That pic was taken enjoying a number of cold ones by all of us while shooting pool at the Elephant and Castle.Originally Posted by TOBOR !
That pic was taken enjoying a number of cold ones by all of us while shooting pool at the Elephant and Castle.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
BLOG ITALIA
Tuesday April 28 2015
Giovinco changing Toronto FC
Sebastian Giovinco signing with Toronto FC shocked the world, but he has already begun to shape the future of his new club, writes Marco D’Onofrio.
At the time of Sebastian Giovinco's signing, anyone familiar with the city of Toronto knew that it had a massive Italian population that would make him feel right at home. A little over two months after the 28-year-old touched down in Canada and the club has already started their pursuit of more Italians both on and off the pitch.
Toronto FC's general manager, Tim Bezbatchenko, attended Saturday's Serie B game between Frosinone and Carpi, as well as Parma's match against Palermo on Sunday. While who Bezbatchenko was on the peninsula to scout remains a mystery, it has become abundantly clear that the franchise is on the hunt for more Italian players, who are becoming increasingly open to plying their trade in North America.
When Football Italia asked Giovinco back in February what steps he had taken to ensure he wouldn't end up like Jermain Defoe and other European players who failed to adapt to a new environment, he gave quite a confident reply.
"I am a very adaptable person in any field. I believe that together with my teammates and with my Coach, we'll find the best solution to ensure there are no problems."
He was not lying about being an adaptable person, as his success on the pitch tells the story. The Italian striker has three goals and three assists in six games, plus helped set up Jozy Altidore for the winning goal on Sunday night against Ricky Kaka's Orlando City.
Despite Giovinco's positive performances though, the team has struggled so far this season. With just two wins from their opening six matches, there are rumours of a coaching and managerial shakeup already being discussed. Familiar names like Roberto Bettega and Umberto Gandini have been heavily linked to the club's vacant position of President.
"The biggest difference is that over here, there are less tactics during the game," Giovinco told media last week. "In Italy, it's harder to score. Usually in Europe you don't score so early in a game."
What does he think when it comes to the lifestyle?
"It's cold," he said with a big smile on his face. After so many years in the shadow of the Alps in Turin, that’s not such a big leap.
Giovinco's demeanor says it all when it comes to his new life in North America. The Italian looks and feels quite at home in Canada. Michael Bradley may be the captain of the team, but Giovinco has already begun to change the mindset of the franchise.
The club is determined to bring in more Italians and Giovinco's success is a big reason why. Unlike Defoe last season, Giovinco has not said a negative thing since landing in Toronto and he has helped the city's large Italian community feel a part of the team for the first time ever.
In return, Toronto FC has made Giovinco the franchise player he always wanted to be and it is now only a matter of time before more Italian players follow the path paved by the Atomic Ant.
Hopefully Bez is looking at picking up some serie b defenders. It would be a big help.
Has Seba really attracted much Italian interest in the city? I keep hearing this and that about the Italian community but is this substantiated at all? As an Italian, I have to say, we are one of the minority ethnicities at BMO. I don't know if Seba will change this.
^ Everyone I know ( that is everyone Italian I know) is excited about Seba, we will have to wait until we start playing at home to see if there is a difference. I think there will be.
Trane, completely agreed. I have friends (mainly Italians, but not exclusively) who never wanted to come to a game I have seasons since day 1 and now they all want to come see him play.
If we win consistently at home... BMO will become the fortress that will propel us to a playoff spot and hopefuly (fingers crossed) a deep playoff run
Add Nesta to the list of possible Italians, check Taylor Twellmans Twitter timeline for the specific ttweet
Are you referring to this:
HeinekenSoccer @HeinekenSoccer · May 6
Nesta: "Doing my coach training in Italy in the moment. Hope to coach in MLS soon!" #ChampionTheMatch #UCL #FCBFCB
Please no.
He can practice on Montreal. We've had enough practice coaches.
Montreal most likely.
Yup that's itAre you referring to this:
Nesta: "Doing my coach training in Italy in the moment. Hope to coach in MLS soon!" #ChampionTheMatch #UCL #FCBFCB
The only thing worse than a North American rookie coach in MLS is a European rookie coach in MLS. All due respect to Nesta, that would be an illogical move for TFC.
If we are going to go down the no experience route again I would rather just hang on to Vanney. Look for a legit experience guy and prepare the dump truck of money, and in the mean time see what Vanney does. Bruce Arena has given Vanney his blessing so idk. Next manager move needs to be a legit candidate or we are just spinning our wheels.
i would recommend that we go after Donadoni...... Donadoni will attract the many quality european players that we need.
does anyone know if a coaches salary is part of the salary cap?
No, it's not.
on a side note..seba s agent was at the game sunday night.
Sven's in China!
It's not. We can spend as much as we want on a coach thankfully.
^ and there is no "salary cap" on players either.
Just an assigned budget charge that flexes with allocation money.
You think the reason 14 of the 19 coaches in MLS are Americans, and most of them are raw rookies, in a league where 15 of the top 17 paid players are internationals, reflects the natural working of a free market for the best coaches?
This. is. a. single. entity. There is no coaches union. There is no way there will be competitive bidding for management, except maybe at the highest level (eg Lagerwey). Same for refs, we'll keep the 10K a year ones we have, thanks, and like it. (I'm very curious - how much did Lagerwey increase his salary by? something tells me not much - no way of knowing...)
The odds of big money being paid to poach a coach from another MLS team are zero. The odds of big money being paid for a "name" coach are exceedingly low, as very few would affect fannies. Donadoni for sure is not one.
Last edited by ensco; 05-14-2015 at 07:57 PM.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
How does a lack of a coaches union have anything to do with competitive bidding for coaches? Single entity has fuck all to do with it, as MLS has shown that regardless of the cap and whatnot, they still want to see big markets thrive. They'd probably be glad if we tried to give Vermes or Kreis or Olsen or Pareja 5 mill to come here. It would mean their investment in us and our investment in our players would finally pay off, and that spending money in the league is worth it. Those guys spending their time in small markets doesn't raise the profile of the league.
I thought Vanney was employed by MLSE not by MLS. I thought it was the players that were employed by MLS.
His point is that MLS is interested in a structure at all levels which allows them to minimize costs. Having teams pay big money for coaches is not on their agenda.
Personally, I'd see reality as somewhere in between. The league acts on behalf of its franchise owners but tries to have one voice where it can.
So if a team comes up with a reason why they need to pay a coach more they'll consider it I'm sure. I'm TFC's case I'm sure they want to keep gio happy and stop gambling on people who are new. They've tried doing it the MLS way with former players light on experience and that hasn't worked.
Now that being said, I think they'd more likely listen to "we need experience and a track record" than "we need someone all world".
pretty sure thats the case
I think this might be true. My point is that there is a whole range of things handled behind closed doors and via unwritten agreements, and not driving up each others discretionary costs would be one of these.
I think it's the only explanation for the crazy practices league-wide re managers. It can't be a coincidence that all these untested guys get these jobs.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Kinnear going to SJE was his choice
Lagerway going to Seattle was his choice.
Petke getting booted for Marsch was NYRB choice (no way MLS chooses that).
I don't believe this is true. Seattle poached Sigi Schmid from Columbus, and paid a penalty for tampering.
But it doesn't really matter. I think that Schmid and Arena are the only real "sure bet" MLS managers, and I don't think either wants to come to the dumpster fire that is TFC.
Nobody ever said the clubs had no choice in the matter, it was simply that MLS seeks to steer clubs in a certain direction.
I find it hard to believe that everyone came to the conclusion that former players with no experience is the way to go. It's very convenient... to say the least.
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