Also, Canadian Women at the Gold Cup, Huntsville Indoor Soccer League, AS Roma pass Manchester United in UEFA rankings, and Muskoka soccer news

A new high-spirited gaffer, renewed commitment from a quality leadership core, a bleed-red homegrown captain, an energetic fan favourite back for good, and a new season where everyone starts at zero.

There is a lot to be positive and optimistic about heading into the new Major League Soccer season for Toronto FC.

Though the season officially kicked off with Inter Miami beating Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Wednesday, the rest of the league gets underway this weekend.

TFC will be on the road against 2023 Supporters Shield winners Cincinnati on Sunday (game time is 2:30 p.m.).

They’ll then head to New England for another Saturday afternoon showdown, before finally opening the 2024 BMO Field campaign on March 9 at 2 p.m.

I’ve been paying attention to the many behind the scenes photos and videos from their training camp and one can see that the players have a different energy that at any point over the past two years.

There are real smiles (not the fake ones for media requirements), laughter, camaraderie, intensity in the right moments, and you can tell there is a belief in each other.

It’s the best part of what John Herdman brings to the team (and what he brought to both the Canadian women’s and men’s national teams): positive energy, an all-for-one mentality, and the idea that playing for the crest on the shirt means more than the name on the back.

Admittedly, when they hired Herdman last year, I was a bit skeptical and thought the team needed a high-profile manager with high level playing experience. But I’m willing and very happy to be wrong.

Seeing the commitment that both Italian DPs made this winter to stay in Toronto and set right what went wrong last season, makes me believe a little more in what Herdman is bringing to the pitch.

Other reasons to be optimistic include the stability of homegrown captain Jonathan Osorio, who bleeds TFC red; the return of longtime hero and Canadian international Richie Laryea, who brings speed and strength and a cutting edge to the starting 11; and the fact that even a small improvement on both sides of the ball can lead to a decent campaign.

Will this team win the league? Likely not.

Can they have a winning season and return to the playoffs? Yes.

Am I being a little too optimistic? Maybe.

However, let’s consider that this team stays healthy and improves their goalscoring by even one goal per match this season – altogether doable after a season where they couldn’t get any consistency at the striker position and finished with only 26 total goals in league play.

That would see 20 more goals this season to bring them up to 46, which would put them in the middle of the pack and with more goals scored than the three last-in playoff teams from 2023.

Now, with more emphasis being placed on good defending at training and the additions of Layrea plus experienced Honduran defensive midfielder Deybi Flores, Irish centre back Kevin Long, and young French defender Nicksoen Gomis (signed Feb. 23 from Sheffield United), let’s say they can allow one less goal per game this season (an improvement with 20 less goals against).

That would put them at 39 goals against for the season and middle of the Eastern Conference pack in 2023. The TFC goal differential would be plus-7 at the end of year with those numbers and again in line or better than the teams who finished 2023 in one of the last three playoff spots.

It’s not impossible. In fact, this level of improvement is entirely possible with a new manager, renewed spirit and fight among the players, a “nobody believes in us” or an “us against the world” mentality (most have TFC to finish last or second last this season), and a return to the pre-MLS production from both DPs.

So, when I look at the potential to improve by one goal a game on both sides of the pitch, I have to say, I’m optimistic that this team can be one of the nine playoff teams in 2024.

CONCACAF WOMEN’S GOLD CUP

Life for the Canadian Women’s National Team without the GOAT Christine Sinclair has begun.

Kicking off their CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup on Thursday, the Canadians trounced El Salvador 6-0.

Five players scored with Adriana Leon netting two. It’s a good start to the Gold Cup tournament where Canada is one of the favourites to win along with the host United States.

Up next is Paraguay on Sunday at 5 p.m. and then Costa Rica on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to finish up the Group Stage. Canada should easily qualify for the next round as the top two teams in each of the three groups plus the two best third place finishers make it to the quarter finals.

The tournament is set up so that it is very, very likely that a U.S.-Canada final (barring any significant upsets) will take place on March 10.

Tournament matches are available on FuboTV Canada and YouTube.

AS ROMA MOVES PAST MAN UNITED IN CLUB RANKINGS

For the third straight season, AS Roma topped Dutch side Feyenoord in a knockout round or final.

While it took penalty kicks to make it happen, it was still a victory that saw Roma advance to the Europa League round-of-16, where they will face Brighton Hove & Albion over two legs (leg 1 is on March 7 in Rome).

With the victory, Roma moved past Manchester United into ninth place in the UEFA club rankings.

It’s a significant accomplishment, considering only 10 years ago, Roma were languishing at number-55 in the club rankings.

Chelsea is up next, and if Roma continues to progress through this season’s Europa League, they’ll move up another couple of spots in the rankings as well.

The UEFA co-efficient club rankings are based points picked up through a variety of weighted results: two points are awarded for each win by a club, and one for a draw (however, it’s only one point for a win and 0.5 of a point for the qualifying rounds).

They also take into account reaching the group stage in a European competition (four bonus points if it’s the Champions League; being a European group winner (four bonus points for the Europa League, two bonus points for the Europa Conference League); group runners-up (two bonus points for the Europa League, one bonus point for the Europa Conference League); reaching the round-of-16 (five bonus points for the Champions League, one bonus point for the Europa League); clubs that reach the quarter-finals (one bonus point for the Champions League and the Europa League); clubs that reach the semi-finals or final (one bonus point for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League).

How did this happen? Well, for those not paying attention, AS Roma has had several years of deep runs in the various European competitions.

Starting with the 2017-18 Champions League season, where Roma made a stellar run to the semi-finals (which included the historic comeback against Messi’s Barcelona in the quarter-finals) before falling 7-6 on aggregate to Liverpool.

The following season they were knocked out in the Champions League Round-of-16, then in a weird pandemic altered 2019-2020 Europa League season Roma fell to eventual champions Sevilla in a one-game round-of-16 knockout.

Since that match, Roma have gone (in order) to the Europa League semi-finals, won the inaugural Conference League trophy, and lost in penalties in the Europa League final last year.

Another run to the final will see the Romans continue to climb the co-efficient rankings and should other Serie A teams also make good in Europe (all seven are still alive), then there is a potential for a fifth entry into next season’s Champions League.

Mind you, winning the Europa League also provides a guaranteed spot in next season’s Champions League.

The two leagues that pick up the most co-efficient points in the previous season will get an extra spot – for the Top 4 leagues (Serie A, EPL, Bundesliga, and La Liga) it means five instead of four entries.

With Roma more likely to finish fifth, that extra spot could come in handy.

As of this week, Serie A has the most co-efficient points achieved this season and have moved past the Bundesliga into third in the league rankings.

Should results continue to favour the seven Serie A teams with at least two knocking out Spanish sides, the Italian first flight will even move past La Liga into second place in the league rankings and all but guarantee a fifth team in next season’s Champions League.

HUNTSVILLE INDOOR LEAGUE

So far, it’s been a Blue Moon season in the Huntsville Indoor Soccer League as the first-place team again ran away with a win on Tuesday night.

In a match that was much more competitive than the final score indicated, Blue Moon and the Golazos were tied 3-3 at halftime. But Blue Moon came storming out for the second half and scored a pair of quick goals to break the tie.

Eventually, they cruised to a 10-4 win and kept their place atop the standings.

In other action on Tuesday night, Thunder FC edged by The EH Team 11-8 and Grape Soda put the fizz down on Your Mum 9-7.

OTHER MUSKOKA SOCCER NEWS

Muskoka United FC teams have been training indoors weekly (twice a week for the older kids) as they gear up for the 2024 season.

Coaches have also been taking part in fitness/FIFA 11-plus training being provided by The SportLab and coaching sessions with MUFC Technical Lead Coach Ray Wright.

Some teams still have roster spots open for interested players, so those who want to learn more can email the club administrator at muskokaunitedfc@gmail.com

Meanwhile, the Huntsville Soccer Club is looking for an Equipment Manager and a Sponsorship Manager to join the volunteer board. If interested in learning more about the positions or jumping into one of them, email administrator@huntsvillesoccer.ca or vicepresident@huntsvillesoccer.ca

Prospective referees looking to get certified and start making money at the pitch should know that Ontario Soccer referee clinics are now open and taking registrations. Get signed up for one of the clinics at NEW MATCH OFFICIAL CLINIC REGISTRATION

Also, to reiterate from last week, Summer House League registration for adult and youth programs in Huntsville and Bracebridge is open.

Those interested in registering or learning more about Huntsville’s summer programs can visit: https://www.huntsvillesoccer.ca/

Those wanting to check out Bracebridge can go to: https://www.bracebridgesoccer.ca/