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Revs acquire former MLS All-Star Toja with top spot in allocation order

TojaRevs (ISI)

Juan Toja and his infamous mullet are headed to Gillette Stadium.

The New England Revolution used their place atop the MLS allocation order to select Toja, a former MLS All-Star at FC Dallas who signed with the league late last week. Toja, 27, rejoins MLS after a foray into European soccer with Romania's Steaua Bucharest and Greece's Aris FC. He was an MLS All-Star in 2007 and 2008 with FC Dallas, scoring eight goals and assisting on three others in 43 MLS games.

“We’re pleased to add a player of Juan’s skill and experience through the Allocation Process, and we’re looking forward to getting Juan in with the team as soon as possible,” Revs general manager Mike Burns said in a press release. “He’s not only played in MLS and is familiar with the league, but he’s also been very successful in MLS. We believe he’ll be a valuable player for us.”

The acquisition marks the second straight season that the Revolution have benefitted byt he allocation order, using their place to select Benny Feilhaber last season.

With the Revolution using their place at the top of the order, Toronto FC ascends to the top spot, followed by Chivas USA, the San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United and Portland Timbers to round out the top five places. Only a couple of weeks remain for that to be relevant for this season, as the league's roster freeze date is set for Sept. 15.

Toja joins Eddie Johnson, Kamani Hill, Bakary Soumare and Luis Robles as players to join MLS through the allocation order this season.

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What do you think of this development? What do you think it means for some of the Revs' midfield playmakers like Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe? Do you see the Revs using Toja as a trade chip instead of keeping him?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. HAHAHA!! I actually still have my Juan Toja wig, he was always a fan favorite because of his balls to the wall style of play, he would never shy away from a great timed tackle. Wish he would come back to Dallas!

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  2. Generally, think of it like a draft for former MLS and US International players returning to MLS after playing abroad. Works the same way — teams can pass and trade for positions.

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  3. How many players are they going to get to waste away? It seems like for the past two years they keep getting these players. Benny, Lee, etc.

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  4. Jay Heaps is a new coach learning the ropes. Their style of football is much more attractive than their style under Nichol. This guy is going to add to that.

    The last piece is that rock in the back to pair with Soares.

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  5. Ever? Biased much? Not disputing, just saying what an interesting time to pull that card out of your hat ha. Whatever helps you sleep at night.. I know it’s cold down there in the cellar 🙂

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  6. I liked Toja as a player and admired his energy and performance. But I think he’s someone who was in the right moment at the right time. I also think he’s a bad fit for NE. We’ll see.

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  7. The Revs attack is pretty solid right now. I don’t think they need another attacking option. They really need to shore up that defense. You could park Texas in the holes of the backline.

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  8. Toja was much less effective when shoehorned into a creative role. He was best used at Dallas as a defensive midfielder who was allowed to run forward at times. He’s a passable MLS attacking player, but with FCD he was a beast at covering ground and making smooth tackles that he could then transition into possession.

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  9. Let’s assume he’s the same player that left MLS. If he is, then he’s a good pick up no matter what team he went to.

    That said, I think KC should have pressed hard to get him. They’ve been lacking a good creative midfielder in the middle to partner Espinoza ever since they started moving Zusi out wide.

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  10. Not sure on this as a good fit or not. Should be interestng to see how they use him and if he fits in to the system. Oh and I think FC Dallas probably has some wigs left over if you want to do a Toja Wig night.

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  11. Right, while it would be nice to see what kind of contribution he could make to the midfield we NEED some more defensive cover.

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