After enduring the Lombardos, Pozniaks and Rosenlunds it would seem that Toronto FC now has a crop of Canadian players worthy of a recruitment flyer.
In Saturday's win over Colorado, all three goals were scored by three Canadians while coach Chris Cummins submitted a lineup card that included six homegrown players.
It was a coup d'etat for the third year club, as over the past two seasons it has looked at times like it might abandon the CanCon mandate in lieu of winning. However, it was with winning in mind this past week that Director of Soccer Mo Johnston added another Canadian in the team's marquee position: designated player.
The talent on TFC will grow exponentially next Saturday when Julian de Guzman slips on the No. 6 shirt in Los Angeles in what promises to be a scintillating match up in the midfield. While de Guzman will openly let you know he prefers the holding midfield position, the 28-year-old is about to find out that designated players do not hold; especially on a team riddled with the inability to score.
Cummins has never met a defensive formation he likes, and with de Guzman's youth and creativity the still-without-a-contract Cummins will let the product of Spain off the leash.
Speaking of Cummins, I mused last week that a win at BMO Field on Saturday must be considered nothing short of a miracle. Well, get out your water-walking shoes. Cummins not only earned the all-important three-points but he also put the tactical criticisms to rest by allowing centre forward Ali Gerba to wear down the Rapids' back line before bringing on the quick and instinctive O'Brian White to kill off a game with what I submit as the best goal scored by a Reds striker in two-plus seasons.
White now has two goals in 151 minutes. For comparison sake, Chad Barrett has four in 1,736 minutes of play. White is Jamaican-born but grew up in Scarborough, ON, and has yet to appear internationally for the Reggae Boyz. After the game Dwayne De Rosario pointed out that he was on a personal recruitment mission to sway 'O.B.' to the Canadian side.
It is a shame that the Canadian Soccer Association has yet to wake up and recognize the player movement that is going on at the club level and name a full-time coach. As good a talker as De Ro may be, the precedent of players not wanting to be involved with an organization that lacks just that is well-documented.
In fact, Canadians lost another to Bosnia-Herzegovina just this week.
And anyone who thinks the players will not play for a coach on borrowed time need not look any further than the performance of Amado Guevara against Colorado. Cummins admitted pre-game that Guevara informed the coach he was ready to give a maximum of 45 minutes on Saturday, due to the reality of being 35 years of age and playing two World Cup qualifiers and a league game in the span of seven days. But when Carl Robinson went down to what looks like a season-threatening ankle injury in warm ups, Cummins sidled up to Guevara and asked if he 'fancied a full 90?'
What followed was an impressive display of skill and quarterbacking by the Honduran, who looks like a new man as his country teeters on an improbable World Cup qualification.
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