February 15, 2011 MLS--Winter Addresses Trialist Reports (from TorontoFC.ca)

Winter Addresses Trialist Reports
Asif Hossain
TorontoFC.ca
February 15, 2011

On Tuesday reports broke that Toronto FC has signed three of the trialists that trained with the team at its preseason training camp in Turkey.

There hasn’t been an official release from the club, but neither the players in question nor any other Europe-based trialists were with TFC in its latest training session in Oakville.

Aron Winter Forwards Javier Martina, Nick Soolsma and midfielder Elbekay Bouchiba are linked to the Reds, while head coach and technical director, Aron Winter, spoke on the matter with Toronto FC TV.

Winter said of the trialists that “they are three good players. The most important thing is the system we want to play, you need some specific players ... their performance (in Turkey) was very good.”

The team trained for approximately two hours on Tuesday and will continue to use the indoor facilities at Oakville this week. They took part in various exercises, followed by a short scrimmage to conclude the session.

These practices are closed to the public, but accredited media have access to players and coaches upon request.

During the post-training media scrums captain Dwayne De Rosario and midfielder Julian de Guzman were also interviewed by Toronto FC TV.

De Rosario heaped praise on Winter’s new possession oriented system saying, "I'm most comfortable when the ball is on the ground, at our feet, played into space. An attack minded game."

The captain touched on the trialists linked to the Reds after gaining a positive impression from their playing ability in Turkey.

“They fit in quite well,” said De Rosario of the players, who are familiar with the Dutch brand being stamped into BMO Field by the new coaches.

Meanwhile, de Guzman took part in light exercises alongside other injured players Maicon and Nathan Sturgis, the latter two only suffering from minor knocks.

Recovering from an offseason knee surgery, de Guzman said "guys are impressed and surprised by the changes that have been made. For myself, it's depressing not to be a part of it."

Eager to regain his touch the Canadian international is living vicariously through other players at the moment.

"You can ask each individual if they learned something new from the system. There are a lot of positives that we can take into the season."

Another Canadian on the scene was David Monsalve. The 22-year old Brampton-based goalkeeper spent the last couple of years in Finland, but he is hoping for a return home.

Monsalve and the other trialists will learn of their fate in coming days. Toronto will close out its Oakville ‘camp’ this week before heading to Florida and Charleston for a busy end to its preseason.

back to TFC 2011 preseason menu

.

.