

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

February 18, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

While long-time Canadian International Dwayne De Rosario has been consumed in recent weeks with preparations for the upcoming MLS season and with his recent return to his hometown club, it is telling that the Canadian soccer icon was vocal in stating his happiness with the attendance of Canadian National Team Head Coach Benito Floro at the press conference to announce his return to TFC last month.



So while his focus is on TFC at the moment, De Rosario is also not shy about expressing his positive thoughts about recent developments with the Canadian national team and the hiring of Floro last summer as the team’s head coach.



“While my passion is still there and my heart is still pumping red, I’m going to be at the forefront of any team coming out of Canada,” De Rosario recently told RedNation Online.



“I think Benito is the most technical coach that we have ever had,” De Rosario explained. “I think he has brought a different part of the game which is very beneficial for a lot of the young guys coming on board in terms of space awareness, play structure, and discipline of position. A lot of these guys have never received that type of information and knowledge about the game before. Benito is vital and we are all happy to have him on board for sure.”



With the national team currently in the midst of a transitional stage as it prepares for the next World Cup qualifying cycle, De Rosario was also quick to admit that Floro’s recent approach of calling up a large number of young players for the first senior national team training camps and matches is the right one.



“We always have to keep developing the next generation because they are the future,” the 35 year old Toronto native said. “It is very important and it is vital for us to develop the young guys and to get them as much experience as we can because they will be ones competing for Canada in the future.”



Interestingly, a large proportion of the young players that Floro has called up recently have come from the academies of a North American league that did not exist when De Rosario and his contemporaries were beginning their own professional journeys, with a decent number coming from the top notch training ground at which the former MLS Most Valuable Player will now be spending a large proportion of his time this year.



Asked to compare the Canadian environment in which he launched his pro career back in the early nineties with the one that now exists for young Canadian players, the four-time Canadian Player of the Year was candid in his reply.



“You can’t make a comparison,” De Rosario said. “And that is no disrespect, but what we had to go through to get to where we are and what they are going through is very different. This Kia Training Ground is unbelievable. It’s world class and it is up there with what the top teams in the world have. So to have this in your backyard is fortunate for these kids. It is an opportunity for them to really reap the rewards.”



“It’s nice to see what these kids have now, but what we had to go through was different,” De Rosario added. “It took a lot to get to where we were and to just to play on a provincial team, much less having a professional team here locally in Canada.”



Not surprisingly, while the next generation looks to build upon the opportunities they have now to forge what will hopefully be a golden generation for the Canadian national team, De Rosario was adamant that the Canadian soccer community should never forget the contributions made by the players who played key roles in building up things to where they are today.



“I think a lot of (what is available for young Canadians now) has come from the hard work of guys like Paul Stalteri, Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson, Kevin McKenna, Alex Bunbury, Paul Peschisolido , Craig Forrest and all the guys that came before and played a role in making all this possible and who are still developing the game in Canada,” De Rosario stated.