The Toronto FC Sadvent Calendar: Day 13

 

"THE THREE UNWISE MEN"

　

Old, Dutchnonsense and er... Silva. Yes "The Escobar 3" brought TFC PR to an all-time laughable low as Miguel Aceval, Nick Soolsma and Luis Silva were arrested after a punch-up and failed police escape outside of a Houston nightclub. Their TFC careers are now all long history but their freedom was at least spared by generous mystery benefactor, one "Julian B. Guzman".

　

Check back tomorrow and open another Sadvent window!



"He came, he drank, he left" - Miguel Aceval's Wall of Honour induction delayed

"Where's the party at?"



The only question is "how did it take so long?" Reports emerged this afternoon that Toronto FC and portly Chilean "defender"/ tequila aficionado Miguel Aceval have "mutually parted" ways. Brought in to TFC during the off-season alongside equally successful Ecuadorian Geovanny Caicedo, Aceval was touted to be one half of a South American centreback pairing that would solve The Reds' six-year defensive crisis. Not so much.
　
With less than a dozen appearances in TFC rouge, most of them looking slow, flat-footed and out of shape, Aceval leaves as yet another failed defensive experiment and takes his equally portly salary with him. Of course, Aceval will always own a bit of club infamy as he was one of the "TFC Three" players arrested in Houston earlier this year on public intoxication charges. With the earlier departure of Nick Soolsma, only Luis Silva survived the cull of TFC's "criminal element".
　
It will now be up to MLS nuclear scientists/ mathematicians to figure out how much of Aceval's salary will return to TFC's coffers and up to Mariner & Co. to replace a guy who wasn't even part of the team anyways. To the local Chilean who ran out and bought an Aceval TFC jersey in March... lo sentimos.
　
Further rumours are floating in the BMO ether today that the club are ready to sign Bermudian goalkeeper Freddy Hall. The 27-year old who flirted with Northampton Town would add cover to Milos & The Gang and possibly allow for the shopping of Stefan Frei once he regains health. If Hall sends mad Tweets like his countryman Reggie Lambe - we're all in.
　
Official word* will be linked below...
(* As this is TFC - official word should emerge in mid-November)

Those devils proved us wrong. TFC's official Migual Aceval statement (here)

TFC solidify place as league's most embarrassing club

"Free The Escobar Three!" Or not. Whatever.



"Things can only get better right?" This was a common refrain a couple of weeks ago after the Aron Winter dismissal. It was the genuine belief of many Toronto FC supporters that the on-field disgrace that is TFC must surely be due for an upswing. Well, whether Paul Mariner can change the results are yet to be seen but in the meantime, a trio of your FC'ers did their best to embarrass anyone attached with the club even further.
　
Following a bar brawl at Houston's "Club Escobar" (seriously, the hint is in the name!), three Reds - Nick Soolsma, Miguel Aceval and Luis Silva were arrested for "public intoxication" and jailed. During the arrest one of the players even tried to run away - which obviously wasn't Aceval. There has been no official word yet from the club or the league about the legal and/or contract status of the players but being as this was in Texas, the crime is punishable by the electric chair.

　

In all seriousness, this is a black eye that this club does not need. The ridiculous ownership has created a laughing stock club which definitely didn't need any help from their own players becoming a public disgrace. In all judicial fairness - it is too early to judge the players... legally speaking. But, in the realm of public opinion and relations - the damage has been done. Once again at the end of the day it is poor TFC supporters who must once again hear the chuckles of derision from every other club in the league. If Danny Koevermans hasn't said this already... "the most embarrassing team in the world".

Luis Silva's mugshot... post-Texan prison look

"Ace" in the hole

Right colour, wrong shirt



It's a Chile afternoon in Toronto! Great news for TFC supporters and pun-lovers alike as The Reds officially announced the signing of Chilean international defender Miguel Aceval today. The announcement concludes a signing-process that has been rumoured since December but spent the last few days floating around MLS red-tape limbo.
　
The versatile 29-year old defender joins TFC after a very solid career in the Chilean pro ranks including a six year stretch with South American powerhouse club Colo-Colo. Possibly more important to readers of this particular site is an 18 match run with one of the world's finest named clubs - "O' Higgins". Aceval made his debut with the Chilean national side in 2011 and is considered a strong yet not necessarily quick stopper with a thundering boot on dead balls.
　
Aron Winter must certainly be happier with the prospects of his backline in 2012 compared with how it looked in November. "Our defence needed to be addressed during the offseason and this signing complements our recent activity from last week" the Dutchman offered at Aceval's BMO Field unveiling and many would agree. With the returns from injury of Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams on the horizon, the defensive pairings should be a far cry from "Harden and Iro and pray for Frings to cover them". Also - Chile, chilly and chili puns are now open for business. Put that in your pipe O'Higgins.

Winter’s Draft affected by Chile conditions?

Now THAT'S a SuperDraft!



Wow that's a lot of punnage in one title. With reason though, as something is definitely going on behind the scenes which will help explain Toronto FC's two First Round draft picks at the MLS SuperDraft. (Don't you just hate those non-Super Drafts? So boring.) With their braintrust gathered in Kansas City, TFC did their best to confound those who do mock drafts.
　
With the 4th Pick overall, The Reds decided to go with consensus "best player available" in attacking midfielder Luis Silva. The 5-foot 11 Senior form UCSB upped his stock during the combines with an ability to find the open man, assisting on no less than 7 goals. Many NCAA experts predict the 23-year old to push for a starting role with TFC and at the very least make for very useful depth. Silva, a Los Angeles native, spent some time in the Chivas USA youth set-up and enjoys playing FIFA 08 - his new contract should help him at least get a used copy of FIFA 10.
　
POSSIBLE NICKNAMES: "The Silva Bullet", "Silva of Hope" (thanks to twitter's Darth Pingu for that one), "The Silva Fox" and an extra 20 points to the first broadcaster who announces a Luis Silva-Joao Plata goal combo as "The Silva-Plata"
　
After passing on their greatest need - defence - with the first pick, many TFC observers felt that the club must have known that they could pick up hulking defender Andrew Jean "The" Baptiste. If that was the plan, those wacky lumberjacks in Portland scuppered it by taking Baptiste with the 8th Pick.

With a giant Harden-sized hole remaining in the backline, The Reds seemingly took a gamble with the 12th Pick by taking Notre Dame defender Aaron Maund. The 6-foot 1 Senior was primarily a centreback in his NCAA career and flirted with Trinidad & Tobago's U-17 program. The 22-year old Massachusetts native was not predicted by many to go so high in the draft but with TFC's dearth in the back,  he may have a shot at a pro career more abundant than expected. Also, Maund attended a High School called The Roxbury Latin School which sounds like a salsa nightclub - so there's that.
　
POSSIBLE NICKNAMES: "Maundsta","The Long Maund of Rebound", "A-Maund Joy" plus an extra 20 points to the first broadcaster reading a TFC line-up who makes Iro - Maund sound like "Irie, mon"
　
So as the dust settled, Polaroids were taken and Sporting KC fans ended their xenophobic Canada chants, TFC walked off with these two young gents but a whole lot of questions. Firstly, the aforementioned hole in the defence wasn't really addressed; however, at press time (I have a card that says "PRESS" in my fedora ok? Jeez.) the TFC management team were making loud murmurs about two defenders who were about to be signed. Best guesses at their identities are Chilean Miguel Aceval and the return of Richard "GingaNinja" Eckersley which makes us think that this day may be long from over.
　
The second conundrum offered by these picks is that neither are Generation Adidas status which means that their potential salaries will count against TFC's salary cap - which is thought by most to be bursting at the seams. This off course would have only solution - the departure of some existing members of the club. Which makes us think this day is really long from over.
　
NOTES FROM THE SUPERDRAFT...
- L'impact du Montreal Impact chose defender Andrew Wenger with their 1st overall pick which immediately excited the French community who mistakenly thought Arsene Wenger had joined the club
- Whitecaps chose speedy forward Darren Mattocks who was blah, blah, blah - who cares - it's Vancouver
- New England Revolution chose Kelyn Rowe who won't have trouble with crowd phobias in front of the Revs' dozens of fans
- D.C. United's pick, Nick "Ponce" DeLeon, immediately drew the ire of Dwayne De Rosario who demanded a "fountain of youth" in his new contract
- Ethan Finlay, Columbus' 1st Rounder, demanded to know where the other 2/3 of Crew's new away kit was but was placated when he got to meet the three dudes on the club's logo
- Don Garber is still refusing to go by the name Dong Grabber
- News of Kenny Cooper's trade to NYRB being met with the phrase "Salary Cap - Shmalary Cap"

FURTHER TFC DRAFT UPDATES WILL APPEAR BELOW...

Big deal for wee man

A three-year deal Joao?



"El MosQuito" will be buzzing around BMO Field for the foreseeable future as Toronto FC announced today that Joao Plata has signed a multi-year deal with the club. The dynamic yet diminutive Ecuadorian was often the only bright spark in a miserable first half of 2011 and his re-signing was considered as an off-season must in most supporters' eyes.
　
As per the secretive world of MLS contracts "terms of the deal were not disclosed" so it is yet to be determined if this deal is a full buyout of Plata's contract with original club LDU Quito, or, as reported in many circles, some type of co-ownership deal. Surely the details will emerge soon but for now, most TFC supporters will feel happy, and relieved, that a player who is considered to be an integral part of the club's future will remain in Toronto.
　
Of course, to stay on track after a breakout 2011, Plata will need to keep working hard to avoid any sophomore slump in a league where he will no longer be a surprise. Expectations will also be higher for Platita from fans and coaches alike in 2012 and how he handles such pressures will be the difference between success and failure. One thing that Plata did show in his first year that will surely help is a supreme confidence in his own abilities.
　
A deal not announced but one that is being anticipated with equally bated breath is for similar 2011 loanee Richard Eckersley. There is no shortage of goodwill between the player and the club but many feel that the defender's parent club Burnley will play financial hardball until the end of the European transfer window. Some defensive cover may indeed be on its way however as rumours that Chilean wingback Miguel Aceval is on the verge of joining The Reds are heating further today. With the MLS SuperDraft a mere day away, TFC 2012 is slowly taking shape.

THE WORD: TFC defence getting a bit Chile?

Aceval in the hole?



The rumours are boiling out of Chile today that The Reds are about to add a new defender to their ranks. If the Santiago media are to be trusted, then 28-year old centre-left back Miguel Aceval has already agreed on a contract with TFC and the paperwork is in the midst of being finalized by Major League Soccer.
　
While not a household name in these parts, the 6-foot tall Santiago native has had a solid career in the Chilean top tier which began with South American powerhouse Colo-Colo. Aceval spent 2011 with Universidad de Concepcion where he managed 5 goals in 30 appearances. 2011 also marked the defender's first cap with the full Chilean national side in a friendly against Mexico.
　
Early scouting shows that Aceval can play on the left side or in the left-centre of the back four which could mean a covering role to Ashtone Morgan in the vein of Danleigh Borman, or in a best-case scenario - the ability to replace Ty Harden's current starting role at CB. Worst case scenario? Lots more Chile / chili / chilly puns all round!
　
WORD FACTOR: 8 / 10