2011 Year in Review: A season of progress for Canada’s clubs
Posted on 26 December 2011 in Around the Soccer World
2011 proved to be an eventful year for Canada’s professional football clubs with important milestones reached across the board.
With the nation’s clubs competing in Major League Soccer, North American Soccer League, Nutrilite Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions League, Canadian club football evolved to a new level of competition signalling an important progression in the culture of Canada’s professional game.
2011 Nutrilite Canadian Championship
The 2011 edition of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship featured the debut of a four-team knock-out format for the competition. Teams competed in a two-legged home-and-away semi final before repeating the process to decide the final over two matches.
In the first round, defending champions Toronto FC dispatched debutants FC Edmonton while Vancouver Whitecaps FC progressed following a tight pair of matches against rival Impact Montréal to set-up a final featuring Canada’s two MLS clubs.
Toronto FC emerged as the Canadian champions on 2 July for the third season in a row after narrowly defeating Whitecaps FC in an eventful final that was forced to be rescheduled after adverse weather conditions halted play on 25 May.
2011-2012 CONCACAF Champions League
As winners of the 2011 Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Toronto FC qualified to be compete as Canada’s representative in 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.
Toronto FC overcame Nicaragua’s Real Estelí FC 4-2 in a home-and-away preliminary round match-up to advance to a difficult Group C featuring Pumas FC (Mexico), FC Dallas (USA) and Tauro FC (Panama).
Despite a slow start in the group, Toronto rebounded with a string of impressive results to set-up a final match showdown away to FC Dallas with the final qualification spot for the knockout stages up for grabs.
On a historic night for the club, Toronto FC rose to the occasion to defeat FC Dallas 3:0 on 18 October to book a place amongst the final eight in the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto is the second Canadian club to qualify for the quarter-final stage, the first since Montréal achieved the feat in the 2008-09 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Toronto FC is now set for a quarter-final fixture against the MLS Champions Los Angeles Galaxy beginning with the 7 March match at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
2011 MLS Season
For the first time, two Canadians clubs competed in MLS after Vancouver Whitecaps FC arrived into the top tier of North American football. The team's debut was accompanied by much fanfare and excitement in British Columbia and across Canada.
Vancouver marked its arrival in MLS with an opening-day victory over Toronto FC in a Canadian derby that featured no shortage of thrills and drama.
Toronto FC, meanwhile, took part in its fifth season in the league under the guidance of new head coach Aron Winter. As the season progressed, Winter was progressively able to stamp his mark on the team and the side enjoyed a string of improved results during the second half of the campaign.
Unfortunately for both Canadian clubs, neither Toronto nor Vancouver were able to secure a playoff spot in the 2011 season.
Perhaps the biggest story regarding Canadian content in MLS was veteran Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario capturing the MLS Golden Boot and MLS Most Valuable Player awards.
The season was also notable for the playoff performances of Will Johnson and André Hainault. Johnson’s courageous play in midfield for Real Salt Lake helped to propel the Utah side to the semi-final stage; Hainault scored a pair of crucial playoff goals to lead his team all the way to the MLS Cup final.
The 2011 MLS Cup title was eventually captured by the Los Angeles Galaxy.
2011 NASL Season
FC Edmonton burst onto the NASL scene with a successful first season in which the club fought its way all the way to the playoffs. Edmonton boasted a squad that featured an abundance of Canadian players with home-grown talents making up over 70% of the team’s squad over the course of the season.
The ‘Eddies were eventually knocked out of the playoffs in the first round at the hands of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, but Edmonton fans will be buoyed by the exciting prospects of a talented young Canadian squad for next season.
Impact Montréal experienced a transitional season as the team prepared to make its entrance into MLS in 2012. The Impact enjoyed a busy season off the pitch making a number of high-profile signings towards 2012, including the recent acquisition of Canadian midfielder Patrice Bernier.
Renovations at Stade Saputo are underway as the Impact prepare for their first season in North America’s top tier in 2012.
NSC Minnesota Stars capture the 2011 NASL championship.
