

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

March 28, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

With Toronto FC starting their 2014 MLS campaign with the first 2-0 start in the club’s history, much has already been made of the quality and winning culture that now pervades the squad due to the team’s offseason acquisition of top class players such as Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Dwayne De Rosario, Gilberto and Julio Cesar.



While Defoe and Bradley in particular have already been forces of nature in Toronto’s two impressive wins to date, the team’s veteran acquisitions aren’t only paying dividends in matches, they are adding considerable value every day in training as the team’s young players continue to develop and adjust to the new environment at TFC.



Reds Head Coach Ryan Nelsen was effusive in his praise of what Bradley has meant to the development of fellow midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Jeremy Hall following TFC’s 1-0 win over D.C. United last Saturday and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko has previously spoken glowingly of the development effect on the team’s goalkeeper corps that having a keeper of Julio Cesar’s quality will certainly have.



Another young player who looks poised to gain from the new high-priced talent on Toronto’s roster is 24 year old forward Andrew Wiedeman.



Asked about the benefits of being able to observe and train with proven high level attackers such as Jermain Defoe and Dwayne De Rosario, the California native admitted it can only help his growth as a player.



“Every day is a learning experience,” Wiedeman told RedNation. “They are both two really talented players, so I’m very fortunate that the club has brought those guys into the team. It is great to be able to come into training and to watch their tendencies and look at how they have been so successful and to try and pick some stuff up.”



While terms like “superclub” and MLS Cup contender have already been thrown around with respect to the new look TFC, it is a proven fact that teams that have succeeded previously in the North American top flight have all done so while getting productive minutes out of American products of the NCAA system.



In that vein, with fellow striker Bright Dike out injured for the season, Defoe looking likely to be going to the World Cup with England and further injures sure to occur, Wiedeman looks like a player who could play an important role off the bench and in spot starting assignments.



The University of California product had already played with one top class striker in Danny Koevermans during his tenure with the Reds. However, the big Dutchman was a very different type of striker from Wiedeman in terms of both his stature and his style of play and he probably wasn’t the ideal forward to mentor him.



However, players like Defoe, De Rosario and Brazilian DP Gilberto are more similar in terms of stature and athleticism to the 5’11 Wiedeman, who has shown an ability to finish his chances while with TFC. Given that there probably isn’t a better player than Defoe to illustrate how to get it into optimum positions to finish chances, the idea of the former FC Dallas striker being able to learn from the positioning and off the ball movement of the Englishman is an enticing one when taking into account Wiedeman’s growth as a finisher concurrent to Toronto growing as a team.



“It’s great watching Jermain finish on goal. It’s artwork,” Wiedeman said. “He has such a quick release and is able to hit the ball solidly every time. It’s very impressive.”



As much as he admires of the qualities of the new players who play the same position as he does, Wiedeman was also quick to stress that he can also learn a lot from players such as Michael Bradley and Julio Cesar.



“You can pick up everything from these guys,” Wiedeman added. “They are all great professionals and you can always learn from guys like that.”



Overall, the affable young striker is very pleased with the direction that both he and Toronto FC are heading in after a couple of tough seasons with respect to results.



“It’s night and day compared to where we were before,” Wiedeman explained. “It’s just going to feel that much better when we do put it altogether because times were so low that the high times will feel even that much sweeter. We’re all looking forward to it. Most importantly is doing it for the fans, who have endured subpar seasons for the last seven years.”