By Al Clark
al@canucks-abroad.com
www.mlsnet.com
Canucks Abroad takes a look at the Canadians beyond the border ahead and what the 2008 season may have in hold for them:

MLS’s ‘First Kick” comes around this weekend with Canada’s own Toronto FC starting the season off in Columbus in front of 2500 traveling soccer-starved TFC fans. Canucks Abroad takes a look at the Canadians beyond the border ahead and what the 2008 season may have in hold for them:

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Houston Dynamo: Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad

The two-time defending champions boast the best Canadian in MLS – bar none. Many would argue they also have the best Canadian goalkeeper in the evergreen Pat Onstad.

Already having secured a CONCACAF Champion’s Cup semi-final place, Houston will begin the season with a running start, a fearsome thought given their outstanding form over the past few seasons.

Dwayne De Rosario:
Source: CSA
Perennial MVP contender, and two time Goal of the Year winner has a list of honours as long as his gifted right leg. He has won MLS Cup 4 times (as have a number of his former SJ teammates at Houston) and has been the CSA Player of the Year for the last two seasons.

DeRo’s own position on the team appeared a little under threat – not that he would even be benched – after a mini-exodus of strikers from the Texas club left just Brian Ching as an experienced option up front. DeRo didn’t warm to the prospect of a return to a striker’s role, believing (correctly) that his best and most influential performances can be orchestrated from his customary attacking midfield position. With the league’s best midfield, Houston could have accommodated such a change with only a minor impact, but instead recruited young Argentine striker, Caraccio on loan to vie with career back-up Chris Wondolowski for the second striker berth. This was good news for DeRo and his fans as it left him clear to focus on his usual playmaking duties.

Despite the appearance of a drop in fire power, with 9 returning starters and the best depth in the league the Dynamo also added US MNT pool player Bobby Boswell from DC United in exchange for back up goalkeeper Zach Wells.

In what was a relatively down year in an injury-shortened 2007, De Rosario chalked up 6 goals and 4 assists in 22 starts. He still had a serious contender for Goal of the Year…narrowly missing out on what would have been an unprecedented hattrick of GOTY awards.

MLSnet.com has a video highlight reel of the player - http://houston.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t200&player=derosario_d&p...

De Rosario has 13 goals for the CMNT in 46 games. He is often used on the left of midfield for the national side as opposed to down the middle or in the ‘hole’ as he plays at club level.

Pat Onstad:
Source: CSA
At 39 years old Pat Onstad’s game hasn’t visibly declined in half a decade. It helps that he consistently has one of MLS’s top rearguards in front of him, but he once again posted outstanding numbers in 2007. A 0.82 Goals Against Average was best in MLS. He placed 2nd in shutouts (11) and 3rd in wins (14). He missed the early part of the season through injury, but came back strong, retaking the starters job with ease from Wells, who was deemed surplus to requirements and shipped to DC for Boswell who provides not only a replacement for the departed Cochrane, but actually an upgrade. Such a move suggests Coach Kinnear and the Dynamo believe there’s still plenty of gas left in the BC native’s tank.

The addition of Boswell only stands to make it even harder to breach the Dynamo goal.

Onstad made his CMNT debut 20 years ago and is still in the pool. Arguably the #2 keeper for the Maple Leafs behind Lars Hirschfeld, he’s certainly still in the top 5. To date, he has 52 caps.

Houston are involved on several fronts this – defending their MLS Cup Title as well as involvement in SuperLiga and the CONCACAF Champion’s Cup. Once again Canada will provide the backbone of their side in their stand-out goalkeeper and best outfield player/playmaker.

At 29, De Rosario is likely the best non-DP player in the league, some might argue his value greatly outstrips more than one of the actual DP’s in MLS. Toronto fans are sure and would make him their DP in a heartbeat. One day it seems inevitable that De Rosario will run out at BMO as home player.

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Los Angeles: Ante Jazic
Source: CSA
Often lost in the Beckham circus is, well, everything else; with Frank Yallop out and Gullit in, the Canadian presence in LA has been cut by two thirds as midfielder Kevin Harmse was shipped out by the new manager as a part of his roster-compliance fire sale. TFC’s sole off-season addition with pro-experience was picked up for a 4th Rounder draft pick.

Rumour had it that Ante Jazic was also on the block and given the signing of Nigerian international Celestine Babayaro it was probably only a long-term injury that kept the Maple Leaf at the HDC. MLS/CBA rules prohibit the release of a player who is injured – and even if the player had agreed, the cap-hit would have remained. The same injury also prevented other teams acquiring the talented left back and thus, the farce in LA was punctuated with the release of Babayaro before he played a game in earnest. Whether this was the sole or defining reason isn’t clear, but it seems reasonable to assume it would factor in with all the salary-cap concerns the Galaxy faced this year thanks to what amounts to three DP’s on their roster.

Jazic was having a decent year for LA in 2007 before injury took its toll. Playing mainly in the DL role, he also saw time in midfield on the left and holding in the middle. He was injured playing at centre back during one of LA’s worst injury crunches. You would think an experienced international player, with such versatility and a left foot to boot, would be a valuable commodity? Hopefully he will receive a chance to win over Gullit once his rehabilitation is complete, but in his absence, rookie Mike Randolph excelled in what was an otherwise poor 2007 LA Galaxy side. Jazic will face a strong challenge to regain a starters role even once his knee heals.

How LA will fare this season is a big question mark; the team has Beckham, Donovan and Ruiz; the salaries of that trio mean that the larger part of the rest of their team is made up of rookies, journeymen, long-shorts and never-will-bes. LA lost Joe Cannon and replaced him with rookie Steve Cronin and USL keeper Josh Wicks. Xavier is still around, but his defensive partner, Ty Harden, retired to work for Goodwill. It’s sad that a regular in this league still receives such minimal financial compensation that they could walk away to work for a charity. It may be a plot to allow him to be a free agent come Seattle’s arrival in 2009, either way, it’s a loss to LA as he (along with Harmse) represents one of the few good options at the lower end of the wage scale on LA’s roster.

Overall, LA should be better – Beckham is fit, and Ruiz is certainly an upgrade over Pavon. They should be in the running for the playoffs but will rely tremendously on their three big names as to whether or not they can do more. If Jazic has a part to play remains to be seen. Jazic has 22 caps for the CMNT.

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San Jose EarthQuakes: Chris Pozniak
Source: CSA
The return is complete. The Earthquakes are back; Yallop is back; Cannon and Ramirez are back. The Bay Area is banking on an upset, with the ‘new’ boys titled to have a realistic shot at the playoffs straight-out of the gate.

San Jose certainly did better than the other recent expansion sides in their expansion draft, acquiring a dozen serviceable players with a mixture of experience, potential and all on modest wages. They lost Clarence Goodson before he ever kicked a ball, and traded Brian Carroll on. But they acquired Joe Cannon – arguably the league’s best keeper and they acquired Ronnie O’Brien from Toronto – a top playmaker/winger, and a key thread on set pieces. They picked up Ramiro Corrales and then Nick Garcia from KC. Garcia was pricey (at the #1 overall pick in the 2008 SuperDraft) but he was experienced and gives the expansion team what looks like a very solid defence in this their expansion year.

The expansion draft also yielded Yallop his Canadian; to the casual observer Chris Pozniak was an obvious choice. Yallop, the former Canadian MNT manager, was always going to raid Toronto for a compatriot, and leaving the versatile and dependable Pozniak unprotected was widely derided by Toronto fans. His acquisition was a foregone conclusion and gives Yallop a player who is comfortable anywhere in the back line or midfield. His position of choice is right fullback, but he is equally adept in the holding midfield position. He wont score many goals, but he is a solid ball winner, good with both feet and the prototypical utility player. Ideally suited to a bench role as first man in, he could well see solid starting minutes on the expansion side.

In 2007 Pozniak feature in 22 games (16 starts), had three assists and an ejection to show for his year at Toronto after arriving from Haugeslund in Norway. He has 21 full CMNT caps and with a good season stands to be in contention for a place in the WCQ squads, if not exactly an obvious starter for the senior side.

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FC Dallas: Adrian Serioux
Source: CSA
It all went wrong for FCD last season; just as everything looked in place to mount a serious push for their first MLS Cup, Denilson arrived and rather than pushing them over the edge to success, he derailed the train.

It wasn’t just his fault; key Canadian Adrian Serioux, Kenny Cooper and others received untimely injuries. Star striker Carlos Ruiz just wasn’t firing on all cylinders. But above all else, Denilson’s arrival disrupted the harmony and flow of what had been an excellent FCD side in early-mid 2007. Their disappointment was compounded as they surrendered the US Open Cup to New England and ultimately, their season amounted to nothing more than a near-miss.

Juan Toja was outstanding. Richetti may also be the class of MLS defensive midfielders. In Sala and Burse they have an excellent mix of experience and youth in goal. They’re definitely thin up top this season, but that shouldn’t stop Serioux from contributing.

Serioux played in both the DC and DM positions last year and opinion is split on where he best serves Steve Morrow’s side. He is clearly capable at both, and has a good touch even if it isn’t always followed up by top-class distribution. He’s hard nosed and physical and would be an asset on any MLS side. How Mo Johnson passed him up – not once, but twice – beggars belief.

Not a regular at the international level, Serioux still has 9 caps over the last 3.5 years for Canada. Every time he seems to be knocking on the door he seems to be blighted by injury. Hopefully this can be an injury-free season and he can help propel FC Dallas to their rightful place as contenders. When fit he will be expected to start for the ‘Super Hoops’. With the loss of Goodson, the smart money is in the heart of the defence.

Matthew Britner, who has been on trial at New England, is not currently showing as on their roster. His status will be updated when known.

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