New year, new day and plenty to write about

***Due to unforeseen circumstances, this column is being posted a day late***

We’re back with our regular football/soccer column but we’re changing the name and date slightly to pay homage to the old Soccer Saturday tv program hosted by the late, great Scotsman Graham Leggat on TSN.

Those of us who are old enough to remember it will do so fondly. If you don’t remember, a simple search on your preferred web browser will do the trick – “Graham Leggat Soccer Saturday.”

So, we’ll have a regular Soccer Saturday column moving forward that shares ideas, opinions, news and more about choice items taking place around the globe, in Canada, and of course in Muskoka.

MY TEAM STARTS STRONG

Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s news, starting with the Huntsville Adult Indoor Soccer League kicking off on Tuesday, January 16.

Only one of the six teams started their season with a win, with my Blues beating Teal 12-7 in a match that was quite competitive until the last 10 minutes.

Give the Teal team credit as they were playing without any substitutes and fought hard.

The other two matches saw the Reds and Yellows play to a 11-11 draw, with the Black team tying the Purple team 8-8.

We’ll be updating this weekly with results, standings and top performers as the season progresses!

Stay tuned!

MUFC REP UPDATE

Muskoka United FC’s rep teams – both competitive and development – are coming into shape and their programs have gotten back on track with indoor training.

While the competitive teams (U13 and up) are pretty much set for 2024, there are still some spots available to be filled.

The same is true for the development teams (U9 through u12), with the club set to offer some “Try It Nights” for these age groups from January 22 through February 5 (each team practices on a different night).

Anyone interested in either the competitive teams or the development teams can reach out to muskokaunitedfc@gmail.com for more information or, for the U12 and under ages, to sign up to “Try It.”

HDSA LOOKING FOR BOARD MEMBERS

On behalf of the Huntsville Soccer Club, I attended the virtual Huronia District Soccer Association (HDSA) AGM on Saturday, January 20 . . . albeit via audio as I was traveling at the time . . . and while I’ll spare our readers the overall bureaucratic, administrative chat from the meeting, I will mention that there are board positions that need filling.

As a longtime volunteer board member and coach in Huntsville, I have to say that it’s a great way to share ideas and thoughts on how soccer will look in the near and distant future for not just our local Muskoka communities, but the surrounding areas as well – from Simcoe County to Southern Georgian Bay to Muskoka to North Bay and Sudbury.

In fact, former Huntsville Soccer Club president Dave Caplan is the vice president of the HDSA and from all accounts is really enjoying his role as it makes him look at the sport from a holistic perspective.

Those who may be interested, can contact hdsa@hdsasoccer.ca

AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS

Every two years, the African Cup of Nations is held with the host nation changing – much like other regional national football tournaments throughout the world.

This year’s event, which was supposed to be held in 2023 but was postponed due to weather conditions in the host nation Ivory Coast, is now being played with the final taking place February 11.

I’ve been watching as many matches as possible (FuboTV Canada has the streaming rights) and I have a few observations to share . . .

Goals, goals, goals. If you like goals, you’ll love this tournament. There have been a handful of 1-0 results, but no nil-nil draws, and plenty of games have featured two or more goals. One of the more interesting matches was Ghana-Egypt, which saw Ghana take an early lead, then fall behind by one late in the match, before scoring a very late goal to end in a 2-2 draw.

Weak defending. Even in the matches where only one goal was scored or only one team scored, the defending has left a lot to be desired. Poor tactics and incomprehensible decision making have created plenty of scoring opportunities (there really should be more goals, see next observation for that).

A slight lack of quality. Other than the major players who ply their trade in Europe’s biggest leagues (Mo Salah, Victor Osimhen, Achraf Hakimi, a few others), there have been many times where a poor touch, bad pass, poor decision, and just a slight lack of quality is present. There really should have been 10 to 20 more goals scored in the tournament so far, but one of those aforementioned items got in the way.

Overall view. It’s a fun tournament with plenty of enjoyable moments and the wide-open play is entertaining . . . even if some of it is caused by less than stellar play.

MOURINHO OUT, DDR IN

Thank You Mister Mourinho for your work, your passion and a trophy (even if it was only the Conference league) plus two straight European finals for our beloved AS Roma. I, much like many Romanista, will always appreciate you.

Side note: Tottenham still the only club Jose Mourinho has managed where he didn’t win any trophies. The Spurs are the issue, not the managers. That club needs an up and down overhaul.

Back to Roma.

The Daniele De Rossi interim manager era started with a 2-1 home win over Hella Verona. The squad played well in the first half and built a 2-0 lead but lacked the intensity it needed to show in the second half . . . DDR will need to address that, as against a better opponent, they could have easily given away the points.

TORONTO FC PRE-SEASON CAMP

Other than to mention that it’s started, everyone is saying the right things, and there seems to be genuine camaraderie building, I won’t go too majorly in depth until the winter transfer window closes and we see what the team will look like heading into the season.

But, I will say if the team stays pretty much as is with leadership group (likely captain Jonathan Osorio along with Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Sean Johnson, and Shane O’Neill) as well as other supporting players buying into new gaffer John Herdman’s vision, it can get results and return to the MLS playoffs.

Still, some midfield and defensive depth is needed – though that can be found through a variety of ways mid-season – and at least they don’t have to start the year off with Champions League football, so they have time to gel.

Last season was disgraceful, but as any regular readers know, I put at least half the blame on the poor coaching, decision making, and player moves done by Bob Bradley (who had too much control and not enough humility to admit his faults).

Okay, that’s enough for this week! Stay tuned for the next Soccer Saturday column (which should actually be posted on a Saturday – hehehehehe).