Another Day, Another Deal

So this afternoon Toronto FC made yet another players move.  This time it was a trade with FC Dallas that saw TFC swapped Maicon Santos for Eric Avila.  At first look many might wonder why TFC have moved Santos as he has basically been the teams top scorer all season but that fact of the matter is that for the most part Santos has failed to live up to his price tag.  He was one of Toronto's top paid players and as such the club should have expected an even better return from him than 10 goals in his 32 matches for the club.  Avila on the other hand represents another move towards youth and potential for Toronto but he is also capable of jumping right in to the starting lineup.

So let me now introduce you to Eric Avila.  He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 MLS Super draft having come out of UC Santa Barbara a year early.  He ended up with FC Dallas where he was in his fourth season and made 58 appearances.  As an attacking midfielder he scored only 3 goals for the club but what he has to offer goes beyond the stat sheet and his goal tally.  Avila is a dynamic player who has the ability to create space in the center of the field as well as being able to create chances for those around him.  At only 23 years of age Avila still has some time to mature and develop his game so he may yet reach his scoring potential.  Avila showed that potential when he was in college where as a junior he was nominated for the Hermann trophy.  While at UC Santa Barbara he played in 66 games scoring 15 goals and collecting 18 assists. That is an impressive scoring record for a midfielder at the college level and it is just that kind of potential that TFC will be hoping he begins to show in the MLS.

Avila is an American born player who comes from California.  He played for the US national team at both the U-17 and U-20 levels a total of 30 times.  He was also a part of the US residency program that was set up in Bradenton, Florida which he joined in 2003.  Avila is very much one of the players who shows the fruits of the US national teams efforts to develop young talent and TFC will now be hoping that he continues to develop and reaches the level where he can play at the senior level. 

So Toronto have gotten younger and a bit more potential which is the point of a rebuild.  For that reason I think that this is a great deal for them.  It continues to develop the team in the way that Winter has said he wants to since Avila is a creative player who is capable of playing something similar to Total Football.  The other good part of this deal from a TFC point of view is that they are saving money on salaries as well as adding another international roster spot.  All in all it was a good move for TFC and hopefully it sets the stage for a good result tonight.

Interesting facts:
1. The addition of Avila brings TFC within one player of breaking the MLS record of 36 players used in a single season.

2. Aside from home grown players only 5 players are left on TFC from the 2010 squad and two of them are keepers (thanks to Luke Wileman for that one)

TFC's Big Day

Toronto FC fans everywhere knew that we would be able to expect a fair bit of activity once the summer window opened as it was clear that the club was in need of improvement, and in some cases just more bodies, in almost every position.  It was also clear that some of the clubs under performing players were in danger of being moved on.  With that in mind today's announcement by the club that they had gone out and secured two new designated players really should not be a shock.  Even more so when you consider that both signings had been strongly linked to the club by almost every media outlet that offers speculation on the team.

For Toronto FC today was a big day and many fans are going to be hoping that this serves as some sort of turning point in the future of the club and from here on out it will all be looking up.  I personally think that these two signings are a great beginning but it is nothing more then that.  A lot more needs to be done to address the teams needs.  They have still not replaced the scoring that they lost when the traded away De Rosario or found a striker to take some of the pressure to score off of Alan Gordon.  They also still need to go out and at least do some sort of patch job on the back line as injuries and other factors have left the team short on defenders able to play at the MLS level.  Today in the press conference announcing the signings Aaron Winter made it quite clear that this was only the beginning as he indicated that the team would be looking to make a number of trades which could see the club moving out any number of players included De Guzman who has consistently under performed since joining the club.

The first of today's signings that was announced was former German international Torsten Frings.  He has played much of his career as a defensive midfielder, same position as De Guzman, and was capped 79 times by Germany.  Most recently he played for Werder Bremen where he played in over 300 games in his two stints with the club.  Frings is now 34 years old and in the later stages of his career but it is clear that he still has loads of ability.  Despite being a defensive midfielder Frings has a proven ability to chip in some goals from time to time having scored 67 of them in his career that spans over 500 games now.  He will bring composure and experience to the centre of the park for Toronto FC and the club will be hoping that he is able to play on for at least a few more years despite his age.  He joins the club on a multiyear deal as a free transfer and will be eligible for selection on the 20th against FC Dallas.

The second signing of the day starts to address the scoring needs of the club.  Danny Koevermans is a Dutch striker and he also joins the club on a free transfer having signed a multiyear deal as a designated player.  Kovermans is a former Dutch international, even though he only played 4 games for the Netherlands, who has a proven scoring record in the Eredivisie.  In his club career he has scored 136 goals in 253 matches which is a good rate for a striker but his pace has fallen off a bit since he joined PSV in 2005.  Toronto FC will probably be looking for him to chip in a goal every other game and provide a veteran presence in the attack as well as giving a much needed increase to the depth.  His arrival will hopefully also make Alan Gordon and Maicon Santos better as they will be under slightly less pressure now to do all of the scoring.

Lost in the big news of the signings was the fact that TFC had a match tonight against their Canadian rivals in the Vancouver Whitecaps.  I was unable to watch the game but having seen the highlights I got the sense that it was a very even battle with neither team generating much in terms of offensive chances.  The only breakthrough in the game came as Soolsma cut inside and then out before Janicki brought him down just inside of the box.  The referee showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty and I have to say that it was the right call.  Soolsma was given the chance to finish off his play by taking the spot kick which he calmly converted to the left of the keeper.  It was the only goal of the game as TFC were able to bag a 1-0 win over the White Caps which is only their 3rd win of the season but it was enough to see them jump over three teams and into 5th in the East.  It also means that TFC are now 4 points up on Vancouver in the battle for the best Canadian team.  That battle will continue on the weekend when the Nutrilite Cup finally wraps up with the second leg being replayed at BMO Field.