In England this year, a 35-year-old Ryan Giggs defied age and logic to win the Players' Player of the Year award in a league defined by its young talent. To boot, the Welshman earned the honour on a team that boasts a 24-year-old winger who has the ability to draw 'ooohs & aaahs' on an off night.
Across the pond at BMO Field on Saturday, a 33-year-old Amado Guevara benefited from the play of a 34-year-old Danny Dichio to beat a New England team that fielded a pair of centre backs who combined did not match the math of the aforementioned TFC players.
The performance of Guevara is not all that surprising as the diminutive Honduran playmaker has the frame and skill set to compete with the much younger competition. But Dichio, who admittedly will never run by anyone or tear the mesh off an opposing net, is a head-scratcher.
I watched Dichio for 10 minutes or so against New England in hope of finding the secret to his success.
Nothing.
Dichio did only the little things right for the whole time I watched his play, he calmly went about his way while Guevara and De Rosario played off the big centre forward.
But for all intents and purposes, Dichio had a hand (or a foot) in all three goals. So I asked head coach Chris Cummins, who has discovered some top young talent in England if the influence of a player in his final year comes as a surprise.
"Are you talking about Dan?" Cummins joked "I thought he was 40!"
"Danny is experienced; he knows when to run and he knows when not to run. If he was a couple of years younger he would give us the full 90 but he goes out there and he gives it all that he can. But he does not surprise me because I know what he is like in training. He's a good pro."
Replacing a pro is not going to be easy. Toronto FC has a set of talented young strikers in Chad Barrett and Fuad Ibrahim, but neither are anywhere near the game-changing status of Dichio.
Nevermind the search for a designated player, the Reds need to concentrate its efforts entirely on finding (or cloning) a young version of the team's undeniable talisman.
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