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Morning Ticker: Man United soars, D.C. United sinks and Toronto lands a Frenchman

Good morning everybody. April Fool’s Day as come and gone and while will probably never know if Bruce Arena could have guided the Mexican national team to glory, we do know that Tuesday offered its share of quality soccer.

Here are some stories from Tuesday to tide you over this morning:

Manchester United strolls past Roma in the Champions League quarterfinals while Barcelona takes a 1-0 road win at Schalke. You can’t really see either Man U or Barca dropping the second legs so we’re halfway to a juicy Manchester United-Barcelona semifinal.

If you haven’t seen Cristiano Ronaldo’s soaring header to open the scoring in this match, you need to see it:

D.C. United stumbles in CONCACAF Champions Cup, dropping 2-0 loss at Pachuca. Once again, an MLS team just starting its season gets trounced by a quality Mexican team three months into its season. It may sound like an excuse but it is a reality.

Toronto FC is set to sign French midfielder Laurent Robert. Will he be the answer to Toronto’s attacking woes? I’m not so sure about that one.

I’m off to Red Bulls practice today so I won’t be around for a little while. I will look to post from the team’s practice facility so stay tuned.

Comments

  1. Remember MLS is not the EPL or La Liga. Angel, Blanco were all washed up in everyone’s mind. I like the signing and hopefully another 2 signings by April 15th. I still think he has the legs for MLS!!!

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  2. no, getting a French player doesn’t help the toronto market since so few french people live here and almost nobody speaks french here except in French class in school.

    It’d be pandering to get an Italian star beyond his prime, as the italian community is huge in toronto.

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  3. Speaking of Laurent Robert – is this a move by TFC to “pander” to the Francophile market, as other teams have targeted ethnic groups in their areas with foreign signings? I’m thinking here of my backyard, where Blanco pleases lots of Mexican fans and lots of Poles are interested in Frankowski…

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  4. I’m sure all the Anglophile fans of TFC will be thrilled to find their promised saviour is… FRENCH?!?

    I for one am glad to see MLS open up to French talent, and would like to see more US talent tempting the sporting life in “the Hexagon.”

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  5. Hey, guys, is there a link to C. Ronaldo’s header? It looks like Ives intended to post one, but I don’t see it…

    Thanks in advance…

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  6. So – who thinks is better then? Kaka or Ronaldo? I vote Kaka because overall, I think he’s a better team player – besides, he’s more likable

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  7. In a quick trip to fantasy land: I will keep my fingers crossed for the DC United vs. Manchester United game in the FIFA World Club Cup. I would actually consider a trip to Japan for the game.

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  8. I have to say, Laurent Robert is well past his prime. He does take some amazing free kicks though. If memory serves me correct he scored some unbelievable goals for Newcastle.

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  9. It’s hard to be the next Denilson if you’re not coming in as a DP and you can’t do any dribble tricks during the run of play and end up not helping your team.

    Anyway, not sure what TFC sees in a 32-year-old who can’t get on the field for the worst EPL team in history. Well, Benny Feilhaber can’t either. So maybe he’s a 32-year-old Benny Feilhaber.

    (Kidding.)

    C. Ronaldo’s talent like Kobe’s cannot be ignored. But when you get that high and you do things that put your character in question, I guess you deserve potshots now and then.

    Although you can’t deny both players are currently the best players in their sport in all the world.

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  10. Can we teach our guys how to spin off defenders like that, and how to use width in the final third?

    The Gonzalos looked solid, but DC was exposed out wide.

    Niel (the midget) needs to get shots off whenever possible in road games like that.

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  11. I thought DC played as well as they could have, and honestly a 2-0 away result at Pachuca is not the worst. Playing at Pachuca, especially this early in the season, is about survival.

    DC’s main problem was they gave away too many free kicks. I don’t really blame the keeper that much on the first goal, that shot was sick.

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  12. Ives:

    Any follow up on the NYT blurb re M. Bradely’s pursuit by, among others, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart, Sampdoria, Everton, and Man Utd?

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  13. My feelings for C. Ronaldo closely mirror my feelings for Kobe Bryant. Fantastic player, just don’t care for him much individually.

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  14. I think C. Ronaldo is a fantastic player, but, in on-field actions (although is diving has lessened), and comments to the press (“I will soon be beautiful again” or something to that effect) – he still carries that air of the Mediterranean Prima Donna.

    Does he back it up on the field? Absolutely. I can’t say anything bad about his talent as a footballer…he may very well be the best player in the world right now. This last few weeks have just solidified that.

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  15. kpugs:

    and even that goal took down some more of the myth, that was brute force combined with finesse, not bad for a player who is supposed to be afraid of contact, huh?

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  16. I think DC played well, I also think Pachuca had more touches on the ball because DC didnt want to chase them around for the ball and get tired after 20 minutes because of the altitude. They had a pretty good strategy going in but was kind of unluky a little. Also, it the first half it seemed the ref. had the wistle in his mouth the whole time.

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  17. I thought DC held on very well until Zach Well’s error goal (yes he got caught cheating) in the face of a nice-looking Pachuca. Seemed to drain the air from their sails a little extra. That said, I think DC could have done more on the counter with a striker up front who could have held his ground against defenders. Seriously I’m not trying to make immature jokes, and that guy (sorry I forget his name) may have a huge heart and mad skills, but his 5’4″ frame isn’t going to cause defenses too many problems…I only mention it because that third attacker holding his own could have given DC a couple more chances. I realize this isn’t a news flash, but it has to be said.

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  18. Kpugs…I could not agree more. I was about to write something like that, but you already did it for me. At least I get a good morning chuckle out of people still making comments like that. Thanks for the laugh Philip.

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  19. Robert might have been the answer 3 years ago. I haven’t seen him play since then.

    I love all the Ronaldo bashing–guys, at this point it just smacks of jealousy, as he continues match-in, match-out to seeming do the impossible. It used to be funny, now it’s more pathetic than anything else.

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  20. George, you also need to consider the altitude. You go to Pachuca to survive. Last year my Dynamo were gasped after the first thirty minutes because we tried to play at a quick pace. DC was smart to sit back and let them come at them. The disparity has less to do with class and more to do with climate.

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  21. George- Pachuca 1st of all have alot more money than mls clubs , therefore way deeper benches. Also 3 months playing high quality games DOES make a difference. I’m not a DC fan but check in 3 months how they are doing and i’m pretty sure they will be playing much better. just sayin’…..

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  22. I love how the one Man U. player didn’t realize that Ronaldo was hurt – grabbed CR’s face and started shaking it.

    Granted – Ronaldo is so narcissistic, that writhing on the ground could be seen by others as him celebrating.

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  23. Ives,

    I think youre missing the fact that we are also making attempts to sign some other mids/wingers. At very very least he/they will be an improvement of what we are currently seeing. Dont forget, Robert has never played in a division two league, thats got to say something about his skills. Derby, well Derby much like Villa (and Angel) can suck the life out of anyone…

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  24. Ives,

    I know DC United’s season just started, but even if DC United was 3 months into its season like Pachuca was I would still pick Pachuca to win.

    The way Pachuca moved the ball around last night was great. DC United may be one of the elite teams in MLS, but they still have a long way to go in regards to depth.

    Outside of DC United’s starting 11 what do they have?

    Once again, Pachuca’s class was clearly evident last night, regardless.

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  25. “He signed with Derby County in January. After sitting on the bench for the last two months was given permission to seek work elsewhere.”

    Anyone else see a pattern at Derby.

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