Montreal Impact

Italy is embroiled in another soccer scandal, and Impact striker Bernardo Corradi has no sympathy for any player found guilty of the ultimate sin: match-fixing.

ExtraTime Radio was in Montreal on Thursday to talk to the Impact about the opening match at Stade Saputo, and the guys passed along Corradi's answer to a question about his thoughts on punishment for those who sully the game via match-fixing. The veteran striker certainly didn't hold back during a scrum with local reporters.

“I have my idea on this situation: I think that if someone bets on his matches, he has to be banned, and not just for 10 months or 12 months," Corradi told reporters. "For me, he cannot play soccer anymore. If you are lucky enough to be a soccer player and you earn money, and you train. … I think a lot of guys would like to play soccer for a job. You’re lucky when you’re doing this, and if you waste everything by betting on your games, you have to be punished. That’s my way of thinking.”

It's certainly black and white for Corradi, although it must be mentioned that new Impact signing Marco Di Vaio is scheduled to return to Italy in the coming weeks to testify in the probe.

Total Points – Dwayne De Rosario (89)

With Thierry Henry missing several weeks due to a hamstring injury, DeRo has taken over as the No. 1 player in Fantasy Soccer: Manager.  He’s had a weeks of 10, 15 and 20 points, and his most recent point output was the most by a single player thus far in 2012.  DeRo has 20+ more points than the next closest midfielder, making him a legitimate threat every week and a player you can build your team around.

Percentage Owned – Jay DeMerit (35.3)

DeMerit has been the most widely selected player in FS: M the entire season. Thirty-five percent of all managers currently have him on their roster. The second-closest player is Kenny Cooper (28 percent). At one point, DeMerit had the highest score of any defender, but lately he’s been slipping. D.C. United players Daniel Woolard and Brandon McDonald, Aurélien Colin, and even teammate Lee Young-Pyo have since leapfrogged DeMerit, so only time will tell if it’s his worldwide fame or his actual production that makes him the most “popular” player in MLS.

Crosses & Key Passes – Graham Zusi (33) & (34)

Zusi has calmed down slightly after a fast start, but his 33 crosses are still seven better than the next closest player. Three successful crosses equals one bonus point, so Zusi could’ve potentially gained an additional 11 points for his efforts thus far. He also leads the league in Key Passes (34) and has seven more than the next closest player in this category as well. Zusi should continue to be one of the most coveted midfielders due to his time on the ball and SKC’s all-out attack style offense.

Big Chances Fluffed – Dominic Oduro (7)

One of the fastest – if not the fastest – players in MLS has been a huge bust in 2012. In the four games in which Oduro has scored, he’s tallied six or more points each time. However, in every other game this season (eight games) he’s managed just two points or less. In his last seven games he’s put up one point or less on six different occasions. Oduro is getting great looks, but he’s missing every single one of them. He leads all players in BCFs and has been deducted seven points total because of it. At this point, he’s more of a risk than anything.

CBI’s – A.J. Soares (123)

My initial pick for Defender of the Year is not having a sophomore slump by any means. His 123 CBIs (clearances, blocks and interceptions combined) leads all players and he’ll likely widen the gap with two games coming up in Week 13. Only three other players have more than 100 CBIs and none of them will be under more pressure than Soares should the rest of the season. He’s an absolute ball shark, but has never really been a threat on set pieces. One can only hope that his recent goal will encourage Jay Heaps to push him up more often.

Recoveries – Osvaldo Alonso (136)

Disregarding goalkeepers, there’s a tight battle for the title of “the best second-ball winner” in MLS. Alonso currently leads Dax McCarty (133) by only three recoveries, but that’s pretty much his only competition. Kyle Beckerman has the third most with 100, and it looks as if his absence due to national team duty will only widen the margin. Alonso has gained 19 bonus points already from recoveries so expect him to keep this all season long.

Transfers In – Nick DeLeon (3,800+)

When David Estrada (3,500+ transfers) started cooling down, DeLeon became all the talk. The D.C. United rookie is currently the most added player with over 3,800 transfers. His value started at $5.5m and quickly made its way to $6.8m. Now that he’s back from injury don’t expect him to return to his previous form. When DeLeon was clicking, DeRo and Salihi were in a slump. Now that they’re back in form, expect DeLeon to take a back seat. He’s still valuable, but not as much as he was back in April.

Dream Team – Kenny Cooper (4)

No one has made the “Dream Team” more times this season than Kenny Cooper, but you have to credit Thierry Henry with helping him reach this point. Coop-dog has scored six or more points on nine different occasions in 2012, making him one of the most consistent forwards in MLS. He continued to put up numbers even when Henry was out, so look for him to only get better now that he’s returned.

Follow@Ben_Jata

Somehow, Didier Drogba played in London for nearly a decade and managed to remain underrated. How that's possible I have no idea — the English press (which drives discussion about players in more than just the English-speaking soccer world) is famous for overinflating the value of guys who play in the Premiership.

So it's kind of remarkable that Drogba spent the last eight seasons as the best player for one of the EPL's two best clubs, yet was almost never regarded as such.

Now reports (including one with what is purportedly a direct quote from Drogba himself) say he's leaving Chelsea. And, of course, he's doing so on top, having led the Blues to their first ever Champions League title:

CORRECTION: D.C. United has not yet clinched Carolina Challenge Cup championship. I apologize for the confusion. #MLS

— Andrew Wiebe (@AndrewWiebe_MLS) March 3, 2012

Most analysts see him landing in China with former teammate and current BFF Nicolas Anelka, but surely more than a few MLS clubs must be interested, right? Given Drogba's form, stature and ability to put the ball in the net, he'd seem to make an ideal DP.

Montreal looks like a natural landing spot, since it'd be a big boost to add a Francophone star. But another team that should at least pick up the phone is Chicago. The Fire have shown they're not nearly as far along as they looked at the end of 2011, and could use a true target man to lead the forward line.

Drogba is nothing if not that. Even if it did take the English press far, far too long to notice.

Follow@MLS_Analyst

Le Canada sera représenté soit par Toronto soit par Vancouver lors de la prochaine Ligue des champions, les deux clubs s’étant qualifiés pour la finale de leur coupe nationale au détriment de Montréal et Edmonton respectivement.

Mené après deux minutes, l’Impact pouvait se contenter d'un partage pour se qualifier après le 0-0 de l’aller. À onze contre dix pendant une heure et quart suite à l’exclusion d’Eckersley, il a été incapable de prendre la mesure de l’équipe locale. « Il faut prendre chaque adversaire au sérieux » entendait-on après la rencontre : un cruel aveu sur l’état d’esprit dans lequel elle a été entamée.

Toronto a de son côté continué d’attaquer en première mi-temps, marquant un deuxième but. Bien que passant le plus clair de son temps à défendre après la pause, il a encore eu plusieurs occasions d’alourdir le score. De quoi ravir les joueurs, aussi heureux du résultat que de la manière.

Vancouver s’est fait peur contre Edmonton : mené 0-1, il a toutefois retourné la situation et s’est imposé 3-1 grâce à ses remplaçants.

En MLS, Seattle poursuit sur sa lancée et Sigi Schmid jongle avec son effectif de maîtresse manière, New York confirme sa remontée et sa solidité défensive retrouvée, alors que Salt Lake hésite entre célébrer un premier match sans encaisser depuis longtemps et déplorer les deux points perdus à Chicago.