy too much pressure for a young striker and couldn't take the heat.

Lol, I knew someone would bring that up (not to put you on the spot or anything). Trouble with that goal is that it never mattered because th match was a friendly so he never helped the team.

[loyola]

Lol, I knew someone would bring that up (not to put you on the spot or anything). Trouble with that goal is that it never mattered because th match was a friendly so he never helped the team.

What kind of argument is that?

I remember him playing well in one of the first game at BMO (after the Argentina U-20 friendly) where he had a nice assist on a goal. So, you are wrong, he did contribute.

MLS was too much for him, it would've been better for him to start at the USL level and try to move up after a few seasons there.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Kilmarnock? Does that mean he could play v Colin Samuel?

[rocker]

i wonder why Lombardo didn't go to the USL ..
if Braz and Reda are good enough to continue their careers there, he's more than good enough for that league.

I actually liked most of the skills Lombardo had. He couldn't finish worth a shit, but he was a solid passer (I remember a Mo Edu goal off his nice pass), seemed to have an understanding of where to be, hustled, wasn't afraid of contact. Maybe he woulda been better as a midfielder.

[TorontoBlades]

He's the Canadian Pablo Vitti....

...and it's one thing to butcher up a spot with Argentina, and a complete opposite to do it with Canada (with all due respect to my home and native land) ;)

[TorCanSoc]

I've posted this concept before.

OK he wasn't the greatest striker. But that kid should be repected and heralded as a pioneer of how to become a professional despite a total lack of guidance in this country. Everyone is spooked to allow their kids (12 to 14 yrs) to go overseas and give it a shot.

Lombardo (I've read) paid his way to Juventus and played his way into the youth system. Of course, gets no where with their plans for him. Comes back to Canada to the U20s and TFC. That does not work out, so he gets an education. Smartest, balls'iest kid I've ever (not) met.

Everyone who wants their kid to advance in soccer wants their kid to get a U.S. scholarship for an education first, then give pro soccer a shot. I believe they have it backward, and good Andrea Lombardo has it right. Give pro soccer a shot, and if it doesn't work out, then go back to University as a 21 year old. No disrespect in doing it this way. None at all.

Good on Lombardo.

[bhoybobby]

I've posted this concept before.

OK he wasn't the greatest striker. But that kid should be repected and heralded as a pioneer of how to become a professional despite a total lack of guidance in this country. Everyone is spooked to allow their kids (12 to 14 yrs) to go overseas and give it a shot.

Lombardo (I've read) paid his way to Juventus and played his way into the youth system. Of course, gets no where with their plans for him. Comes back to Canada to the U20s and TFC. That does not work out, so he gets an education. Smartest, balls'iest kid I've ever (not) met.

Everyone who wants their kid to advance in soccer wants their kid to get a U.S. scholarship for an education first, then give pro soccer a shot. I believe they have it backward, and good Andrea Lombardo has it right. Give pro soccer a shot, and if it doesn't work out, then go back to University as a 21 year old. No disrespect in doing it this way. None at all.

Good on Lombardo.

I don't think Barrett's smart enough for University in Canada, so we're stuck with him. lol

[Parkdale]

agreed that the team (and us) put way too much pressure on the kid.
he was a junior striker brought in just to be Canadian Content.

[SilverSamurai]

I've posted this concept before.

OK he wasn't the greatest striker. But that kid should be repected and heralded as a pioneer of how to become a professional despite a total lack of guidance in this country. Everyone is spooked to allow their kids (12 to 14 yrs) to go overseas and give it a shot.

Lombardo (I've read) paid his way to Juventus and played his way into the youth system. Of course, gets no where with their plans for him. Comes back to Canada to the U20s and TFC. That does not work out, so he gets an education. Smartest, balls'iest kid I've ever (not) met.

Everyone who wants their kid to advance in soccer wants their kid to get a U.S. scholarship for an education first, then give pro soccer a shot. I believe they have it backward, and good Andrea Lombardo has it right. Give pro soccer a shot, and if it doesn't work out, then go back to University as a 21 year old. No disrespect in doing it this way. None at all.

Good on Lombardo.
This I agree with.
Would hope he is able to turn his luck around and help the national team.

Did he also not play as a solo striker with the U-20s?

[Juanito]

From people who KNOW him (not me), he was not given a chance. He was not included in practices, he didn't practice with the other guys, and was told the day of that he would be a starter. He didn't know the runs and was trying the best he could. It makes sense that he couldn't play in the system ... HE DIDN'T KNOW IT!!!

Also, in Italy, he was not considered Italian, he was Canadian, and the Italian boys wanted to kick his ass (and was severely threatened). He was the odd man out because he wasn't one of them and we treated him like crap.

I actually feel for him. I hope he does well.

[Hitcho]

I was a major Lombardo fan. He needed more time and guidance IMHO. he looked good against Villa and was unlucky not to get a brace that game. Should ahve kept him - his salary was negligible, he was clearly incredinly determined, Canadian and worthy of a better shot than he ws given.

Very best of luck to him, the signed postcard I have from him is staying firmly on my office wall.

[T_Mizz]

The wikipedia page no longer says anything useful, it says Hamilton Steelers but they don't even exist according to wikipedia.

[trane]

The kid has something, except scoring touch. Friends of mine in Woodbridge say that even in the erea he was good but never a top player. However, he was not without skill, and worked hard.

[rocker]

he's still young enough (21) to make a career out of it... but it seems he's decided to take time off and go back to York, right? Maybe he just needs to refresh himself and figure out if he wants it.

i think he was also under a microscope because of the scoring issues we had that year. those goal droughts were placed right on his shoulders. if he had started out this year on TFC, sitting on the bench and coming on as a sub, like Ibby, nobody would focus on him. it would just be a good young canadian kid with a future. but when you place a guy in a situation that he's never been in and demand so much, he's never gonna live up to it.

I mean, we have strikers on this team who have much more experience than he did, and they have no goals or just a few so far (and they earn wayyyyy more cash than the pittance he got).

[kdzb]

he sucked for canada to

but man that kid worked hard

In the Animal life, a Donkey is a hard worker as well but a Donkey will never become a Stallion.
At TFC, we need a finisher up there in our offence not a hard worker.

[Lucky Strike]

What kind of argument is that?

I remember him playing well in one of the first game at BMO (after the Argentina U-20 friendly) where he had a nice assist on a goal. So, you are wrong, he did contribute.

MLS was too much for him, it would've been better for him to start at the USL level and try to move up after a few seasons there.

I looked up the 2007 stats and yes you're right, he did have an assist (quite to my surprise actually).

http://web.mlsnet.com/t280/stats/index.jsp?year=2007&club=t280

Nevertheless, we shouldn't go splitting hairs. He had 1 assist in 726 minutes and no goals. That's not really what I call a contribution of note, especially when it made no difference in the outcome of the match (a 2-1 loss).

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=05192007_TORDC (http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=05192007_TORDC)

He tried hard for sure, but just couldn't get it done is what I was getting at.

[icecoldbeer]

I looked up the 2007 stats and yes you're right, he did have an assist (quite to my surprise actually).

http://web.mlsnet.com/t280/stats/index.jsp?year=2007&club=t280

Nevertheless, we shouldn't go splitting hairs. He had 1 assist in 726 minutes and no goals. That's not really what I call a contribution of note, especially when it made no difference in the outcome of the match (a 2-1 loss).

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=05192007_TORDC (http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=05192007_TORDC)

He tried hard for sure, but just couldn't get it done is what I was getting at.


I thought he picked up his assist in our first ever win, which was why everyone went nuts for him? Not to be nit-picky about 1 assist, but I can't find the stats for that game anywhere? :(

[KRO]

Here is a quote from the match report of our first win, 3-1 against the Fire (2 years ago yesterday).
Lombardo had his moments and I'm surprised he's not playing somewhere.


TFC put things away in the 75th minute thanks to 21-year-old Maurice Edu. The midfielder, selected first overall by Toronto in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, took a pass in the penalty area from substitute striker Andrea Lombardo and drove it home for his first professional goal.

[Lucky Strike]

Here is a quote from the match report of our first win, 3-1 against the Fire (2 years ago yesterday).
Lombardo had his moments and I'm surprised he's not playing somewhere.

Hmm, that's weird, on the matchtracker page, they gave him an assist there. Seeing as to how he only has one, I stopped looking.