Toronto FC trades de Guzman to Dallas

Julian de Guzman’s sometimes brilliant, sometimes pedestrian tenure as a member of Toronto FC is officially over.

TFC announced Friday morning that it traded de Guzman to FC Dallas for forward Andrew Wiedeman. De Guzman’s agent originally confirmed the transaction in a text message sent to sportsnet.ca precisely at 2 a.m. ET. He offered no other details about the deal at the time, such as who or what Toronto was getting in return for the veteran midfielder.

De Guzman’s departure frees up a designated player spot and significant salary-cap space, and the club is in active talks to sign defensive recruits to fill the DP slot.

"Sometimes you have to do some things for the football club that make the football club better," Toronto FC coach Paul Mariner said on a conference call Friday. "I feel the fans sometimes are questioning the things that we’re doing but this really helps us to improve the defensive situation."

The Canadian midfielder was TFC’s second-highest wage earner, making $1.9 million US this season, according to the MLS Players’ Union website. Toronto still has two other DP players under contract in German midfielder Torsten Frings ($2.4 million US) and Dutch forward Danny Koevermans ($1.5 million US).

"This creates significant flexibility for the team moving forward," Mariner explained. "We’ve been saying for quite some time that we need to strengthen the defensive line and this gives us the ability to do so."

A 31-year-old native of Scarborough, Ont., de Guzman became Toronto’s original designated player when he signed with the Canadian club in September, 2009. He was in the final year of his current contract, which was set to expire this December.

"Julian loved his time (in Toronto) and loved (TFC’s) fans. His only reason for playing in MLS at that stage of his career was solely to play for his hometown club, so this trade was a bit of a disappointment, but that’s football," Courtney James, de Guzman’s agent, told sportsnet.ca.

"He’s a professional and will continue to do what he does best regardless of where he plays."

This past week, de Guzman told reporters that his agent and TFC were in the early stages of contract discussions. De Guzman said he hoped to stay in Toronto, but added “we’ll just have to wait and see how both sides feel about it.”

De Guzman leaves the team having scored two goals and recording eight assists in 65 league appearances since making his MLS debut on Sept. 19, 2009. His last outing for the Reds came in Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in which he played 60 minutes before being substituted out.

De Guzman began his career playing in France as a member of Olympique Marseille’s youth team before making his pro debut for FC Saarbrucken in Germany’s second division during the 2001-02 season.

In 2002, he joined Hannover 96 and ended up playing three seasons for the German club before moving to Spain three years later when he landed with Deportivo La Coruna.

It was in the Spanish first division that his career really began to take off, earning a reputation as a talented two-way midfielder in La Liga and being named Deportivo’s player of the season for the 2007–08 campaign.

De Guzman played for Canada at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, before graduating to the senior side the following year. He made his debut for the Canadian national team in January, 2002 and has been a mainstay for Canada ever since, scoring four goals and earning 56 caps.

He was voted Canadian player of the year in 2008, and was named the MVP of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup when Canada lost to the United States in the semifinals.

Interestingly, perhaps no other player in Toronto FC history divided opinion such as de Guzman.

He had a legion of staunch critics who felt he was overpaid and did not live up the designated player tag, and failed to duplicate the top form he demonstrated in Spain.

His many supporters were just as unwavering in their belief that the Canadian added a touch of class, quality and skill to a TFC team that often struggled to be competitive on the field.

“(Julian) will give FC Dallas an additional veteran that can solidify our possession style of play. He also has a bit of toughness to him that will help us win 50-50 balls and control the central midfield,” Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said in a statement.

Toronto FC’s first game without de Guzman will be on Saturday on the road against the New England Revolution.

Wiedeman, a 22-year-old native of Oakland, was selected in the second round (21st overall) by FC Dallas in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. He made his MLS debut the following year, and has made eight league appearances in total for Dallas. Wiedeman has no goals in five games this season, with one appearance as a starter.

Wiedeman is a Generation adidas player, which means his wages don’t count against the team’s salary cap.

"He’s an intriguing player," Mariner said. "He’s young. He’s very, very hungry. He’s one of the best finishers I’ve seen in the modern era. I’m looking for him to really take the bull by the horns and take this opportunity."

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