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Former All-Star Toja returns to MLS

Toja (ISI)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Juan Toja is back in MLS. 

The former FC Dallas All-Star signed a contract with the league and will be assigned a team through the league's allocation order next week, joining Eddie Johnson, Kamani Hill, Bakary Soumare and Luis Robles as players to go through the player mechanism this season. Because Toja left MLS for a transfer fee, FC Dallas did not retain his MLS rights and he is subjected to the allocation order upon his return. 

Toja, now 27, was an All-Star midfielder during his two seasons in the league before bolting for Romanian side Steaua Bucuresti in 2008. The New England Revolution hold the top spot in the allocation order, followed by Toronto FC, Chivas USA, San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United, Portland Timbers as the next five teams, respectively. Should Dallas reclaim Toja, he would have to be passed on by eight teams in the order. 

What do you think of this development? Which team do you see claiming Toja? Do you think he can be a difference-maker in MLS?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Maybe not the difference-maker he was in MLS 1.0, but he helped create MLS 2.0. He’ll be fun to watch, that’s for sure.

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  2. No way New England passes on him….He can play the Left or the middle for them. I would have cleared out Joseph for this guy also.

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  3. SAME!

    Wish he could come back to Dallas. TOJA WIG” NIGHTS were awesome. He rarely dissapointed. I would love to se Dallas in a 4-3=3 like this

    Shea–Blas–Fabian
    ——————
    —Toja—-David–
    —–DeGuzman—–

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  4. Stupidest system ever. Players should be able to talk to whoever they want and go to the team they choose best. This allocation process is just f*ing ridiculous

    can you imagine if you wanted a job in engineering and you just got assigned to a company anywhere in the usa? WTF

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  5. Well the Revs already have Feilhaber, Rowe, and Nguyen in that ‘creative offensive midfielder’ spot, so I don’t know what they’d do with Toja. What they really need is a controlling center back.

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  6. The Timbers tried to sign him as a DP last season. I thought it was a stupid move as a DP, but Toja could be of some value now at a decent salary. I could see Toja and Diego Chara forming a pretty dangerous CM for the Timbers. Then again, our GM will probably rather look to New Guinea or the Galopagos Islands for a CM.

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  7. as an FCD season tix holder I can say that first year was amazing. The second one, not so much. He simply phoned it in and word was that most of his training was late night after the bars closed. I wouldn’t gamble too much on him. If the salary is reasonable, maybe worth it to a team with no left side mids. He probably will come back with a renewed appreciation for MLS (ask Eddie Johnson and Chris Rolfe). I’m just suspicious about how much is left in the tank with him talent-wise.

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  8. Exactly, which is why I can see Colorado swinging a trade for him, especially with Pareja there (FC Dallas and Colombian connection).

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  9. Toja’s tiki-taka passing style would be all the more relevant in the current MLS, to me the question would be fitness and health, it’s a physically demanding league to play in.

    I’ll be interested where he ends up. NE is top of the order but they have put a lot of energy into their midfield. Although based on table position I’d not sit pat if I were them.

    If not NE I think TFC or Chivas could really use him. In their contexts he wouldn’t even have to be great to be a “difference maker” for them. But at this stage in the season he may end up where someone can simply afford him (or make room by trade) because everyone’s cap structures are presumably pretty set at this stage.

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  10. I liked Toja when he first came to the league. But didn’t he talk smack about MLS when he transferred out? Now he comes crawling back? I just hope he doesn’t play for NY.

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  11. I dont know if he still can be a difference maker. The league progresses every year and I dont know if he has done the same or if just his old talent level would be enough to do so. He was one of my favorite players to watch when he was in MLS though. That hair was amazing to watch slicing up some D.

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