which drew 1-1 at fourth-place Arsenal, is two

It was supposed to be a dream come true. A marriage made in soccer heaven. The hometown star returning back to his roots to help guide his new team to a level of success he had reached many times. Sure, there were some good moments. The all-star appearances, the first goal at BMO Field when he headed the ball into the net against Dallas, but for Dwayne De Rosario it wasnt enough. This was not how he had imagined it going. On the field, De Rosario was able to forget the issues, play a game he loved in front of fans he adored. Sometimes the result would even go the teams way, but often it wouldnt and after the match, as he made the walk from the dressing room to his car, his mind would be cloudy and full of distractions about how the club was run. "Id definitely sit in my car and shake my head," he admitted in a sitdown with TSN.ca. "I know it was my hometown but I never wanted them to take that for granted and use that as leverage against me. I wasnt willing to stand for anything, its who I am, I am very passionate and hungry for success." As he started his third season with Toronto FC in 2011, it became very clear the two were heading in different directions. De Rosario had hoped to be loaned to Celtic during the offseason but didnt get his wish and three months later he was packing his bags from Toronto for, what appeared, good. It wasnt an April Fools joke, but on April 1, 2011, De Rosario was dealt to New York Red Bulls for what can now be labeled nothing more than a bag of balls. On a flight later that day, De Rosario thought he would never play for Toronto FC ever again but admitted he hoped to one day return when the direction of the club was different. "I never closed the door and turned my back on that option. How it was presented to me this time was a situation I couldnt refuse, I always wanted to create special moments and have special memories with my hometown, Toronto FC, and I am looking to live those moments I envisioned and hopefully we can create those this season." It is clear the Canadian international spent many hours dreaming of playing for his hometown club before it happened and it is also clear that a lot of those dreams didnt come true the first time around. "I demand success, first and foremost from myself, but from my teammates and from the organization and to have a situation where we now have it demanded from the top is absolutely ideal. Its the right way and I am happy to be a part of that." When Toronto FC kick off the new season in Seattle on Saturday afternoon, much of the attention will, rightfully so, be placed on star signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley and Julio Cesar. The club has completely reinvented itself this winter and the return of De Rosario is almost an after-thought, a small scene in a blockbuster movie. With De Rosario now 35 that is, probably, the right thing for a team who want to contend for the MLS Cup this season, but the 2011 league MVP believes he can still play a major part on and off the pitch. He said: "I am really looking forward to this year. Jermain Defoe is a world class player, a winner, throughout the season it will be great to pick his brain and see how he runs and moves and create that relationship. Gilberto has a very bright future and so far I have enjoyed playing together with him. Anytime you have an opportunity to play alongside players of that calibre it is always fun, the most important thing is developing the understanding. So far its come along and we are excited to get it started." De Rosario has been in MLS long enough to know that tough times will still come Torontos way this season, even if they are successful. He admits expectations are high but thinks the team is ready to drag themselves through the rough patches because of the personnel general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has assembled. "Thankfully when we look at every position we have strong leaders. Julio Cesar to Steven Caldwell in central defence, Michael Bradley in the midfield and myself, Defoe up top, all strong personalities with experience, its important. All of these guys know its a long season, they understand we havent done anything yet, on paper it looks good but we have to continue to show that on a day-to-day basis and we have to work hard to accomplish something." De Rosarios second stint in Toronto gives the club a player whose best days are clearly behind him but he still thinks his versatility can help head coach Ryan Nelsen in many areas throughout 2014. "I dont have a specific favourite position. I like creating and scoring goals, up top, on the left, attacking mid, all these provide those opportunities for me but it depends on the team and its shape. Sometimes I am on the left and I dont really like it because I dont feel I get as much ball as I would like, sometimes I am in the midfield and you just defend a lot so that can be frustrating but sometimes, even, up top you can not get the balls, so it depends on the situation and the team." Throughout his career, he admits he is constantly learning and developing more and more on the tactical side of the game: "Spatial awareness is a big part of my game, knowing when to leave it and attack it and I have been working with a lot of the forwards here about that as well. You want to continuously move but sometimes you need to stop and let the space develop and attack it at the right moments." De Rosario will be hoping to find some of the space in behind Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso against the Sounders on Saturday. (You can read my piece on Toronto FCs strategy against Seattle here) March 15 has been circled on the calendar for many Toronto FC fans because it is their first game but De Rosario cannot wait for the following week when he will get to pull on the red number 14 shirt in front of the home fans. "Those fans are my family, the relationship with them means everything to me. Every time I step out for training or in a game with that badge it is for them. I do not just represent myself, I represent my direct family and the fans and I take a lot of pride in that. One day I want the youngsters to look at me and say I want to be like him, and because of that, I want to set as good an example as possible." On paper, the words look cliché but you dont have to be around De Rosario for long to know just how much he truly means it and how much he loves his city and his club. Toronto FC have lacked a lot of things in their short history. Above all else they have lacked wins, but in recent years there has been a distinct lack of people caring about this club. Whether the signing of De Rosario the player turns out to be a success only time will tell, but to have a winner talk so passionately about this club is already a positive step before a ball has even been kicked. Join Luke Wileman, Jason DeVos and myself in Seattle for Toronto FCs first game of the season live on TSN at 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Charles Oakley Jersey . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. Bernard King Jersey . Now, the hottest team on the ATP are pointing their sights on qualifying for the eight-team season finals in London next November. Pospisil has now established the year-end World Tour Finals as the benchmark for a breakthrough season, with Pospisil and Sock provisionally standing ninth. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-tim-hardaway-jr-knicks-jersey/ . Felton was in court as the Manhattan district attorneys office outlined the agreement, which would resolve a gun case that arose amid the breakup of his marriage. Hes expected to admit June 30 to at least one charge, attempted criminal possession of a weapon -- he wont have to come to court to do so -- and get a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. Allan Houston Jersey .S. President Barack Obama saluted the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Monday -- a rare moment for a president hungry to see more victorious teams from his hometown. Kristaps Porzingis Jersey .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action.LIVERPOOL, England -- Liverpool fuelled the growing belief that the English championship is on its way back to Anfield after 24 years by thrashing Tottenham 4-0 on Sunday, lifting the team to the top of the Premier League above Chelsea. On a successful day for the Merseyside clubs, Everton won 3-1 at last-place Fulham to close to within four points of fourth-place Arsenal ahead of their meeting at Goodison Park next weekend. Liverpool -- the leagues top scorers -- produced another masterful attacking display against a porous Spurs defence, with Younes Kabouls second-minute own-goal added to by strikes from Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson to seal an eighth straight win for the Reds. They made the most of Chelseas 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday and are two points clear of Jose Mourinhos side with six games left. Manchester City, which drew 1-1 at fourth-place Arsenal, is two points further back in third and crucially has two games in hand. The destiny of the Premier League is in Liverpools hands, though, and the momentum is with them. "Youll Never Walk Alone" -- the clubs anthem -- is being sung with renewed gusto before every game while scarves and flags are out in force in the stands, recalling the period in the late-1970s and early 1980s when Liverpool was the dominant team not just in England but in Europe. "Outstanding team performance and I thought the supporters were brilliant -- thats as good as Ive heard at Anfield since Ive been manager here," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "Its been a tough period over 20-odd years, and they can see something building here." Chelsea and City must come to Anfield next month and they will not relish the task one bit. Certainly Spurs didnt look up for the fight -- they conceded after 97 seconds and were all over the place in defence on another dire performance against a leading club. Kaboul, who endured a miserable match, turned a deflected cross into his own net to set Liverpool on its way and substitute centre back Michael Dawson inadvertently set Suarez clear in the 25th for the Urugguayan to put away his 29th league goal of the season -- a Liverpool record in the Premier League era, surpassing Robbie Fowler (from 1995-96).dddddddddddd "The game was pretty much finished after two mistakes early on. They took a lot of belief from that and went from strength to strength," said Spurs manager Tim Sherwood, whose team is sixth and now eight points off fourth-place Arsenal in the race for the final Champions League qualification spot. The second half was just as one-sided, with Coutinho finishing off a wonderful team goal in the 55th with a low drive from 25 metres before Hendersons inswinging free kick missed everyone in the area and landed in the bottom corner. "For us, the mantra has always been to focus on the next game, we never get too carried away," said Rodgers, again downplaying Liverpools title hopes. "It is very difficult, theres lots of people dreaming about Liverpool winning the title." The way Everton is playing, there could yet be two Merseyside clubs in the Champions League next season. Roberto Martinezs side secured a fifth consecutive league win thanks to an improved second-half performance at Craven Cottage, where it took the lead in the 50th when Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale turned a deflected shot by Steven Naismith into his own net. Ashjan Dejagah drew Fulham level in the 71st with a stunning 25-meter drive that beat Tim Howard at his near post, but well-taken goals by Kevin Mirallas and Naismith in the final 11 minutes saw Everton home. Everton is now four points above Spurs and has a game in hand over them and Arsenal, whose trip to Goodison Park next Sunday could have a massive bearing in the race for fourth. "Im not saying were going to get that because we admire Arsenal because they get in the Champions League consistently," Martinez said. "They have developed a real understanding (of) what to do in these games, so that makes Sunday a phenomenal challenge. "It will probably go down to the last game of the season." Fulham stayed bottom and is five points adrift of safety. 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