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- January 13th Edition
January 13th Edition
CanWNT have a new gaffer, TFC reunite with an old friend, and much more
Managers tend to steal a lot of the headlines in the global game, and that was certainly the case this week in Canadian Soccer.
The Canadian women’s national team appear to have found their new gaffer, while Toronto FC announced Robin Fraser as their latest head coach, and rumours persist about who might be the latest hire for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Elsewhere, could Alphonso Davies be sticking around at Bayern after all? Plus plenty of CPL and NSL transfer news, more CanMNT players on the move and plenty of other headlines in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.
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In this week's edition:
CanWNT
🇨🇦 Casey Stoney to CanWNT
Yahoo Sports
Less than half a month into the new year, and it appears as though one of the biggest questions for 2025 in Canadian soccer has already been answered.
Multiple reports, including from the Telegraph, and The Athletic, indicate that Casey Stoney (MBE!) will become the next coach of the Canadian women’s national team. If those reports are to be believed, and there is no reason to think otherwise considering the reputation of both of those outlets, this is an absolute coup for Canada.
Stoney is among the top managers available in the women’s game. At 42, she has managed Chelsea, Manchester United and most recently the San Diego Wave, with whom she won the NWSL Shield and NWSL Challenge Cup. She was said to be in the running for the job at Arsenal as well.
As a player, she was one of the greats for England. She played 130 times for her country, including helping them to a third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, where they beat the hosts along the way.
The Canadian women’s national team has been without a manager since Bev Priestman was dismissed in November following findings of an investigation into the drone scandal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
What Stoney will inherit is a national team in a transition of sorts. With no competitive fixtures in 2025, this will be a year of friendlies which will give the new manager plenty of time to evaluate her player pool before a crucial 2026 of continental competition and the 2027 World Cup.
With Jesse Marsch’s impact on the men’s program, there was a strong hope that Canada Soccer could find a way to hire a manager of a similar calibre to help elevate the women’s program. It appears as though they have done just that, and for a national team that needed a win off the field after a year of significant reputation damage, this is a huge one.
MLS
🔴 Toronto FC welcomes back Robin Fraser
Toronto FC
It’s back to the future for Toronto FC.
The MLS club announced on Friday afternoon that Robin Fraser will be the 15th coach in club history, signing a contract through 2027. It is a name that TFC fans will know well, as Fraser was an assistant with the club during their glory days, helping them to the treble in 2017 under head coach Greg Vanney.
Fraser, who first joined the club as an assistant in 2015, departed in 2019 to become the head coach of the Colorado Rapids. His best season in Colorado came in 2021 when he led them to the top of the Western Conference and finished as the runner-up for the league’s Coach of the Year award.
The 58-year-old has been coaching since 2007, starting as an assistant with Real Salt Lake, was the head coach of Chivas USA for two seasons and also an assistant with the New York Red Bulls.
What he will bring, aside from MLS experience, is an important amount of not only organizational knowledge but also knowledge of what it takes to win in this city. For a club that has undoubtedly lacked stability over the past few seasons, with Chris Armas, Javier Pérez, Bob Bradley and John Herdman all having managed the club on a permanent basis since Fraser’s departure, Fraser’s hiring will hopefully finally bring that.
Can Fraser bring Toronto FC back to its glory days? That remains to be seen. But it is a safe, sensible hire, and that’s what the club could use right now as they look to re-establish themselves as a playoff team in MLS.
MLS
🔵 CF Montreal are smart shoppers
CF Montreal
MTL have been on a Boxing Day spree. A week after announcing four new technical staff members, including former Impact baller Marco Donaldel, CFM have gone shopping in the transfer market with some impressive pick ups.
Last week’s transfers impressed the league. For a club that spent the least amount in salary in 2024, they somehow managed to qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, they are building an impressive squad on a budget. The first round of transfers demonstrated that philosophy.
Fabian Herbers and Michael Adedokun. The word smart will be theme of MTL’s transfer moves. As stated in last week’s edition, these two transfers will bolster and complement the CFM squad. Herbers brings the experience in the midfield while Adedokun is a promising talent out of the college system.
Welcome Giacomo Vrioni. The New England forward, Giacomo Vrioni, was traded for $50k in GAM and will occupy a Designated Player slot. The 26-year-old forward, in 67 league games, has registered 16 goals and three assists. What Vrioni needs are creative midfielders, where Bryce Duke and Caden Clark could be the right match. While Vrioni addresses the attack, MTL have also addressed their defence.
Welcome Jalen Neal. Perhaps the biggest surprise came in the signing of 2024 MLS Champion Jalen Neal. The LA Galaxy academy graduate is a highly rated defender and has recently earned a call-up to the USMNT. The defender comes with an impressive resume and can be a major influence at the backline alongside Joel Waterman, George Campbell and Fernando Alvarez.
One name to highlight: Corey Wray. TFC supporters remember this name? If not, you should. Wray was part of the front office team that contributed to TFC 2017 Treble success. In July, he was hired as a strategy consultant and in November became the CFM’s Director of Soccer. The admirable business strategy and recruitment can be attributed to Corey Wray’s years of MLS experience and club President and CEO Gabriel Gervais retaining his services.
MTL’s off-season is cooking. Bleu-Blanc-Noir have been astute with their signings, but there is still room for improvement. The club could use another forward, wing-back and relative big name to activate the supporters. But if we were to grade the club’s off-season activities: A-. It’s looking good.
Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad
AS Roma
🇮🇹 Evelyne Viens is a Supercoppa Italia champion. Viens comes back from injury, wins cup. The CanWNT forward did not feature in the game as it is her first game back from injury. Nonetheless, Roma dispathed Fiorentina 3-1. Another silverware added for Evelyne Viens.
🔴 Theo Corbeanu loan to Toronto FC? With Lorenzo Insigne seemingly on the way out, TFC are looking for a replacement. The current Canuck Abroad featuring for La Liga club Granada. Corbeanu has only made two appearances and is interested with a loan to Toronto with an option to buy. If this occurs, it is a good move for both parties.
🇮🇹 Tajon Buchanan to Roma? The Brampton winger has struggled to earn game time at Inter. According to TSN’s Matthew Scianitti, TJ has discussed a loan spell away from Inter Milan. Reportedly, Premier League and La Liga clubs have shown interest in the loan options. Despite the supposed interests, Buchanan has expressed that he is committed in fighting for his spot in the squad. However, according to Gianluca Di Marzio, Roma is interested in TJ. Not a bad move.
🧊 Another Jonathan David rumour? There are numerous clubs in Italy, Spain and England that have shown interest in JD. Last week, it was rumoured that Liverpool have shown interest in David and Davies. This week, Manchester United are rumoured to be interested in JD. For any United supporter, they understand that the Red Devils are struggling to score goals. With JD’s availability at the end of the season, this is an enticing option. Time will tell and we wish to stop writing on this topic soon.
🇩🇪 Phonzy contract extension imminent. Big man Fabrizio tweeted that significant progress has been made on Alphonso Davies’ contract extension. It appears that Phonzy’s agent Nick Huoseh is in Munich to discuss contract extension. However, the CanMNT captain has final say on the matter.
🇮🇹 Easton On-goal-ro. The former Eddies and Tridents striker was back up to his old tricks in a 3-0 win against Virtus Verona in Serie C. Ongaro scored two in the win, and was initially awarded the hat-trick before a late re-score saw the third, scored in stoppage-time, re-attributed to a teammate.
🇫🇷 Goal for Vanessa Gilles. French and European heavyweights, Olympique Lyonnais hosted Dijon Foot and gave the boot with a 2-0 win over the away side. Vanessa Gilles found scored the first goal of the game in the 27th minute.
🏴 Daniel Jebbison scores… for Bournemouth. In the dual-national striker’s first game after returning from his loan stint at Watford, Jebbo was in the goals. The last goal of the day, to be specific, to the ire of some Hornets supporters after 13 scoreless outings.
🏴 Alistair Johnston registered an assist. It’s been a good year for the CanMNT fullback. This past weekend, he registered his sixth assist of the season with a cross into the box for Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal. Celtic defeated Ross County 4-1.
Canucks at Home
🏡 Canucks at Home
Forge FC/CPL
🔨 Brian Wright is a Hammer. The 2024 CPL Players’ Player of the Year has officially signed with Forge FC. The 29-year-old baller has signed to a multi-year deal with the Hamilton club. Forge gaffer Bobby Smyrniotis signed Brian Wright to address the lack of goal scoring since the departure of Kwasi Poku.
🌾 Kris Twardek to Valour. The Winnipeg club have officially signed Kris Twardek from Atletico Madrid. The finances have not been disclosed but Twardek has signed a one-year contract with an option for 2026.
🌾 Valour have also signed Eleias Himaras. Valour FC have signed the 22-year-old goalkeeper to a one-year contract with an option for 2026.
⚓️ Halifax Wanderers ink Rayane Yesli. Former Valour goalkeeper Rayane Yesli, meanwhile, has swapped Ottawa for Halifax. The Algerian-Canadian penned a one-year deal with the Wanderers with an option for 2026.
👑 York United have signed Adonijah Reid. The former Pacific FC striker has signed with the Nine Stripes to a guaranteed one-year deal, with an option for another twelve months. The 25-year-old Brampton forward returns to his home province after spending two seasons in Victoria.
👑 York United also acquired Riley Ferrazzo. The Ontario-born defender returns to his home province after two seasons with the Halifax Wanderers. York United have signed Ferrazzo to a one-year deal with an option for 2026. This appears to be a common contract theme.
🦅 Afshin Ghotbi returns as Vancouver FC head coach. VanFC are staying the course. The club announced this week that Ghotbi will be back for his third year at the helm after a strong finish to the Eagles’ 2024 season. VFC also confirmed the returns of goalkeeping tandem Callum Irving and Niko Giantsopoulos.
🌊 Christabel Oduro joins the Halifax Tides. The highly-experienced forward is coming home. The 32-year-old arrives in Halifax with games in Sweden, Iceland, Turkey, the top of League1 Ontario — and five caps for the CanWNT — on an undisclosed deal.
🌷Ottawa Rapid announce five. The busiest week, by player volume, goes to the nation’s capital this week. The Rapid announced a quintet of Canadian players, the first of which was London-er Julia Benati, arriving from stints in Norway and Portugal. Fellow pros Melanie Forbes and Emily Amano, and college standouts Florence Belzile and Liv Scott rounded out the group.
🌹 Montréal Roses add four. Not to be outdone by the team just down the road, Roses jumped in on announcements with a quartet of local players, among them, Canadian youth international Félicia Roy. Roses also announced a U SPORTS trio on the same day, consisting of Montréal Carabins midfielder Lorie Thibault, and McGill Martlets duo Mara Bouchard and Stephanie Hill.
🏔️Vancouver Rise with a homecoming. Last but not least, on the west coast, the Rise shored up their options between the sticks. North Vancouver-born Kristin Tynan will share the gloves with Morgan McAslan for 2025, as the ex-Queen’s University Gael and TSS Rover returns to BC.
Other news
📰 In Other News
🏟️ A soccer stadium in Kingston? The mayor of Kingston, Bryan Paterson, has revealed the received proposal for a soccer-specific stadium in the Ontario city. The city will be built at Memorial Centre and would host a CPL team as well as semi-professional clubs. Mark Noonan has not mentioned Kingston as an expansion city within the near future but the CPL will need to grow in due time. A full discussion on what this new stadium means at the macro level can be read on Canadian Soccer Daily.