Sunday, July 08, 2007

My New Mancrush


...Juan Pablo Toja
He was acquired by FC Dallas at the beginning of the season. He's 22, got rock star hair, and a great game. He always hustles(in soccer they call that an excellent work rate), has great skill on the ball and generally makes you glad you showed up for the game. Earlier this week I watched him steal a ball, then as he tried to break free from a defender get knocked down, but still found a way to pass the ball from the ground with his knee. It also doesn't hurt that he's 6'1", 175. That may not sound that big, but in soccer--especially when you're not a defender-- it's practically huge. He tends to run over people and generally cause havoc to the opposing team. What makes him great is that he's a scrapper that actually has size and skill. Rarely do you see those together. Below is a video of the Columbian made by FC Dallas on his announcement to the All-Star team that might give you some idea what I mean.

That last goal in video? The one that might have you asking how he scored it. I don't know either. If you go HERE and click on the video for "06/09: Juan Toja punches ball into net" you can get a little better view of it, but I'm not sure you'll have any idea how he did it.