FC Dallas defender George John could be at a football match Wednesday night. It just won’t be at BMO Field.
The towering Greek-American centre back has been one of the best defenders in Major League Soccer the past two seasons and his work hasn’t gone unnoticed by Blackburn Rovers Football Club in the English Premier League.
Tonight, while John’s MLS team takes on Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League (GOL TV Canada, 8 p.m. ET), the defender is expected to be signing papers at Ewood Park, where the Lancashire Telegraph believes he will be a spectator for a Carling Cup tie earlier in the day against Sheffield Wednesday.
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<strong>VIDEO: May 11, 2011 - John draws a questionable penalty against Toronto.</strong> |
John’s absence creates a void in the Dallas backline where Schellas Hyndman had paired the 24-year old Greece and U.S. eligible centre back with Ugo Ihemelu. In John’s absence, it is widely believed (and hinted by Hyndman himself) that holding midfielder Andrew Jacobson will step in to keep Toronto attackers at bay.
Dallas is further stretched by the absence of the versatile defensive player Zach Loyd, who picked up a hamstring injury in FCD’s weekend loss to red hot Seattle Sounders FC. The defeat dropped Dallas to third in the league table, now eight points behind MLS leading Los Angeles.
The sudden instability at the back for Dallas presents an opportunity for Toronto in the Champions League. Although the Hoops have adequate cover, The Reds could do some damage by adhering to their attacking instincts that have been on display since head coach Aron Winter initiated a team overhaul at midseason.
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Toronto however, has its own personnel concerns. Forward Danny Koevermans missed Sunday's league match in Chicago after picking up an ankle injury in the 2-1 CCL group opening victory over Tauro F.C. last Thursday in Panama. Should the Dutch target man be absent again on Wednesday, Toronto may miss a chance to capitalize on Dallas' acute predicament at the back.
Toronto and Dallas are tied with three points each atop Group C of the Champions League. If either team can manage to take three points out of this contest, they will likely be more than half way to reaching the CCL quarterfinals with four round robin games remaining.
