TFC's De Rosario looks to keep playoff streak alive
Last Updated: Friday, October 23, 2009 | 11:49 AM ET
By John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports
Toronto FC's Dwayne De Rosario, middle, has never missed the playoffs during his MLS career. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)Just call Dwayne De Rosario Mr. November.
The 31-year-old attacking midfielder, who joined Toronto FC via a trade prior to the current Major League Soccer season, has a reputation for being a clutch performer during the playoffs, having won four league championships (two each with San Jose and Houston).
He also scored the game-winning goal in two MLS Cup finals, and twice was named player of the game in the league's championship contest. Most impressive of all, though, is the fact that he has never missed the playoffs in his eight previous MLS campaigns.
But with one game to go in the 2009 MLS campaign and Toronto FC still fighting to secure a playoff berth, De Rosario might not get a chance to extend his remarkable post-season streak.
Toronto currently holds down the eighth and final playoff spot in MLS, and closes out its regular season on the road Saturday against the last-place New York Red Bulls. It's a game the Canadian club needs to win in order to have a strong chance of making the playoffs. But De Rosario has extra motivation to win: he wants to keep his playoff run alive.
"It's a huge [motivating factor] because I don't want to disrupt my little streak that I have going on," De Rosario said. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to help motivate the guys on the field, and come game time I'm going to try to do what I have to do to help this team become successful."
The playoff streak is a great source of pride for De Rosario, who said he's willing to do anything in Saturday's crucial contest to keep it going, including dropping further back and helping out his defenders if need be.
"Whether that's scoring goals, creating goals or even if that means stopping goals off the goal-line, I'm gonna be 100 per cent committed and focused on Saturday," De Rosario said.
When De Rosario joined Toronto FC in January, he stated his No. 1 goal was to help the Canadian club clinch its first playoff berth in franchise history and that anything less than that would mean failure.
"I said at the start of the year that I was coming here to bring this team a championship," De Rosario said. "We have the opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time in history, so it's on my weight and my shoulders and the rest of the guys, because the ball is in our hands to make that a reality."
The MLS club is on the verge of becoming Toronto's only major pro sports team to qualify for the playoffs this year after the Raptors, Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and Argos failed to make the post-season in their respective leagues.
Born and raised in nearby Scarborough, De Rosario is anxious to bring some relief to beleaguered Toronto sports fans by helping Toronto FC make the playoffs.
"As we know, the Leafs aren't doing so well right now. We wish them all the best to get back on track with their season, but a lot of the sports fans in Toronto are paying attention to us," De Rosario said.
