Soccer  

Toronto FC looks to spoil Simcoe County Rovers' Canadian Championship debut

Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Growing up in England, John Herdman saw plenty of cup competition. He knows the pitfalls that can come with it.

"What you always know is that there's a few banana skins in the opening rounds," said the Toronto FC coach. "There's always some upsets and surprises."

The semi-pro Simcoe County Rovers hope to do just that at BMO Field on Wednesday in the League1 Ontario champion's first taste of the Canadian Championship.

"If I'm sitting in the Simcoe camp, they'll be pretty excited and, I think, hoping for one of the biggest upsets in Canadian football history," Herdman said.

Simcoe County, based in Barrie, Ont., some 90 kilometres north of Toronto, has wasted little time making news on and off the field.

Its ownership group incudes former Canada captains Julian de Guzman and Atiba Hutchinson and current Canadian Internationals Janine Beckie, Doneil Henry and Cyle Larin. And it has made it to the Canadian Championship after just two seasons in existence.

Simcoe qualified by winning the League 1 Ontario title last year. The club finished runner-up in the 2023 regular season at 15-4-1 and defeated league-leading Scrosoppi FC 4-2 in the championship game last September.

The 14-team Canadian Championship, featuring the three Canadian MLS clubs plus the eight Canadian Premier League franchises and the Ontario, Quebec and B.C. champions, kicked off Tuesday with Vancouver FC at Cavalry FC in an all-CPL matchup. After the Toronto-Simcoe tie, the four other preliminary-round matches go May 1 or 2.

Simcoe covers gas mileage and other expenses for some players but the team is amateur. Some players have day jobs, from working in a chemical plant to serving as deliverymen, while other are students.

In contrast, 20 Toronto players made six-figure salaries or better last season with 12 earning in excess of US$500,000 including Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne (the second-highest-paid player in MLS last season at US$15.4 million) and Federico Bernardeschi (fifth-highest at US$6.295 million).

Toronto, coming off a league-worst 4-20-10 season in MLS, currently stands fifth in the MLS's Eastern Conference at 4-4-1. TFC has lifted the Voyageurs Cup eight times, most recently in 2020, and finished runner-up five times.

"Winning the cup is on the agenda for this group of players," said Herdman.

Toronto exited in the Canadian championship quarterfinal last year, beaten 2-1 by CF Montreal.

With the midweek game sandwiched between Saturday's 1-0 win over visiting New England and a date in Orlando on Saturday, Herdman plans to rotate his roster.

"There have been some players that haven't seen the field and I'm anticipating they'll get a lot of minutes, to again feel part of the group and to take a step forward in a big competition," he said.

TFC will be without the injured Insigne, Richie Laryea, Shane O'Neill, Brandon Servania and Deandre Kerr. Midfielder Alonso Coello is available after going though concussion protocols.

There could be other roster moves.

Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said Monday the club is looking to bring a player in and move another out in advance of Tuesday's closing of the MLS primary transfer window.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2024.

Three of soccer's top clubs need a new coach. Unai Emery off the market after Aston Villa extension

Photo: The Canadian Press

Ahead of a summer when three of the biggest jobs in world soccer are up for grabs, Unai Emery became the latest top coach to decide to stay put.

The Aston Villa manager extended his contract until 2027 on Tuesday to stay in Birmingham at a time when Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all have looming vacancies.

In recent weeks, candidates Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann took themselves off the market by committing their futures to Bayer Leverkusen and Germany, respectively.

Emery was reportedly on the radar of Bayern and Barcelona after establishing himself as one of the shrewdest coaches in the sport with his work at Villa over the past two seasons.

Having taken over a team that was in danger of relegation in October 2022, he has guided Villa to fourth in the Premier League and into the semifinals of the Europa Conference League.

“We are enjoying our way together with Villa fans, the club owners, management and this great group of players that we are proud of,” Emery said Tuesday. "Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project.”

The field of candidates for the jobs at Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern is shrinking.

Alonso was the favorite for Liverpool and Bayern, having played for both teams during a storied career. But he announced last month that he would remain at Leverkusen, the team he has gone on to lead to its first German title at the expense of Bayern.

“This is the right place for me to be, to develop as a coach,” Alonso said.

Nagelsmann, fired by Bayern last season, was a contender to return to the German giant until last week when he extended his contract with the national team through to the 2026 World Cup. He was also considered a possibility for Liverpool, which faces the daunting task of replacing Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.

Klopp said in January he would step down after a trophy-laden spell of more than eight years on Merseyside.

Alonso seemed like a natural fit as an ex-player who has made a remarkable start to his coaching career with Leverkusen.

Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim replaced Alonso as the favorite for the Liverpool job, while Roberto De Zerbi has impressed at Brighton.

Bayern needs a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, who is stepping down at the end of the season. His reputation has taken a hit after failing to win the title this year, but he could yet walk away a Champions League winner after leading Bayern to the semifinals of European club soccer's elite competition.

The Champions League trophy could yet see Tuchel in the running for one of the other two top jobs available this summer.

Barcelona needs a new coach after Xavi Hernández said in January that this would be his last season.

Speculation that Emery was on the Catalan club's radar had increased in recent days.

Emery's reputation has only grown since taking over from Steven Gerrard when Villa was above the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Emery, who joined from Villarreal, led Villa to a seventh-place finish and qualified the team for Europe for the first time since 2010. Villa did not say at the time of his appointment in 2022 how long his original contract would run.

The 52-year-old Emery has won four Europa League trophies — three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal — and won the French league title with Paris Saint-Germain.

He previously coached in England with Arsenal from 2018-19.

“We are thrilled and are building a sporting operation around Unai to support him with a view of returning Aston Villa, a co-founder of the English Football League as we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary, to its historic levels of greatness,” club chairman Nassef Sawiris said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ten Hag comes out fighting and calls reactions to Man United's FA Cup semifinal win 'a disgrace'

Photo: The Canadian Press

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After limping into the FA Cup final, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag came out fighting on Tuesday.

His team was roundly criticized for blowing a 3-0 lead against second-tier Coventry on Sunday and needing a penalty shootout to advance to the final.

Ten Hag, himself, admitted United had been fortunate when Coventry saw an extra-time winner ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside. But with uncertainty surrounding his future following a disappointing season, he hit out at his critics after leading United to back-to-back FA Cup finals.

“The reaction from you (the media) was embarrassing,” he told a news conference ahead of Wednesday's Premier League game against Sheffield United. “Top football is about results and we made it to the final and deserved it.

“Twice (two FA Cup finals) in two years — it is magnificent. For me as manager, four cup finals in four years. The comments are a disgrace.”

United will play Manchester City in a repeat of last year's final on May 25.

Ten Hag won the Dutch Cup with Ajax in 2019 and 2021, and was runner up in 2022. He also won three Dutch league titles as Ajax coach. Under Ten Hag, Ajax reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2019.

It was that record that convinced United he was the right candidate to turn the club's fortunes around after years of decline since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Ten Hag won the English League Cup in his first season with United last year and qualified for the Champions League. But he has struggled to build on that early success this term.

His team is currently in seventh place in the standings and looks set to miss out on the Champions League, trailing fourth-place Aston Villa by 16 points with two games in hand.

New co-owner Jim Ratcliffe is overseeing sweeping changes at the club and speculation is rife about Ten Hag's position.

A new technical director, Jason Wilcox, was hired last week as Ratcliffe aims to transform United's soccer operations. Former Manchester City executive Omar Berrada has been hired as CEO and United is also targeting Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Man City vs Man United FA Cup final time confirmed

Photo: The Canadian Press

LONDON (AP) — The FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United will kick off at the traditional time of 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) on May 25, the Football Association said Tuesday.

In a repeat of last year's final, holder City will play rival United at Wembley Stadium.

The FA said the kickoff time had been agreed with both clubs, the local authority, safety advisory group and broadcasters.

It is the second straight year that the final will start at 3 p.m. In recent years it has had an early evening time slot.

City beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday to secure its place in the final, while United needed penalties to overcome second-tier Coventry on Sunday after blowing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 through extra time.

As well as the Cup, the winner will receive around $2.5 million.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

UEFA picks two video review referees at center of controversy for Euro 2024 duty

Photo: The Canadian Press

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The match official accused of bias by English Premier League club Nottingham Forest got UEFA support on Tuesday by being selected for the European Championship as a video review expert in an overall list which included no women.

Forest’s inflammatory social media post on Sunday targeting Stuart Attwell has been widely criticized across English soccer and was even mocked by another club.

Forest said Attwell is a fan of relegation rival Luton and claimed that this was a factor in not being awarded up to three penalty kicks on video review in a 2-0 loss at Everton on Sunday.

Attwell is among 20 video assistant referee (VAR) specialists chosen by UEFA to work at the 51-game Euro 2024 in Germany that starts June 14.

“All chosen referees have performed consistently to the highest standards in UEFA’s top competitions, and also in their domestic competitions,” UEFA head of refereeing Roberto Rosetti said in a statement.

Also on the VAR list is Tomasz Kwiatkowski of Poland, who UEFA removed from a Champions League game in November one day after he advised 2022 World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak to award Paris Saint-Germain a stoppage-time penalty for handball against Newcastle. Kylian Mbappé scored to deny Newcastle victory in a 1-1 draw.

Marciniak is among the 18 European referees picked for Euro 2024, plus Facundo Tello of Argentina who joins them as part of the close working ties between UEFA and South American soccer body CONMEBOL.

UEFA did not include any women among the referees, assistants, video review specialists and fourth officials in their Euro 2024 team that will be based in Frankfurt. At Euro 2020, Stéphanie Frappart of France was included as a fourth official. She made history at the men’s World Cup in 2022 when she handled the Germany-Costa Rica game in the group stage.

England has two referees selected, including Anthony Taylor who worked with Attwell in the Everton-Forest game on Sunday.

One of the two German referees picked, Felix Zwayer, was the subject of comments about integrity by Jude Bellingham when the England star played for Borussia Dortmund in 2021.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Analysis: How Inter Milan won its 20th Serie A title and Inzaghi his first as coach

Photo: The Canadian Press

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan stormed to a 20th Serie A title and earned a second star on the team shirts after dominating the league just like Napoli did last season.

The Italian title race was expected to be a closer fight this campaign but the defending champion stuttered from the start just as Inter impressed from the outset.

Everything appeared to click seamlessly for the Nerazzurri, who were helped by remaining relatively injury-free, and it was inevitable for a long time when they clinch the league on Monday.

It was even sweeter for Inter that it did so at city rival AC Milan, which also started the season hoping to secure its 20th Serie A trophy.

The 2-1 victory at San Siro lifted Inter 17 points clear of second-placed Milan with five matches to spare.

Here’s how Inter did it:

IMPRESSIVE INZAGHI

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has finally graduated from his ‘King of Cups’ nickname.

The 48-year-old Inzaghi had never coached a team to a league title despite an impressive list of achievements.

With Lazio and then Inter, Inzaghi won three Italian Cups and five Italian Super Cups, earning him the title of “Re di Coppe” (“King of Cups”). He also steered Inter to the Champions League final last year.

The way he broke his Serie A duck has been particularly outstanding.

Inter ruled over the league. The Nerazzurri lost just one match — in late September — and have by far the best attack as well as the best defense.

Inter has 79 league goals, 15 more than the next best attack — Milan — and went on a 13-match winning run in all competitions at the start of the year.

That run was halted only last month in a shootout loss at Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.

TIMELY CHANGES

Inter has also garnered praise for its attacking flair. The team has been entertaining.

That aesthetic has been down to Inzaghi’s player management. While he tends to keep squad rotation to a minimum, he consistently uses all five substitutions available.

Inzaghi also rarely uses them before the hour mark, unless a player is on a yellow card. Inter has not had two players sent off for two bookings this season.

SMART BUYS

There was concern among Inter supporters when Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko departed in the offseason to leave the Nerazzurri without a center forward.

Those worries didn’t last long as new signing Marcus Thuram seamlessly slotted in as Lautaro Martinez’s new strike partner.

So much so, that Lautaro and Thuram have taken over from Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as Serie A’s most dangerous strike pairing

The 26-year-old Thuram — the son of former Parma and Juventus defender Lilian Thuram – has 12 goals and seven assists, while Inter captain Lautaro has a league-high 23 goals.

Another key signing that initially raised eyebrows was that of veteran Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer for 6 million euros (then $5.45 million) to replace Andre Onana.

That was a fraction of the 51 million euros ($57 million) that Inter gained from selling Onana to Manchester United, and has turned into a smart business deal.

While Onana has been somewhat of a flop in the English Premier League, Sommer has proved ever reliable between the sticks. Not only has Inter conceded the least in the league but the 35-year-old Sommer has kept the most clean sheets, with 17 in 30 matches.

LACK OF CHALLENGERS

Just under a year ago, Napoli was celebrating its first Serie A title in more than three decades.

It must seem as if almost as much time has passed since then for its fans.

Napoli, which is on course for the worst title defense in Italian league history, is on its third coach of the campaign and sits a woeful eighth in the table.

Since 1995, only twice has a team failed to qualify for the Champions League the season after lifting the Serie A trophy.

Roma and Lazio also went through coaching changes after mediocre starts to the season, and a horrendous month for Milan towards the end of last year put paid to its title hopes.

That left Juventus the last realistic challenger to Inter — far beyond expectations after a tumultuous year off the field for the Bianconeri.

Juventus even moved into the lead in January while Inter was involved in the Italian Super Cup.

But Juventus spectacularly fell away as it failed to win another match for more than a month. The Bianconeri have won just two of their last 12 league matches in a miserable run.

Inter, meanwhile, has churned out the victories in a charmed season.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Serie A title, second star and derby: Inter takes it all with win over Milan

Photo: The Canadian Press

MILAN (AP) — Winning the derby ended up being the cherry on top of a special night for Inter Milan.

Holding off AC Milan 2-1 on Monday clinched for Inter the Serie A title that had been sign-posted for weeks, and earned a coveted second star on its jersey for winning a 20th Italian league title, breaking a tie with its fierce city rival.

“I told the guys, ‘We find ourselves in a situation that’s never happened before,’" Inter captain Lautaro Martínez said. "We needed to take advantage of this opportunity, because look around, the entire stadium is ours now.”

Canadian international Tajon Buchanan was on the Inter bench. The 25-year-old winger/wingback from Toronto, who joined Inter from Belgium's Club Brugge in January, becomes the first Canadian to be crowned champion of Italy, according to Canada Soccer.

Calgary-born centre back Fikayo Tomori started and scored for AC Milan. Tomori was less than a year old when his family left for London, England. He represented Canada and England at the youth level but eventually committed to the Three Lions.

Not even the pouring rain could dampen the spirits of the Nerazzurri and their fans.

Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram scored and, although Tomori’s late goal for AC Milan threatened to delay the celebrations, Inter held on for the win that stretched its lead to an insurmountable 17 points over second-placed Milan, with five rounds remaining.

At the final whistle, a beaming Lautaro and teammate Federico Dimarco climbed onto the top of the goal frame at San Siro.

Flares and fireworks were set off in the stands, and the Inter players danced raucously in front of their fans. A banner was unfurled saying in Italian: “Repeat it to the Madonnina, who are the champions and who the crybabies.”

The Madonnina is the statue on top of Milan cathedral that overlooks the city, and which the derby is named after.

After winning eight other trophies, Simone Inzaghi claimed his first league title as a coach.

“Winning the league with five matches left — more or less won with nine matches left, today making it mathematically certain — in a derby, with Milan the home team, that is something that will remain with us," Inzaghi said.

“Everyone gave their very valuable contribution so that we could reach goals like this.”

A star is awarded for every 10 Serie A titles. Only Juventus has won more, with a record 36 and thus three stars on its jersey.

Despite the rain, the stars aligned for Inter to wrap up Serie A, another star and the Derby della Madonnina on one night at San Siro, the stadium both teams share. Inter was technically the away team and only one end of the stadium was reserved for its black-and-blue-clad support.

Inter had won the past five derbies, including both legs of the Champions League semifinal last year and a 5-1 humiliation of Milan earlier this season in Serie A.

And the Nerazzurri went in front in the 18th minute when Benjamin Pavard nodded on Federico Dimarco’s corner for an unmarked Acerbi to head in from close range.

Lautaro should have doubled Inter’s lead seven minutes later when he was also left woefully unmarked but the league’s top goal-scorer inexplicably fired over the bar from point-blank range.

Milan seemed to draw confidence from that miss and Rafael Leão had a great chance to level following a rapid run on the counterattack from Tomori, but he fired straight at Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

It was end-to-end action and Milan captain Davide Calabria also forced a great save from Sommer at the end of the first half.

But clinching the crown seemed inevitable less than four minutes after the restart when Thuram ran onto a long Alessandro Bastoni ball over the top and feinted around his marker to cut in from the left along the edge of the area and drill into the near bottom corner.

The finale became tense when Milan pulled one back 10 minutes from time. Sommer did brilliantly to parry Mattia Gabbia's header onto his post but Tomori nodded in the rebound. Tomori grabbed the ball and gestured frantically to teammates as he raced back to the center circle, desperate to get the equalizer that would prevent Inter from securing the title.

As tempers flared, a scuffle broke out in stoppage time and Milan's Théo Hernandez and Inter defender Denzel Dumfries were sent off. Calabria was also shown a red card five minutes later following another scuffle.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RACE

Bologna consolidated fourth place with a 3-1 win at Roma to inflict Daniele De Rossi’s second league defeat as coach of the capital club.

Bologna moved seven points above fifth-placed Roma and eight above Atalanta – both of which have a game in hand.

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With files from The Canadian Press.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Olympiakos wins first European title for Greek clubs in UEFA Youth League final

Photo: The Canadian Press

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — A three-goal spree in six second-half minutes lifted Olympiakos to a first European title for Greek soccer clubs on Monday after beating AC Milan 3-0 in the UEFA Youth League final.

The senior Olympiakos team can quickly make it two UEFA titles in the Europa Conference League next month. Olympiakos plays Aston Villa in the semifinals.

Victory for Olympiakos was a triumph for owner Evangelos Marinakis one day after his relegation-threatened club in England, Nottingham Forest, challenged the integrity of the video review match official in a Premier League game it lost at Everton.

On Monday, VAR helped Olympiakos take the lead. A penalty was awarded only after a video review spotted a handball by Milan’s Polish midfielder Dariusz Stalmach.

Christos Mouzakitis scored in the 60th minute with a perfect left-footed spot kick sent low beyond Milan goalkeeper Noah Ravyere diving to his left.

Less than two minutes later, Antonios Papkanellos beat Ravyere with a shot from a tight angle.

An overhead kick by Theofanis Bakoulas sealed the win in the 66th.

No Italian club has won the UEFA youth title in 10 editions and Milan was the first to reach the final, played at the stadium next to UEFA headquarters.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Simcoe County Rovers looks to play David against Toronto FC's Goliath in cup game

Photo: The Canadian Press

Doneil Henry has plenty to cheer about Wednesday when Toronto FC hosts Simcoe County Rovers FC in Canadian Championship play.

Henry was the first Toronto FC academy player to graduate to the first team and had two stints with his hometown club. The 31-year-old defender is also a proud co-owner of Simcoe County, which won the 2023 League1 Ontario title in just its second season.

Simcoe's ownership group includes former Canada stars Atiba Hutchinson and Julian de Guzman as well as current Canadian internationals Janine Beckie, Cyle Larin and Henry.

Henry is looking forward to the David versus Goliath matchup.

"Ultimately I get to be a fan. I'm usually a player," said Henry. "I get to watch good football, my favourite coach (former Canada and current TFC coach John Herdman) versus my baby, my project in Simcoe County."

Based in Barrie, a growing community some 90 kilometres north of Toronto, Simcoe County has grown up quickly.

"For us, as a smaller club, It's been an amazing journey," said Peter Raco, Simcoe's president, chief executive officer and co-owner, who started building the club with de Guzman some four years ago.

Raco expects some 2,000 fans, in a fleet of buses, to make the trip from Barrie to BMO Field on Wednesday.

Qualifying for the Canadian Championship has been a goal from Day 1 for a club whose mantra is "Think big." Playing TFC is icing on the cake.

"For us this was the dream draw," said Raco. 

"We want to go there, obviously celebrate the success of our young club and the community, but also compete," he added.

The club doesn't get a piece of gate revenue from Wednesday's game. 

"It would be nice," mused Raco, who spent a dozen years in finance on Bay Street but is now in industrial real estate when not working on the Rovers.

Herdman, while warning the game could be a "banana skin" if his side doesn't take it seriously, said he's proud of the players behind Simcoe County.

"These people have been trying to leave a legacy for this country," he said. "A lot of what they were doing behind the scenes at Canada Soccer, no one will ever know because that will never be spoken about publicly. But they were always pushing to do the right things and leave a legacy.

"So to see them owning a club, I just wish it wasn't us they were playing. I would like to see them play someone else and push on but, yeah, (I'm) proud of what they have committed to Canadian football."

While Toronto (4-4-1) is already more than one-quarter through its MLS campaign, Simcoe doesn't kick off its regular season until Sunday. The club has been training since the start of February.

Toronto has lifted the Voyageurs club eight times and finished runner-up five times. TFC forward Prince Owusu says there should be just one outcome Wednesday.

"We know we're the better team and we have to show it," he said. "Of course, we have respect for every opponent, but we know if we do our job, it's just one team who will win this game."

Henry provides the view from the other side.

"I think we'll surprise a lot of people outside looking in," he said.

"Our objective is to be competitive … to go to this match and win," added 32-year-old Simcoe coach Zico Mahrady, a Toronto native who played in France, Qatar and Sweden.

While some Simcoe players get expenses for gas mileage and such, there is no soccer paycheque. In contrast, 20 Toronto players made six-figure salaries or better last season with 12 earning in excess of US$500,000. 

Two of the Simcoe players work on the floor at a chemical plant while others are deliverymen, work at golf courses or coach soccer. Some are students.

Orlendis Benitez and Alejandro Portal are former Cuban internationals who defected following a 6-0 loss to Canada in Toronto in September 2019 in CONCACAF Nations League play.

Raco and de Guzman settled on Barrie as a good location for a team with Will Devellis, president of the Barrie Soccer Club, coming on board as chief operating officer and co-owner.

The next step was adding to its ownership with Raco and de Guzman taking a page from Salford City, a fourth-tier English side whose ownership group includes English stars David Beckham, brothers Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, all part of Manchester United's storied 1992 academy class.

"We recruited current and active leaders in the international team … individuals that could really support the development of a club, leveraging all these experiences that they've gained throughout the world," said Raco.

Simcoe currently has some 10 members in its ownership group.

Henry got involved through de Guzman, whom he considers a mentor. Their goal, he says, is "ultimately just make it easier (for players) than what we had to deal with growing up."

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22 2024.

Toronto FC looks to make moves as transfer window closes, reveals Laryea as third DP

Photo: The Canadian Press

Toronto FC is in discussions to bring in a player and move another out before Major League Soccer's primary transfer window closes Tuesday.

General manager Jason Hernandez says the two moves are not related, however.

Hernandez also revealed that the club has made fullback Richie Laryea its third designated player. While Jonathan Osorio is listed on the club website as a DP, the GM said the club captain had agreed to restructure his contract to fit under the salary cap as a non-designated player.

Toronto had to be roster-compliant on Feb. 23, the eve of the regular season.

Under league rules, only US$683,750 of a designated player's pay counts against the club's salary budget of US$5.47 million (although devices like general and targeted allocation money allows clubs to reduce salary costs on the books).

Italians Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi are the team's other designated players. Insigne was the league's second-highest-paid player last season at US$15.4 million while Bernardeschi ranked No. 5 at US$6.295 million.

Osorio's salary of US$1.4 million last season was third-highest on the club payroll.

Laryea spent 2023 on loan from England's Nottingham Forest, first with Toronto and then Vancouver at a salary of US$1.436 million, according to the MLS Players Association. TFC reacquired the fullback/wingback in late February.

The price of getting Laryea back was such that the team needed to give him the DP tag to accommodate the "bulk of the transfer fee," said Hernandez.

Laryea is currently sidelined after undergoing hamstring surgery.

The team does not have to use the DP tag on Osorio and won't have to use it on Laryea either after this season, the GM added, so the club will have an open designated player spot next year.

The lack of transparency over Laryea as a DP evokes memories of a decade ago, when TFC announced it had sold Canadian international defender Doneil Henry to a club in Cyprus six months earlier. Since the sale wasn't announced at the time and Henry remained with Toronto on loan for the remainder of the season, no one knew of the transaction until the club finally came clean.

Henry never ended up playing for Apollon Limassol, moving instead to England's West Ham in early 2015.

Asked to characterize the player the club is targeting to bring in, Hernandez said he would be similar to Honduran midfielder Deybi Flores who signed in January — "a guy at a good age, of a good pedigree, that we imagine to be with us for several years, someone who's going to be a core starter for us week in and week out and really impact winning."

While he declined to detail what position the player is, he noted the cost of bringing in an elite striker and said the club is not looking to bring in a new designated player in the next 36 hours.

Hernandez said he hoped to get the player in sooner than later given the club's recent spate of injuries.

"So any reinforcements we can bring at this moment of time, I think, will do us a lot of good," he said.

Hernandez suggested more moves lie ahead as the club tries to get the right roster for the current coaching regime and management gets a better look at what it currently has as injured players return to action. That includes loan moves.

"Sometimes MLS can be a little bit of a slow-turning ship as far as roster evolution works, just because of all the different intricacies, complexities and constants on out roster and what we're able to do or not do according to the rules," he said.

Hernandez also confirmed the club will keep paying Adama Diomande's salary until he lands with another club. The 34-year-old Norwegian forward, who was waived in February, earned US$585,000 last season.

As for the long injury list this season, with Insigne among those sidelined, Hernandez says the club has brought in longtime Canada Soccer physiotherapist Greg Bay as a consultant and taken "a bunch of steps … to try to reassess and re-address how we're approaching our medical department holistically."

Toronto, which finished bottom of the league last season at 4-20-10, currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference at 4-4-1 under John Herdman.

"We feel real positive about call it the foundational steps we've taken … but we understand there's a lot of work to do and a long way to go," said Hernandez. 

In other league news, Atlanta United announced Monday that it has hired former Toronto FC coach Javier Perez as its director of methodology, a newly created position to replace academy director. 

Toronto promoted Perez from assistant coach to interim head coach when Chris Armas was fired after a 1-8-2 start to the 2021 season. Perez coached the rest of the campaign but did not return the next season when Bob Bradley was put in charge as head coach and sporting director.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2024.

Supreme Court allows soccer promoter's antitrust suit over FIFA policy on league matches to proceed

Photo: The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a soccer promoter’s antitrust lawsuit to go forward against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation over the world governing body’s policy of not permitting a country to host league matches involving teams from other countries.

The high court order leaves in a place a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Relevent Sports, controlled by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

Relevent sued in 2019 after FIFA disrupted its plan to host a Spanish league match between Barcelona and Girona at Miami Gardens, Florida, and the USSF refused permission to sanction a league match between two teams from Ecuador.

A district court dismissed the lawsuit, but a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reinstated it. The Biden administration weighed in on Relevent's side at the Supreme Court.

Relevent and FIFA reached an agreement this month to drop FIFA from the suit, a deal that the USSF wants to review and that has not yet been approved by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. FIFA, the USSF and Relevent lawyer Jeffrey L. Kessler did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

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Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro gets 1st Serie A coaching job at Udinese

Photo: The Canadian Press

UDINE, Italy (AP) — Fabio Cannavaro, captain of the Italy squad that won the 2006 World Cup, was given his first Serie A coaching job on Monday at relegation-threatened Udinese.

Cannavaro becomes Udinese’s third coach this season. He replaces the fired Gabriele Cioffi, who had taken over from Andrea Sottil in October.

Cannavaro was given a contract for the final six matches of the season. His brother, Paolo, will be his number one assistant.

The move comes after a 1-0 loss at Hellas Verona on Saturday left Udinese one spot above the drop zone and level on points with 18th-place Frosinone.

Udinese has been in the top division uninterrupted since 1995.

While Cannavaro has coached several clubs in China and the Middle East, his only managerial experience in Italy came with Benevento in Serie B for part of last season.

A former center back, Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or after helping Italy beat France in the 2006 World Cup final.

Cannavaro will take over for the first time when Udinese's game against Roma resumes on Thursday for the final 19 minutes.

The score was 1-1 on April 14 when Roma defender Evan Ndicka collapsed and the match was suspended. Ndicka was released from hospital a day later with a collapsed left lung.

It’s the 13th coaching change in Serie A this season.

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