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8 CPL Thoughts: Olímpicos, TFC squeaks past Forge, de Brienne transfer news and CPL squad building

8 CPL Thoughts: Olímpicos, TFC squeaks past Forge, de Brienne transfer news and CPL squad building

Despite being the better side on the night, Toronto FC was only able to find the back of the net once during the second leg of their Canadian Championship series against Forge FC. But thanks to the away goals rule, it was enough for John Herdman's side to advance to the cup final even though the aggregate score was 2-2.

Like the rest of the reporters in attendance at BMO Field, I filed down to the pressroom to hear from both Herdman and Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. As it has several times this tournament, the away goals rule — and what coaches throughout the Canadian football world think of it — was a focal point of Smyrniotis' post-match press conference.

“The game is played on margins. In this series between two good teams, it was decided by a very small margin. One team won one game; one team won another one," he said. "We still count away goals (in CONCACAF), the only confederation in the world. If we're playing in UEFA, we'd be in penalty shots right now, but we're not. This is where we are."

Some have asked if Smyrniotis would've mentioned the away goals rule if Forge had won; sadly, we'll never know. But I think it's safe to say there's an appetite for change around the Canadian Championship. Also, if you're not familiar, welcome to 8 CPL Thoughts, the column where I round up the news and tidbits I'm hearing across the league. Let's dig into it.

1. It's time to scrap the away goals rule in CONCACAF

As mentioned, Smyrniotis isn't the first coach to criticize the away goals rule and, dare I say, he won't be the last. Vanni Sartini, the head coach for Vancouver Whitecaps, and Pacific's James Merriman, have both sounded off already this tournament.

"They deserve to go to penalties," said Sartini following his side's advancement to the semifinals despite being tied 2-2 on aggregate with Cavalry FC. "Let's take off the away goals rule. We need to maybe change this rule."

Merriman was even more pointed.

"They don't use it in the Champions League, they don't use it in other parts of the world, I don't know why we're using it here," he said.

This issue isn't limited to the Canadian Championship; away goals have also decided fates in other CONCACAF tournaments, including Orlando City's elimination in last year's Champions Cup round of 16 against Tigres.

Speaking to people around the CPL, no one seems to like the away goals rule and would prefer to see CONCOCAF mirror the rest of world football. Coaches, be they on the winning or losing side, want the rule gone.

2. Kyle Bekker talks football's ebbs and flows

I had the chance to interview Forge captain Kyle Bekker ahead of the Toronto FC match for TFC Republic. He's a well spoken guy — thoughtful but curt — and I was surprised by a comment he made discussing consistency.

“Over the course of the season, there’s going to be lulls. There’s going to be ebbs and flows,” he said. “We had a run of results that wasn’t the best. To be honest, it wasn’t the greatest atmosphere around here because guys were frustrated with what was going on. We knew we wanted more from each other.”

I asked him to expand on his thoughts.

“The reality is there’s a big physical and emotional output that goes into everything we do to be able to compete at a high level. It is normal to have burnout, it is normal to be a little frustrated when things don’t go your way. Sometimes, the easiest solution is just taking a step back and just remaining consistent in what we do," said Bekker.

“Here, it’s more so about the collective than any individual. When we’re at our best, you see that, you see we become a very dynamic team. We rely on our depth. I think you’ve seen over the years we’ve got a coach who throws players in, gives tons of chances to young guys, which is what you want, especially in a league like (the CPL).”

Burnout in sports is real. As a journalist or fan, it's easy to forget but for Bekker and his teammates, they reported for pre-season starting on January 4 in anticipation of their Champions Cup matches against Chivas Guadalajara. They've lived that reality for eight months; it's only natural that players go through highs and lows as they continue to push their bodies in hopes of lifting silverware. Even the reigning CPL champs aren't immune.

3. Matteo de Brienne: the next big CPL transfer?

Reporter Manuel Veth of Transfermarkt wrote last week that Atlético Ottawa full-back Matteo de Brienne is in advanced talks to join an Allsvenskan club in Sweden. As per Veth, the club in question is willing to pay a significant transfer fee for the 22-year old Canadian.

However, given Atlético Ottawa's trophy aspirations, sources said the club asked the Allsvenskan side to wait until January before completing any move. Veth reported the potential fee would be among the top 10 highest paying transfers in CPL history.

I've followed up on Veth's reporting for The Wanderers Notebook and confirmed it to be accurate. Part of the understanding between de Brienne's camp and Atlético Ottawa, noted sources, is that when he signed a two-year deal, the club would be willing to allow the young full-back room to explore options in Europe this off-season.

But it's quite a wait between now and January. It'll be interesting to see if the transfer landscape shifts, especially if Atlético Ottawa doesn't hit the heights they aspired to this season.

4. Revisiting the Gabriel Bitar chatter

I reported August 8 that Vancouver FC was shopping 25-year old midfielder Gabriel Bitar. The club weighed interest and opted to deal striker Moses Dyer for Pacific's Ayman Sellouf instead.

I have since been able to confirm that one of the proposals for Bitar was Pacific's Dario Zanatta, who is in the midst of a trying first season on Vancouver Island. He's made 16 league appearances, logging minutes as both a starter and substitute, but has yet to register a single goal contribution. Now, as one of the wingers tasked with creating, some of Pacific's goal scoring woes rest on Zanatta's shoulders but the issue is bigger than the former Scottish League One veteran, as we'll get into later.

The other club I was told that was interested in Bitar was the Halifax Wanderers. I have since been told that midfielder Aidan Daniels was the player involved, although sources said Vancouver FC approached the Wanderers looking to swap Bitar for Daniels, not the other way round as I first reported. Daniels had a landmark campaign in 2023 for the Wanderers and was a core piece of their attack. However, this year has seen the former Toronto FC academy player regress as both player and club have battled inconsistencies. Daniels has only one goal contribution in 2024 and has been used as a utility player by head coach Patrice Gheisar, shuffling the Ajax-native across a number of positions. Still, the club opted to keep Daniels — a player they know well and like — versus dealing him for Bitar.

To note, with both Dyer and Sellouf on expiring contracts, Vancouver and Pacific have given themselves flexibility moving into the off-season.

5. Wanderers nix off-season transfers

Speaking of the Halifax Wanderers, I had the opportunity to interview club sporting director Matt Fegan for a lengthy Q&A two weeks ago. In it, Fegan confirmed that defenders Cale Loughrey and Dan Nimick had transfer offers on the table. I previously reported Zachary Fernandez also had bids for his services.

Ultimately, said Fegan, the Wanderers decided to keep all three players.

"You do have a decision to make whether you can recoup from your investment in a player for a transfer fee or if they can be more valuable by just having them with you to try and help you challenge for certain things but you’re always going to have to try and strike the balance right," he said of the process.

Fegan added he feels the Wanderers currently have the pieces to compete, which speaks to their reasoning for keeping all three players. On Nimick in particular, Fegan highlighted he felt the offer was "ridiculous" and more tire kicking than an actual negotiation. This makes sense given Nimick's MLS rights are still owned by the Vancouver Whitecaps, limiting his options.

But that's not the case for Loughrey.

Sources told The Wanderers Notebook the club received a credible offer from Loughrey from Scandinavia — for six-figures — but wanted to keep him as they felt they could compete for trophies this season. Obviously, that hasn't gone to plan but Loughrey has improved his game from last year, particularly his distribution, and still has a club option for 2025, meaning he'll remain under Halifax's control for another year.

However, with Nimick, Fernandez and star midfielder Lorenzo Callegari all out of contract at the end of the season, some of the best players to ever wear the crest are likely headed out the door with nothing — be it the club's first trophy or a transfer fee — to show for it.

6. Pacific's toothless attack

Not to kick a club when it's down but Pacific's slide into mediocrity has been painful to watch.

Don't get me wrong: they know how to defend. In fact, they're one of the best in the league at it, boasting a solid backline led Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, who I think has been excellent this year.

But they can't score to save their lives, or in this case, their season, and have continued to fall down the table following a promising start.

Looking at goals scored, Pacific ranks last in the league with 14. Although they still have a number of matches to play, it's a far cry from the 42 goals they potted last year. Given their form, it'll be impressive if they manage to eek out 20 this season.

So what's happened?

The elephant in the room, of course, is that they lost two star players in Amer Didic and Manny Aparicio. The other elephant (yes, it's a room full of elephants) is that the attacking players they brought in to create scoring chances have failed to make a difference. Reon Moore, Andrei Tîrcoveanu and Zanatta have three goal contributions between them in league play. Centre-back Meilleur-Giguère has two goals by himself.

Losing Aly Ndom — Pacific's best piece of business this off-season — early was a huge blow. The club reacted by trying to bandage that loss, scouting and signing defenders, but missed the cues that their attack was toothless.

Now, with their season on the line, Merriman's been reduced to bunker ball to try and grind out points. But it'll be a tall order as Pacific has scored just one goal in it's last five matches.

7. CPL, thy name is Olímpico

Imagine my glee as I penned the following lines for OneSoccer:

Forge FC’s Tristan Borges can boast he’s done something Lionel Messi has yet to achieve.

Borges has done it twice, in fact, as has Atlético Ottawa's CF Montréal loanee, Ilias Iliadis. Vancouver’s Ayman Sellouf has also done it. And don’t forget to add Forge's skipper Kyle Bekker, Vancouver's Vasco Fry and the Atlético Ottawa pair of Ollie Bassett and Kévin dos Santos to the list of Canadian Premier League players with a leg up on the Argentine superstar.

This lede, in a nutshell, is quintessential CPL trivia and the type of fun, quirky piece reporters love to investigate. It's a riot to think players in the CPL have done something Messi hasn't and yet it's true.

So why are olímpicos more prevalent in Canada than perhaps anywhere else in world football?

Speaking to Felipe Cardenas of The Athletic and Jan-Michael Williams, the goalkeeper coach for the  Halifax Wanderers, it boils down to three things: a willingness to try, errors from defenders and luck. It's why there's been nine olímpicos in less than six seasons of play. Some people have pointed out that they think this is a bad stat and reflects poorly on the league.

For myself, given the skill and panache associated with olímpicos, I understand the argument but believe, for a growing league eager to get new fans into stadiums, they are good for business. Olímpicos create a buzz. They spawn highlight videos and, more importantly, new fans. Olímpicos create memories.

You can read the full piece here.

8.  Mauro Eustáquio catches the eye of Jesse Marsch

Just a quick note on York United's Mauro Eustáquio joining the Canadian Men's National Team camp this week. By doing so, Mauro and Stephen — who was again called to up to play for his country — are the first player-coach brother duo in the program's history.

But Mauro's call up also highlights Marsch holistic strategy to growing the game in Canada: coaches, as well as players, need opportunities to test themselves.

Speaking to CanPL.ca, Marsch said he's had many conversations with CPL, MLS and grassroots organizations through the country as to what they expect from the national team.

“In there, it’s (finding out) who are some of the young players we need to invest in and who are some of the young coaches we need to invest in, and Mauro Eustáquio’s name kept coming up. I had heard about him early on, mostly because he’s Steph’s brother, but then there were conversations we had where I realized he’s a mature person and a serious football person. I was really excited to bring him into our environment, have him see what we do, have him see how we do it, and have him explain to us what he thinks is important, the things they try to achieve at York, what he thinks of the CPL," he said.

Mauro is only 31-years old. He's a former player turned coach. He's already served as interim coach for York United. And he's earned his first professional coaching win against the Halifax Wanderers earlier this year. Pathways to the national team will be tread by people like Mauro.

“The more they can learn from us and what we’re trying to achieve with the national team, and the more we can connect the dots to make sure that we’re creating development paths and pathways for all of these players and coaches to get better and continue to improve, so that the sport can have a bigger foundation and continue to improve," said Marsch.

Further reading:

Cover Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League

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