Gerry Dobson

Dwayne De Rosario

Only Rob Friend and Dejan Jakovic were absent at the Canadian national team practice on Tuesday. The mini-camp at the Nottawasaga Inn near Alliston, Ontario will continue throughout the week. Both the aforementioned players saw action for their clubs recently as Friend scored in Hertha Berlin's 2-1 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf in Bundesliga Two action.

In fact, Canadians have been consistently scoring for their clubs so far this season, including Kevin McKenna and Simeon Jackson. This bodes well for head coach Stephen Hart, who will tell anyone who listens how important it is for the players to be playing, and playing well for their clubs. Just like Toronto FC captain Dwayne De Rosario, which brings up another topic entirely.

There's no question that TFC coach Preki is not a happy man. DeRo, Nana Attakora and Julian DeGuzman will all be gone for upcoming critical MLS matches in Dallas and Chicago. Hart has not had a lengthy look at the Attakora and Preki understands that. However, Preki can't understand why the Canadian team wants both DeGuzman and De Rosario. The argument being there's nothing to learn about the two veterans who've been with the program for years. Hart's argument is that its MLS's fault for scheduling league games around the international dates. And its also his right to call in whomever he chooses as he methodically builds towards Brazil in 2014.

I'm betting that a compromise has already been struck. Watch for the TFC trio to start and play the full 90 against Peru in Toronto this Saturday. Then, they are expected to skip the following game against Honduras in Montreal and instead will go straight to Chicago to hook up with their club mates. The players will then fly directly after the team's MLS match in Dallas. I can't see it happening any other way.

I have more sympathy for the plight of De Rosario as time goes by. He's the face of Toronto FC and the team's best player. He's also the face of the national team, and might be the best player there as well. He has been the ultimate pro since coming up through the ranks a decade ago. He's proud to put on the jersey, whether its Canadian red or Toronto FC red. And yet, it's a sham that he gets paid only $450,000 per year. (This is where you check Mista's bloated salary and tell me who the better player is.) De Rosario is the team spokesman, and does a large amount of charity work. He' can't be happy with this current situation. Wouldn't you agree? And the suits that run MLSE better start paying attention or else they're going to have a serious problem on their hands. I don't see how DeRo can take another season under the status quo. It's simple. De Rosario deserves to be the highest paid player on the team, and if things don't change, Houston we've got a problem. No pun intended.