February 2, 2007 Canadian Players of the Year Award/ Dwayne DeRosario interest in Toronto FC (from Toronto Star)
De Rosario, Sinclair top soccer stars
Feb 02, 2007 12:42 PM
Morgan Campbell
Sports Reporter
Canadian soccer star Dwayne De Rosario, who was named today with Christine Sinclair as one of the Canadian Soccer Association's 2006 players of the year, can picture himself playing in a red and white jersey in the near future – and he doesn’t just mean the national team.
De Rosario, a Toronto native who was voted Soccer Canada’s player of the year earlier this week, told a media conference call today that playing for Major League Soccer’s newest team, Toronto FC, is one of his goals.
"I feel that one day I will be wearing a Toronto FC uniform," said De Rosario, who won an MLS championship last season with the Houston Dynamo.
"I’ll be proud to represent the city where I was born and raised."
But De Rosario also stressed that right now, he consideres Houston his home. He has two years remaining on the contract he signed with the Dynamo.
De Rosario and Sinclair earned the players-of-the-year honour in a vote by the media and online fans.
Atiba Hutchinson was named the inaugural CanadaSoccer.com fan's choice winner.
De Rosario, a native of Toronto, led the Dynamo to the Major League Soccer title this past season and earned MVP honours at the MLS all-star game.
The 28-year-old scored the lone goal in the all-star game against English Premiership champion Chelsea.
Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., scored 11 goals in 17 appearances for the Canadian women's team in 2006 and was a finalist for FIFA world player of the year. She also led the Vancouver Whitecaps to a W-League championship.
The 23-year-old, Canada's team captain for the Peace Queen Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, recorded a hat trick against South Korea and scored twice against Jamaica last season.
Hutchinson, 23, received more votes than other Canadian player in the online balloting. The Brampton native, who plays for FC Copenhagen in Denmark, became just the second Canadian player to score in a UEFA Champions League game. Thomasz Radzinski was the first.
De Rosario, Sinclair and Hutchinson join David Edgar and Jodi-Ann Robinson as the CSA's award winners for 2006. Edgar and Robinson were named the top youth players on Thursday.
With files from Canadian Press
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