Montreal Impact's most important game of the season, tonight.

With the last season in second division on their way, not much attention or expectations are set so far for our football team, only a place in the Champions League will make 2011 a thriving experience for fans and that is why tonight is an acid test for the football in Montreal. The Impact is playing semifinals against Vancouver to gain only spot given to Canadian teams in the CONCACAF club's top competition.

MLS in 2012 will affect city's sports dynamic in many ways, some of them remain unknown, some of them are being borne now. Is not a secret that Montreal Impact, fans and players, are not 100% motivated to follow the last season in second division (NASL), and you can note it in the current league results where Impact is at the bottom of the table with only 1 point in 3 matches only above Atlanta Silverbacks. You can also note it in the media, where you have only heard about Montreal football when MLS commissioner Don Garber came to the Belle Province for 3 or 4 days.

Even the fans, everybody is saving their energies for MLS next season, it seems like this season does not exist.

Well, I have news for Montrealers which have the desire to become a football fan when MLS enters next year. A great MLS team will come tonight to Saputo Stadium, the Vancouver Whitecaps and they are not coming for an exhibition game, they come to beat the Impact in order to pass and play the finals against Toronto FC.

Eric Hassli in Vancouver game opener

For those who still do not follow MLS, the Whitecaps are one of the most exciting teams in the league in the first 6 weeks, featuring players with UEFA champions league experience like Eric Hassli or Davide Chiumiento , young Latin American promises like Camilo Sanvezzo and Omar Salgado and key players of the successful US National Team with English league experience like Jay DeMerit . I know, they are not David Beckham or Thierry Henry but they bring tons of quality to north American football and they are the players that are making MLS an exciting league.



I hope many people come with me tonight to Saputo stadium and support the Impact at 8:00pm.

For more info, you can read the following:

CKAC preview (French)
Pascal Milano preview (French)
Canada Soccer 
Le 12ejoueur

Big night for Madrid in Champions League.

It's prime time Tuesday afternoon for us in America when the UEFA Champions league 4er finals starts and from the first time in 7 years the most recognized team in the history of the Competition, The Real Madrid, makes his appearance.


I haven't feel this way in a long long time. Always remembering the last time Los Merengues were in quarter-finals beaten by the AS Monaco of Didier Deschamps, Fernando Morientes and Manu Adebayor with 1 more away goals. It was devastating and the beginning of the end of the Galactic era.

By that time, Fernando Morientes was traded to Monaco the previous year because he did not have spot in the galactic bench and tonight we see Rafael Van Der Vart in the same position, having and extraordinary season in Tottenham hotspur and coming back to Santiago Bernabeu to show he is a top class midfielder and should not have received such a treatment being traded.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo, Di Maria and Kaka are coming back from injuries and it seems Mourinho does not want to miss a star in his do or die match tonight. Are the ready? we don't know, but we are sure Mou does not want to be criticized for excluding them.

Tottenham also have many players on injury problems, but fortunately stars Garreth Bale and Aaron Lennon will start but bafana bafana capitain Steven Pienaar won't be able to play.

We will see if Jose Mourinho spell in European competitions will help Los Merengues this year. Well, all set for first leg between Real Madrid FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC for TSN and RSN in Canada.


 

MLS week 1 - First Kick 2011.

Week 1 on the MLS. Lots of expectations created during the pre-season. 2 expansions teams which create the Northwestern rivalry between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver and also starts the Canadian rivalry against Toronto waiting the Montreal Impact in 2012. New designated players coming in like Omar Bravo (Kansas City), Eric Hassli (Vancouver). The last year in contract for Beckham, the first full season for Henry and Marquez.

The first kick started with LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders. Another sold out in Qwest field, 36.000 fans, never forget Premier league average attendance is 34,700.

Beckham with a new fresh air, very dangerous on free kicks and always delivering good passes. Donovan had a world class breakaway which ended in the post, but nothing else for the US star. Juninho an all around midfield who covers a lot of space and also has a dangerous long distance shot. Disappointing the debut from Chad Barret, Birchall, Dunivant, I really expected more from this guys, their presence make the Galaxy roster very uneven talent wise.

Seattle, they offer a very attractive football. But they don't give the expected results. It seems very unfair. I'm sure the Nkufo loss right before the game might have affected in the results, since they had to depend in O'Brian White, a slow skill-less guy who frustrated offensively Toronto fans last year.

I really had high expectations in watching Uruguayan international Matias Fernandez as starter after the departure of Nyassi to Colorado, but the charrua could not complete 63 minutes on the field and even he knew the substitution was deserved.

On the other side, I was very happy seeing Friberg on the first half, showing lots of determination and skills and for moments showed like the ideal partner for Alonso who still shows signs to be the best defensive mid in MLS.

Galaxy won 1 - 0 with a long distance goal from Juninho. Seattle insisted specially with Montero but Josh Saunders stopped every shot on goal.

A whole new season just started! Lets follow it together!



  

Real Madrid and the quest of a striker.

How can we make Karim Benzema behave like the striker and number 9 of the best team of the last century? Last season he passed almost undercover when competing the spot against the 16th season of Madrid idol Raul Gonzalez and a red hot campaign of Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain. I would not say it was understandable, because you don't pay 30MM Euros for a player that can't compete in the big leagues, but the organization gave him another chance this season, that is for sure. 

The 2010-2011 begins with a new Coach and without Raul, a good moment to forget past failure and reborn in the white house, but Higuain started as hot as he finished last season and Mourinho just did not count with the frenchman from September to November, only a few substitutions on the 80th minute. 


Since December, Higuain injured due to a herniated disk, Benzema has been used as the only striker available and therefore the expectations raised high about the ex Lyon. He scored 2 hatricks but in non-transcendent games and, rather than that, Karim unfortunately hasn't showed much, not hunger, not sacrifice nor results. 

Karim Benzema has had more chances in the starter line-up than any other striker in the last 10 years on Real Madrid. I Remember players like Samuel Etoo, Michael Owen, Portillo, Soldado, Huntelaar whose always fought a spot against superstars like Morientes, Ronaldo, Robinho, Van Nisteelroy. These strikers always delivered 110% during the few minutes on the pitch and even scored important goals as substitutes.


 The frenchman has only scored one important and elaborated goal, yesterday's goal, where we all start thinking "he finally broke the ice!, from now on we will see a better striker". But after the nice and skilled goal, he continue to miss the same opportunities he has been missing since he arrived in Madrid. 

Only one player has had a similar disappointing campaign as striker and he was Antonio Cassano, an attacker that never woke up and never delivered the quality the Bernabeu was looking for. I think Benzema is now on the same category.






So, can we say Karim Benzema is the striker Real Madrid needs to remain unbeaten for the rest of the season, to fight La Copa del Rey semifinals and Champions league Quarter finals? I would say no, but only Mourinho will know.

NBA - Italian Style

European players are still fighting to impose his basketball style in the NBA, and they have achieved it lately more than ever. This time is not German nor Spaniard, is Italian. Andrea Bargnani is Toronto Raptors leader scorer with 21.3 points per game and the 2nd best scorer among centers in the league only behind Dwight (superman) Howard.

NBA number 1 draft pick in 2006, 2nd place in rookie of the year award behind Brandon Roy, many said Andrea could not get it because a month sidelined by an appendectomy surgery. Known as "Il Mago", he won twice the rookie of the month award being the third Raptor achieving this with Vince Carter and Damon Stoudamire. 


After NBA star Chris Bosh decided to be part of the beach boys project along with D Wade and Lebron James, someone had to stepped up as the offensive leader of the Canadian franchise and it was no other than the Italian center, 2nd best scorer and blocker leader for the team last season.


This is a tough league for the Europeans, only few of them adapt well and a smallest portion succeed the way Dirk Nowitzky or Pau Gasol have done it. I must say I was not expecting much from the Italian at the beginning of the season, but he really has showed maturity and consistency and also has been a key factor in every Toronto win this season raising his average to 24.7 ppg when Raptors win the game. 


The 7 feet center has increased almost 50% his scoring capabilities this year compared with his career in the NBA and not only he is scoring more points but he is more effective averaging 3% more in his field goal percentage. This combination plus the fact he is the current go-to man for coach Jay Triano shows how high has the Italian elevated his game this season. We can even say the depart of Chris Bosh hasn't been noted so far because if we end the season today, Raptors are still out of the playoffs in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. 


As many of the European centers in the NBA, he is an all-around player being able to shoot from long distance or play strong in the post. He might be the decisive player to take Toronto back in the playoffs this season, of course with the contribution of many other key players like De Rozen or Weems. 



It comes to my attention how natural he deals with big moments of pressure. As an example I'm referring to the Raptors vs Knicks game on December 8th this year were The Italian scored career high 41 points in the Madison Square Garden including a 3point to tie the game with 28 seconds left in the game. Lets be honest, beside Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller, how many players do you remember making their career highs in NYC? This requires some character. 


Enjoy that game recap below.