The Toronto FC Sadvent Calendar: Day 17

 

"MAICON SANTOS AND/OR MIKE SANDERS"

　

Christmas may come once a year there were always two Maicon Santoses. On the surface was the Brazilian samba magic forward with hinted silky skills and smooth dance rhythms at the corner flag. On the pitch was most often his plumbing North American alter ego Mike Sanders with the touch and vision of the most miserable of USL blunt instruments.

　

Check back tomorrow and open another Sadvent window!



Reds take shot of Avila as Maicon Santos heads to FC Dallas

"You new here? It's ok, so is everyone else"

And then there was one. Of all the players brought in under Preki, only Ty Harden (I know!) is still standing. The "TFC Transfer Window Wacky Funtime Hour" has continued today (official announcement) as club "captain" Maicon Santos was shipped to FC Dallas for former Generation Adidas attacking midfielder Eric Avila.
　
23-year old American Avila, is by all accounts a very versatile midfielder who fits into the Aron Winter modus operandi of being able to handle multiple positions. He also becomes the second once-highly-touted Dallas product TFC has acquired in a week after nabbing Peri Marosevic on a free. Unlike the sparsely used Marasovic, Avila has made 58 appearances with The Hoops but has fell out of FCD manager Schellas Hyndman's plans.
　
Maicon Santos will leave Toronto with mixed feelings behind. Many fans may miss some of the numbers he put up but many more will bemoan his enigmatic play. It was often frustrating to see the man many called "Mike Sanders" waste some obvious talents with play that was inconsistent and often bordering on lazy. Last month's match in Kansas City, where many blamed Santos for TFC's 1st half collapse (including Aron Winter who yanked him in the 43rd minute) was the death knell for the affable Brazilian's Toronto career. It was a performance that illuminated the worst of Santos' game which only got worse when attempts were made to force him into the midfield rather than up front.
　
TFC surely join a rare trivia group of clubs who have traded away two captains in one season. However, the armband will no doubt fall onto the much more "captainy" bicep of Torsten Frings who has been de-facto captain now for weeks. In other news, Ty Harden's suitcase is packed and ready to go.

Mo signs Brazilian with top scoring name

Maicon - not the good one.

After years and years of hard, gruelling, Indiana Jones-esque travels to the deepest darkest nightclubs, er... I mean, futbol stadiums of Brazil - Mo Johnston has finally signed his Samba striker. Just a week after Brazilian Maicon was strutting his stuff at the World Cup - TFC will have Brazilian Maicon in the famous red kit. Ole! Ole!

Okay, so the guy that Mo signed isn't that Maicon, and he didn't actually sign him from Brazil - he was released by Preki's old team Chivas USA. Oh, and he doesn't really score any goals... but hey that's just details! If Philadelphia Union can have fake Fred we can have fake Maicon! TFC will attempt to fool the locals with "our very first Brazilian" (we don't count Paulo Nagamura), Maicon Santos - a "forward" who has bounced through the paparazzi world of the Tunisian league, the lower Israeli league and the high-pressure world of the Brazilian lower divisions. Maicon Santos eventually found his way on loan to Chivas USA where he scored twice. What's Brazilian for Barrett again? Chadinho?

At worst, perhaps Preki, who says he knows the player well, can turn him into a big target man and get some useful minutes out of the well-named striker. We didn't realize things had got so bad up front that Mo would start name association signing. So, if your name is Steve Zidane, Randy Pele or Dave Van Basten - go buy yourself some shorts - you could be next!