

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

January 14, 2015 Email

Steve Bottjer

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@BottjerRNO

After an underwhelming year in 2014, Canadian International Andres Fresenga is now looking forward and excited for a fresh start in 2015.



The 22 year old defender returned to Canada from Uruguay last year to pursue his club career in his home country with the Ottawa Fury, but ultimately saw his campaign in the nation’s capital marred by injuries and unfortunate circumstances.



“The move to Ottawa was exciting and I was looking forward to coming back home (to Canada),” Fresenga told RedNation. “Right from the start things didn’t go as planned. It was a rough year obviously. I had an injury at the beginning of preseason. I recovered from that but by then had lost my spot.”



The Toronto native ultimately ended up getting an opportunity to play in the first leg of the Fury’s Canadian Championship matchup against FC Edmonton and in the team’s first ever win against Carolina, but then saw his chances limited as the season progressed.



“I played against Edmonton in the Canadian Cup and it went well and I had a good performance,” Fresenga explained. “I had won myself another go and I then played in our first win against Carolina. I think I also played well in that game. We then played the away game against Edmonton in the Canada Cup and I found myself on the bench. I spoke to the coach and I understood his point of view. We lost that game 3-1 and then I was put back in the lineup in the next game against Atlanta and I didn’t have a good game. After that I had a knee injury and everything started to go wrong.”



“You can be Messi with the ball, but if your head isn’t in the right spot, things won’t go well,” Fresenga added. “If you have a player who is motivated, he will do that much more. It got to that point – not that I wasn’t motivated – where I was put to the side a bit and I could see it and that affected me on the psychological side of the game. That rarely happens to me because I think I am very mentally strong.”



2015 now presents a new beginning for a player who now even more than ever is motivated to make his mark as a footballer.



After parting ways with the Fury at the tail end of their inaugural season in the North American Soccer League, Fresenga returned to Toronto with a singular focus on overcoming the injury issues that had plagued him and on getting into the best shape of his career.



“I have been training with Chris and Steve Cristini at Reebk Crossfit East Woodbridge,” the former Racing Club de Montevideo defender explained. “They and their staff have been incredible. They have shown me so many things about my body that I wasn’t really paying attention to. I can completely feel the difference around the physical side of my game, so I think that is going to help me a lot for the future.”



“I’m 100% sure that my injuries are in the past,” he added. “We’ve been working on my legs and my power and my explosiveness. Physically, I think I am in my top level of fitness. I’m doing two training sessions per day and I’m training hard. It is just a matter of time before a team picks me up and I can then translate all of the work I have been doing in the offseason to the field.”



With respect to the next club kit that he wears, Fresenga just wants to find the right situation in which he can play regularly and regain his standing as one of the promising players in the Canadian Men’s National Team player pool.



“At my current age I am opening to going anywhere to play,” Fresenga said. “I don’t have the profile or the experience to be picking and choosing where I play. So basically if an opportunity comes and it suits me, I will go anywhere. Being part of the Canadian National Team is always a goal for me, but at the end of the day you have to think about your club career as well. So if I have to go and play in China, Spain, Toronto, Montreal or wherever it is, it will benefit me as a player. I just want a fresh start because I have a lot of doubters right now that I want to prove wrong. I’m still the same hardworking player and I just want to start fresh and get back to my roots.”



With 2015 already shaping up to be a very big year for Canadian soccer, Fresenga sees bright days ahead for the country and the national team program.



“I think Canada is on its way up,” Fresenga explained. “With Cyle (Larin) being the first pick in the MLS Draft it is a big move not only for him but also for Canada. And all of the work that Benito has been putting in with the national team is now showing.”



“I’m grateful to Benito and his son and everyone with the Canadian team,” he added. “Even though I’m not being called into camps I’m still getting emails to see how I am and how I feel. As a player, it is always helps knowing that you have those types of people who encourage you and who worry about you and how you feel even if you aren’t going to their camps. It motivates that much more to reach your goals.”



With his eye on the future and an eventual return to the Canadian Men’s National Team, Fresenga now looks at the underwhelming and challenging year he experienced in 2014 as a mixed blessing that will spur him forward with a clear intent.



“It has woken me up,” Fresenga said. “As I said, I have a lot of doubters that I want to prove wrong. I don’t want my image as a player to be blurred by a bad year. I believe that the only war you lose is the one that you abandon.”



“I have been trying since I was very young to pursue my goals, leaving my family at a young age and missing out on a lot of things,” the 22 year old said. “So I’m not going to stop playing just because one person says that I don’t fit with them. I’m still motivated 130%. Wherever I go next the team is going to get 130% of me and the jersey will always be dripping with sweat when I come off the field.”