Today’s News, Wednesday , Jun.04
Canada juggles roster ahead of Panama friendly
The Canadian Press
Partly by necessity, partly by desire, national team coach Dale Mitchell will be juggling his roster when Canada plays Panama Wednesday night in an international friendly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Midfielder Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad both returned to their MLS team in Houston following Canada's 3-2 loss to Brazil Saturday night. That means defender Jim Brennan, of Toronto FC of the MSL, and forward Ali Gerba, who plays for FC Ingolstadt in Germany, will be added to the lineup.
Mitchell will also be without midfielder Julian de Guzman who scored a goal against Brazil and was one of the best Canadians on the pitch. De Guzman, who plays in the Spanish first division, returned to Toronto with a leg injury but Mitchell was reluctant to give out too much information.
He stuck to the hockey diagnosis of a “lower body injury.”
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Greg Sutton Interview
In recent years heading north of the border usually meant getting a win for MLS or Concacaf's top teams, but no longer. Canadian soccer on both the club and national team levels is much improved. Soccer365's Lars Lifrak talks with goalkeeper Greg Sutton about the recent success of Toronto FC and the Canadian national team.
365: Let’s start with Toronto FC. You have to be pleased with the start, right?
Greg Sutton: I think we’ve made a lot of changes this year and some key additions with guys like Amado Guevara and Laurent Robert. We had a pretty good nucleus last year but we needed to improve on it. We did that. I think also, the coaching staff that’s moved in and taken over has done a great job of getting everyone on the same page. Also defensively, we’ve been a lot stronger than we were last year and that carries its weight in gold.
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Carver, TFC help out the CSA :canada:
De Guzman making use of TFC facilities to treat knee injury
Canadian international Julian De Guzman was at BMO Field on Tuesday getting treatment for a knee injury from Toronto FC medical staff. Toronto coach John Carver was pleased to help the Canadian Soccer Association by providing De Guzman with the opportunity to make use of the club's staff and facilities.
"I want to try and help the CSA as much as I can," said Carver. "Hopefully in the long run they will help us as well. I want us to work together. We want the best for the game in Canada. There has to be give and take. We should all be working together."
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Three Reds in All-Star voting top-10
Guevara, Sutton, Edu among league's leading vote-getters
Three Toronto FC players are currently in the top ten vote getters for the MLS All-Star team. Amado Guevara (2.13 %) is 4th, Greg Sutton (1.80 %) is 8th and Mo Edu (1.66 %) is 10th. Get voting to make sure Toronto FC is represented when the All-Star game comes to town on Thursday, July 24th. The MLS All-Stars will take on Premier League side West Ham United at BMO Field. CLICK HERE TO VOTE >
Former MLS MVP Amado Guevara has made a big impact since signing for Toronto and scored both of the goals in the 2-0 win against Kansas City Wizards in April. Goalkeeper Greg Sutton has been in outstanding form, conceding only one goal in the last five games he has played at BMO Field. Mo Edu won the 2007 MLS Rookie of the Year award, and his early season performances earned him a call up to the U.S. National Team to play England and Spain.
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TFC players returning to training
Tuesday news and notes
Toronto FC returned to training on Tuesday at BMO Field to begin preparations for Sunday's game at Houston Dynamo. A number of players are away on international duty but are expected to join the side for the game against Houston. Tyrone Marshall has now linked up with the Jamaica squad after recovering from the injury that kept him out of the win against LA Galaxy. Mo Edu, Jim Brennan, Greg Sutton and Amado Guevara are also away. "I'm hoping that everyone apart from Amado will join up with the squad ahead of the Houston game," said coach John Carver. Carl Robinson returned to training on Tuesday after missing the Galaxy game away playing for Wales.
"We've eased off a bit with the guys who've been playing most of the games. We just did a light training session today and the younger players who've not been in the games did a full session," said Carver.
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SUNSHINE :thumbsup:
TFC pitches in to help Canada's de Guzman recover
TFC pitches in to help Canada's de Guzman recover
Toronto training staff helps midfielder rehab sprained knee
MORGAN CAMPBELL
While Jim Brennan joined Toronto FC teammate Greg Sutton in suiting up for today's national team friendly against Panama, midfielder Julian de Guzman quietly took a break from the national team and spent yesterday with Toronto FC.
De Guzman, who scored once in Canada's 3-2 loss to Brazil on Saturday, showed up at BMO Field yesterday to work with TFC training staff, who were helping him rehab a mildly sprained knee.
"We'll give him the best attention we can," TFC coach John Carver said after the practice.
Carver said TFC assistant coach Nick Dasovic, also an assistant with Canada's national team, set up de Guzman's trip to Toronto.
When Dasovic joined TFC's coaching staff earlier this spring he said he hoped to use his connections within the Canadian Soccer Association to forge a stronger bond between the CSA and Canada's biggest pro team.
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