Wednesday, 19 July 2017

When an international break is not an international break

Day -330. WorldCup2018

Where's my inspiration today? I had something earlier today but it's gone. Ah, I got it!

Toronto FC played an MLS match today without 8 regular players. Two of them are injured. The other 6 are on International duty with their countries at the Gold Cup. And this is TFC's first match after a two week, wait for it, international break. When I read that in a report on TFC fan website, mentioned without any irony, I shook my head. Oh, the MLS.

The Gold Cup has reached the qaurter final stage and when TFC had no matches, two of their biggest stars, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, were not with the US team at the Gold Cup. Now that TFC are back in action, the US have taken advantage of the fact that Gold Cup rules allow for more players to be called up after the group stage and Bradley and Altidore are in the team. And this is the tournament where 8 out of the 12 teams playing the group stage move on. Four teams are eliminated.

It's not as bad as Olympic hockey where nobody is eliminated but it comes close in terms of the uselessness of a first round.

Maybe that's why I had lost my inspiration. All the shaking of my head today at the comical state of football sometimes unsettled all my thinking brain cells.

And because you care, TFC scored a last minute penalty to draw 2-2 in New York against NY City. And the US beat El Salvador 2-0 to reach the semifinals. Bradley and Altidore both played.

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