

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

January 26, 2015 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

While the recent signings of Giovinco and Jozy Altidore will likely have generated the greatest number of headlines over the course of the TFC offseason, Toronto’s signing of Polish international defender Damien Perquis today could end up being their most vital addition of all.



Whether or not replacing Jermain Defoe and Gilberto with Giovinco and Altidore as the team’s main attacking threats results in more goals scored in 2015 vs. 2014, neither move was ultimately going to do much to address to Toronto’s greatest weakness, which last season was once again leaking goals at the most inopportune times.



Therefore, while his name and game likely isn’t as well-known as those of his new Italian and American teammates to both TFC and MLS supporters, the 30 year old defender arrives in Toronto with a resume that highlights Perquis as possibly just want the doctor ordered with respect to Toronto’s defensive issues.



The Toronto FC brass were not shy in admitting on Monday that they felt the need to bring in a true impact defender.



“Going back to last season, we felt that we didn’t have the necessary depth, especially going down the stretch, to be a playoff team,” Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. “With the injuries that we had and some lack of experience, we felt we had to fill the hole there. Damien is a guy, with his international caps, who can fill that hole that we need to fill. We’re excited to have Damien. He’s played in some of the top leagues around the world and he has the character and experience.”



“People like to talk about the Designated Players because that’s a sexy thing and that’s the one that’s high profile but for me guys like Damien Perquis, Eriq Zavaleta, Robbie Findley and Jay Chapman are just as important,” Bezbatchenko added. “I’m over the moon excited about having Damien on our roster because this league is hard. There’s a lot of travel and people will get injured, so you need leaders, people with experience, and that’s what Damien brings.”



While many pointed to the drama surrounding former striker Jermain Defoe as one of the potential reasons as to why Toronto faltered down the stretch last season, ultimately it was the injury that saw team captain/central defender Steven Caldwell miss a number of games that most likely sealed TFC’s fate.



With the signing of Perquis, Toronto FC’s defensive corps now looks to be much stronger and deeper. His presence gives Head Coach Greg Vanney the opportunity to field two central defenders with buckets of experience at the same time or the option of rotating his two veteran central defenders while still ensuring that one of Caldwell or Perquis are always on the field as a back line leader.



Caldwell himself was quick to welcome the addition of the Poland International.



“I’m very pleased (with the acquisition of Damien Perquis),” Caldwell told reporters. “We needed some experience back there. The young guys did extremely well but it was unfair and difficult for them to play alongside each other. During my absence for a number of weeks it was a real challenge for them.”



In addition to adding experience and depth to Toronto’s squad, Perquis could also be a key player for another reason. While Toronto’s inability to keep the ball out of the net was glaring down the stretch, one thing that also contributed to the team’s lackluster play was the fact that Toronto often struggled to effectively move the ball out of the back, with midfielder Michael Bradley often having to drop extremely deep to distribute the ball up the field.



With his pedigree in French and Spanish football, the Troyes, France native arrives in Toronto with a sure comfort level with the ball at his feet and the Reds distribution from the back to the top should be better for it.



Ultimately, Head Coach Vanney characterized his newest team leader as a player who will bring a multitude of positive qualities to a back line in need of a quality infusion.



“Damien is a guy that we have been after for about a month and change,” Vanney said. “He has been at Real Betis for past couple of years. Before that he played with Sochaux in France and he has played with the Poland National Team. Damien brings a lot of leadership qualities and experience. He is also aggressive and he doesn’t give away a lot of space to attackers. He is challenging balls that come in to forwards and he is leader in terms of his communication skills on the back line. Damien is also a no-nonsense fella and he is definitely going to have presence when it is time to have presence on opposition attackers.”