Toronto FC added another important piece to the roster on Tuesday morning with the announcement that Norwegian centre-back Sigurd Rosted has signed.
The 28-year-old defender joins from Brøndby IF and comes with a ton of domestic and international experience in the club game.
“Smart player, experienced, reads the game well,” listed Bob Bradley during a conference call on Tuesday. “I got to know him a little bit during my time in Norway. He went on to Belgium and then most recently at Brøndby.”
“Smart player, experienced, reads the game well,” listed Bob Bradley during a conference call on Tuesday. “I got to know him a little bit during my time in Norway. He went on to Belgium and then most recently at Brøndby.”
“He poses a threat in terms of attacking set-pieces, solid when you’re talking about aerial duels,” continued the coach. “Just an experienced player that does a good job of leading players in the back, he talks, he organizes, a simple passer, a guy that we're excited to bring to Toronto.”
Long rumoured to be arriving, Rosted has joined the side in La Jolla, California as preseason ramps up with the start of the Coachella Valley Invitational at Empire Polo Club this week.
“Sigurd is with us,” confirmed Bradley. “His first training session with the team was yesterday. He had some weeks of preseason at Brøndby, he's probably at the same level as everybody else in our preseason, so that's positive, He played 60 minutes in a training match two weeks ago.”
With Rosted the latest addition in a busy off-season, TFC have checked most, if not all, of the boxes that needed attention.
Goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Tomás Romero, defenders Rosted and Matt Hedges at centre-back, Raoul Petretta at left-back, Victor Vázquez in midfield and Adama Diomande at forward – as well as ensuring that Jonathan Osorio remained a Red.
“Pretty close,” assessed Bradley. “On almost every one of these calls I still speak about ways to improve the roster. We're always thinking about things.”
“We needed to solidify ourselves in some key positions – goalkeeper, central defense, left-back; needed to find some ways to improve in the midfield and up front. We've done good work to move in a good direction,” he outlined. “We've added experience. Guys that when they arrive, you can tell they're very excited. The presence of the guys that have been brought in this offseason, inside the team every day they all have ways to make things better. They are good professionals, good guys. You can see the way they train, they make a lot of good plays every training session and that helps everything.”
“We've done some good work,” Bradley summarized. “And we continue to try to look at everything in terms of areas that we could still improve.”
That every player comes with a raft of experiences, both in MLS and abroad, speaks volumes about what TFC are building – Johnson and Hedges even arrive as captains of their former clubs.
“The presence that these guys have in the group, their personalities, their leadership abilities,” detailed the coach. “Whenever a guy has been a captain, it shows that that player was respected enough and carried leadership responsibilities.”
“In any team you need a nucleus of guys where they are all working together to lead by example,” Bradley added. “We've seen good signs of that with all of these players.”
