MLS: FC Dallas at Toronto FC

by Ethan Johnson
August 4, 2008

This game was the first of three road dates (August 3), which means no investigative bullet points or photos for this one:

Speaking of "the road", Marlena and I were elsewhere this weekend, which means I watched the game on tape delay this afternoon. Since I'm out of my FCD rhythm this time, I'll keep my remarks brief and look ahead to the next game.

Notable points:

  • Juan Toja is no longer a Hoop. This underscores why I don't like to get team jerseys with player names/numbers on them, unless I'm being a cheeky bastard.
  • Kenny Cooper is still a Hoop, after a painful week or two of idle speculation and half-truths (actually, non-truths because he is still on the team). This doesn't mean he'll retire as a Lifer. I figure his agent put the bug in his ear that if he went out on a high this season, the offers would be sweeter than Cardiff City. No offense to CC.
  • Diulio Davino was out with a fractured toe. This game would either silence or empower the haters.
  • Arturo Alvarez was traded to San Jose for a bag of flour and a how-ya-doin'.
  • Bruno Guarda, late of SMU (kinda like the FCD coach) is the new #8 (formerly Toja).

Furthermore, this was my first look at TFC all season, at home. After the league issued the "no random streamers" edict, I have been wondering if it applied to Toronto. Short answer: No.

I'll skip the particulars of this match, as there was a lot of back-and-forth play that was interesting enough (yet couldn't prevent me from dozing face up on the sofa) but was marred by the onion-skinned ref. TFC was dinged with a penalty kick ruling for an elbow to Pablo Ricchetti's nose. The perpetrator would. not. shut. up, and thus got red-carded out. Kenny Cooper drove in the penalty kick. 1-0 Dallas.

TFC got another red card for what appeared to be 2 yellow cards in the same match. Then a TFC trainer got ejected for ref abuse. No ejections in the stands for the ole "streamer the corner kick taker" trick, which led to the league edict against streamer interference. I think when TFC comes to Pepperoni Park, I'll test my pet theory and mummify a TFC player with colored crepe paper and see what the security folk does about it.

Kenny Cooper scored a straight-up goal "from distance" to ice the game 2-0 in stoppage time. Hey! 2 wins in a row for Schellas Hyndman. FCD is now #3 in the West, making them playoff-eligible (!!) if the season ended today. It doesn't, so I'll stick with "cautiously optimistic", or more accurately, "happy FCD won." I need to see some more winning-ness out of FCD before I get my playoff hopes up. Fortunately, the West is having a crap year overall, so that means bad teams can rise through the rankings fairly quickly, but they can fall pretty hard too.

I'm digging the KC goals (really, "goal" since anyone can take a PK) and definitely the win. More! More!

Oh, speaking of Drew Moor, I didn't miss Davino. D'oh.

Next up: FCD is off to Columbus August 16. Whaaaat! Is this like, the Olympic break or something? Damn! Rest up, guys! <EM>

(The full MLS article archive may be found here.)

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Jerseys
Submitted by hutchtx (not verified) on Wed, 2008-08-06 21:54.

Hey!

Nothing wrong with getting a name on a jersey. What's wrong with admiring even a former player? :) I still plan to wear my out-of-date #8 jersey. Or . . . maybe I'll get a #14 Steaua Bucuresti jersey for Christmas . . ;)

The name on the front
Submitted by ethan on Thu, 2008-08-07 08:24.

Those "Denilson #10" and "Ruiz #20" jerseys sure disappeared quick from the stands. Partly, with the revolving door going on these days, unless the name/number is a hall of famer or something, it's like, "that jersey is soooo last season." My one and only personalized jersey experience involved getting a New Orleans Saints jersey from eBay. Yep, my very own Kyle Turley jersey... who by then was playing for the Rams.

Fortunately, I bought it for the name on the front, not the back.

Well, see . . . it depends
Submitted by hutchtx (not verified) on Thu, 2008-08-14 06:36.

Well, see . . . it depends on the (former) player, as you pointed out. In this case, I credit Juan Toja with showing me that soccer is more than just a mere sport where players pass and kick the ball around and try to score -- but a true form of art, as well. I was actually a big FCD fan at the start of last season (before I knew who the guy with long hair was), which is why we got 1/2 season tickets. I mean, FCD games are FUN to go to! But I still didn't understand any of the finer points of soccer -- or what a really skilled player could do with the ball. And the only players I remembered (from 2006) at the start of last season were Kenny Cooper and Carlos Ruiz.

And then this long-haired guy wearing a #8, in a game against RSL last May, made this pass-run-slide to keep the ball in- then pass it again move . . . and my jaw dropped. That was the "defining moment" for me. It was because of moves like that (and backheels, and passes over opponents' heads), that I started researching and REALLY learning soccer. And after finding all of the cool Nike soccer ads on UTube, and such, I really came to appreciate what a skilled player can do with a soccer ball (I'd like to see a football player juggle a football!).

So, for better or for worse, regardless of the ups and downs he had this season with FCD, and come what may in the future -- I'm a Juan Toja fan (yes, call me a "groupie -- I don't care! I admit it! At least I not a Beckham groupie! It's a "girl" thing . . .), as well as a diehard FC Dallas fan. It's all his "fault" that I'm so addicted to soccer.

P.S. My daughter has both a Cooper jersey and a Sala jersey, which I think are "safe" jerseys to collect. :)