March 18, 2011 MLS--Ex-Goat Gordon hopes to warm up to Toronto (from MLSsoccer.com)
Ex-Goat Gordon hopes to warm up to Toronto
New TFC striker happy to be wanted, sets new goals for 2011
Duane Rollins
MLSsoccer.com
March 18, 2011
Traded twice in less than two years is a bit of a half-full situation for Alan Gordon. On one hand it’s nice to to be wanted, he told MLSsoccer.com via phone earlier this week from California. However, it can still throw you for a loop.
“It’s a bit of a whirlwind,” he said. “There are a lot of things that need to get done – setting up phone service, arranging day care, stuff the fan doesn’t think of. That make it hard.”
Regardless, Gordon recognizes that it’s part of the job. He’s a professional, he says, and he’s not going to complain too much.
“What makes this easier is that I know I’m going to a first-class organization,” he said. “And, it’s an amazing city. My wife has never been. I’m excited to get up there and show her.”
Gordon will have to wait to see Toronto’s sights. He will travel straight to Vancouver from Los Angeles to join the Reds for the season-opener Saturday. He’s hoping that once he gets a chance to settle in Toronto that it will be his last move for a while.
“Anytime you are moved you hope that you can settle down and stay one place for a few years,” he said.
When Gordon spoke to MLSsoccer.com, he had only briefly spoken to Paul Mariner. He had yet to receive word from head coach Aron Winter about how the club planned on using him. True to his reputation as a hardworking and modest player, Gordon was taking nothing for granted.
“You never want to assume that you are starting,” he said. “I think that with my size up top I can contribute – hold the ball up and put a few balls into the net.”
Gordon says he has high expectations for himself in 2011. He’s set a statistical goal, but he’s reluctant to disclose it to prying reporters.
“I know what I want to get but I’m not telling,” he laughed. “I’m confident.”
There is one thing that Gordon says will take some getting used to about playing in Toronto. When told that the day’s temperature was a “mild” high in the upper 30s, the man who has played his entire career in Southern California could only laugh.
“I guess I’m going to need to buy some warm clothes,” he said.
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