Angels Links: Toronto FC celebrates its first ever Championship

Toronto FC has its championship parade

Toronto got to celebrate Toronto FC’s championship, as the team had it’s parade and rally in downtown Toronto. There were thousands of fans out celebrating, and the rally was highlighted by emotional speeches from Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, and coach Greg Vanney. All three trophies were in attendance as Toronto won the treble this year. This was the city of Toronto’s first major sports championship since 1993, and the fans will be sure to enjoy this one for a long time.

Bruce Arena said it is false that he was trying to push MLS players into the USMNT for marketing purposes

Bruce Arena is pushing back against claims made by Danny Williams last week that he and other U.S. players who are not MLS players were marginalized in favor of MLS players because of the relationship between MLS and the USMNT. Williams was interviewed by NBC Sports and he is quoted as saying “I heard from a few people that they tried to market the MLS a bit more, in the qualifying games and get a name for the MLS.” MLS and U.S. Soccer declined to comment on Williams, but Bruce Arena is rejecting this idea, saying “We took who we felt were the best players, regardless of where they played. The statements are completely false.” While what Arena said is probably correct, MLS and the USMNT have always had a cozy relationship, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for MLS players to have been preferred for non-MLS players when their talent levels were pretty similar.

Ranking the knockout round match-ups for the Champions League

Like most years there are some juicy matchups in the champions league this year. Chelsea and Barcelona renew their rivalry from a few years back, Paris Saint-Germain’s reward for winning their group is a match-up against Real Madrid, and Juventus vs Tottenham is also juicy. Kevin McCauley of SB Nation ranks the knockout round match ups of the Champions League.

Alvaro Morata set to welcome his first child

Unlike a lot of us, Alvaro Morata has had a pretty good 2017. He won the Champions League with Real Madrid, he made a big money move to Chelsea and is now thriving as a striker in the Premier League. Morata received more good news, as he is expecting a child with his wife Alice Campello. He announced the news in an Instagram post this week. Looks like Morata will have one more fan to cheer him on next year. Congrats to the happy couple.

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