Dwayne De Rosario has experienced great success in his 13 year football career. The Scarborough native has won four MLS Cups, two MLS Cup MVP awards, has been named to the MLS Best XI four times and was also part of the Canada squad that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.
But despite those achievements, one of his most special career highlights happened on June 18 last year. Needing a four goal victory in Montreal to win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, De Rosario scored a hat-trick to help secure Toronto FC’s first ever trophy. Now De Rosario returns to Stade Saputo for the first time since that historic night, as the Reds face the Impact in the NCC on Wednesday night.
“Without doubt it was one of the highlights of my career,” he says. “To win a first cup for Toronto FC was incredible. It was a real statement that we made on that night. The team was unable to win the cup in the first year of the tournament so to put things right and to finally achieve that goal was a huge success for everyone involved.”
“For me, winning the Canadian Championship was pretty much as big as winning the MLS Cup, because I was playing back home for the first year and it was Toronto’s first pro sports trophy for a long time. It was a huge achievement in my career and I was very happy to be a part of that moment and share that with the fans. I wanted to have an impact on the game and fortunately for me I was able to push us over the hump to clinch our first championship.”
“I was very honoured by being named tournament MVP, but most importantly for me was the fact that we were able to win the trophy for the team and for the fans. It was a beautiful moment. I was very grateful for the support we received from our supporters on that rainy night in Montreal and the greeting we got when we arrived back was unbelievable.”
“Now that we have tasted that success, we definitely want to re-live that this time around. It is not going to be easy because Montreal and Vancouver will be even more determined to beat us this year and take the trophy away from us. We have to make sure that the trophy stays in Toronto.”
“We should also be focused on making it further in the CONCACAF Champions League because it was disappointing to lose in the Preliminary Round last year.”
“Having a competition like this is huge for soccer in Canada. It helps showcase our teams and players across North America, and potentially Central and South America as well. That kind of experience and exposure goes a long way in developing young players and ultimately creating a better future for our national team.”
De Rosario’s sights are set firmly on maintaining Toronto’s position as Canada’s best, and this time around he would get the opportunity to lift the trophy as the captain of the team after taking the armband following Jim Brennan’s retirement last month.
“It is a huge honour for me to be the captain,” says De Rosario. “I have taken over from a guy who I am great friends with and has had a great career. I was sad to see him leave but I am very humbled to have the chance to play professionally back home and to now be the captain of the team. I know it is a lot on my shoulders but it is the kind of pressure that I am looking for. I want to lead by example, try to motivate these guys week in week out and be a good guy in the locker room.”
“Being captain is not just about wearing the armband. There are many responsibilities that come with the role. It is something I always wanted when I first came to this club and I will uphold the position with the utmost respect and do everything I can to do the job well.”
De Rosario certainly responded well since taking over as Toronto FC’s club captain and has scored six goals, but with so many new players in the squad this year, he admits the team will continue to be a work in progress.
“This is a new team with a lot of different characters and we just have build together, and get to know each other on and off the field. We have some language barriers, and it is also sometimes a distraction for guys when they are living in hotels away from their family. It takes time for everyone to settle into their new surroundings, but we are all professional and know that we still have to be 100 percent focused every game.”
“Chemistry is definitely the key thing. When you watch all of the top teams in the world they all have a very good chemistry. I think we are still missing that at the moment. We have spurts of it during games, but now we need to become more consistent. The more we train together and play together, the better the understanding will be between everyone.”
