Toronto FC captain Dwayne De Rosario appeared on The FAN 590’s Greg Brady Show on Wednesday afternoon and talked about his commitment to helping the club achieve success. The Reds chances of progressing from the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage were ended with a 1-1 tie at home to Real Salt Lake on Tuesday night, and playoff hopes are fading fast following a 3-2 defeat to San Jose last weekend, but De Rosario remains confident about future success.
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“I am passionate about winning, I am passionate about the sport and I’m passionate about success in this city just like the fans are,” said De Rosario. “We are all on the same lines and heading in the right direction. Last year we got into the Preliminary Round of the Champions League and this year we got to the Group Stage. We are gradually beginning to have a taste of success.”
“We are still not out of it in MLS. We could potentially still clinch a playoff berth and we are fighting and pushing for that. I encourage the guys to go out there and show their commitment, and that is all that you can really ask.”
“It has been stressful and mentally disappointing this season because this is my city and I really want success. We did win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship but for me that is something we should be guaranteed to win. That is not taking anything away from the opposing teams but because we are in the MLS.”
“My main goal is getting in the playoffs and winning the MLS Cup for this city. If we don’t make the playoffs it will be even more disappointing because the MLS Cup is in Toronto this year. I have experienced being in the MLS Cup before and it is something special so it is extremely frustrating and I don’t think anyone is more disappointed than me.”
De Rosario has been in the news this week following his goal celebration in the match against San Jose last weekend, and during the interview on The FAN, he acknowledged it was something he shouldn’t have done.
“At that point in time it wasn’t the right thing to do but I was coming off emotion and I reacted in that way. It was out of frustration and I apologized to my teammates. I don’t condone the gesture that I did. As professional athletes you are in a position where you get judged. Some people with agree with you and some disagree, that is the nature of anything in life. It’s unfortunate that people see the one wrong you do and tend to judge you off that and not look at the good things you do.”
