dwayne de rosario

MVP De Rosario displays his flair for the dramaticSteve Davis, ESPNsoccernet
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WASHINGTON -- Dwayne De Rosario shook off the residue from a slightly staid season to rise at the right moment.

The Houston Dynamo's flashy midfielder rose in both the figurative sense -- lifting his team to a second consecutive MLS title with a 2-1 win over the Revolution -- and the most literal sense to score his most important goal since 2001.



Mitchell Layton/GettyImages
Dwayne De Rosario snared the MVP award with a goal and an assist.Back then he came off the bench, providing an overtime game-winner in his rookie season as San Jose took down Los Angeles in the sixth MLS Cup.

That shot provided the franchise, which has since moved to Houston, with its historic first MLS title. On Sunday at brisk-but-bouncing RFK Stadium, the man they call "De Ro" leapt above Jay Heaps to smash in yet another historic goal. It established the Dynamo as repeat champs, the first in Major League Soccer since those fashionable D.C. United teams of the late 1990s.

De Rosario also provided a game-changing assist Sunday, supplying the ball that Joseph Ngwenya turned into a second-half Dynamo equalizer. For his big part in Houston's rising dominance over MLS -- four titles in seven years -- De Rosario was named MLS Cup 2007 Most Valuable Player.

(Then he scored bonus points with mommies, daddies and grandparents everywhere, bringing his wife and three children into the postgame press conference, even letting 6-year-old son Osaze carry the MVP trophy up to the interview podium.)

The Dynamo needed something special from De Rosario against the Revs. The defending champs had a little more of the possession in the opening 45 minutes but weren't turning it into much. The ever opportunistic Taylor Twellman put New England in control with a 20th-minute header.


Chasing the game a bit, Houston manger Dominic Kinnear switched out of his preferred 4-4-2 alignment near the 60th minute. The move was mostly about getting a little more wide play. But it was also about getting De Rosario forward a little more, getting him free from Shalrie Joseph more frequently. Ngwenya and Nate Jaqua were latching onto the Dynamo entry passes but rarely connecting to the next link on the chain, which should have been De Rosario.

Soon after the switch, Brian Mullan provided a cross that skipped through the penalty area and nearly over the goal line. De Rosario was quick to the errant ball, then quick to exploit the opportunity by charging aggressively from the left side and feeding the ball that turned the match.

Ngwenya still had some work to do, cleaning up his own mess after first whiffing on the pass from six yards. But Ngwenya was quicker to the loose ball from there, pouncing before goalkeeper Matt Reis could properly gather his feet and leveling the match.

"That's a determination goal," DeRosario said of his teammate. "He fell down, got back up, was kicking and kicking until it went in."

Kinnear considered retreating back into the 4-4-2 but Dynamo players urged him to resist the temptation, to keep pressing for the kill. They thought another goal would come -- but who would have guessed it would be off DeRosario's head?

He couldn't remember the last time he scored one off his noggin.

"If you see him in practice, he never does it," Kinnear said, laughing about DeRosario's lack of standing in the aerial prowess department. "He usually steps back and tries to sidewinder it."

Ngwenya actually had a big part in the second goal, too, although replays probably won't show it. He began varying his runs after intermission, finding the channels and asking for the ball in the corners instead of repeatedly and somewhat predictably checking back toward midfield for it. Around the 74th minute, Ngwenya dug one of those balls out of the corner, making Michael Parkhurst chase him and drawing the Revs' fine defender away from goal.

The ball circled back around before Brad Davis found a little space and dropped a good ball near the penalty spot. Heaps didn't think DeRosario could reach the cross but went up to challenge, mostly to provide enough bother in case DeRosario could reach it.

"He was able to get a quick jump on the ball," Heaps said. "I've seen some pretty good goals in some pretty big games, but that was a pretty good one."

It's not like he's got a history of chewing up the Revolution. In four matches over the last two years DeRosario has one goal, no assists and just five shots against New England.

And it's not like DeRosario has been doing it consistently all year. He started a little lethargically in 2007 before gaining momentum through the year. Still, by season's end, DeRosario had just six goals and four assists. That's not terrible over 24 matches, but it's hardly a benchmark season like 2006, when 11 goals and five assists made him an MVP finalist.

"When you accomplish what he has at his level, teams put two and three guys on him," Mullan said. "That makes it extremely difficult to do what he wants to do."

Eventually, of course, what he really wanted to do was win another MLS Cup title. Now he has four, which puts him in elite company. Jeff Agoos has five championship rings. Jamie Moreno is the only other MLS player with four. De Rosario, a man who always accommodates media requests but never is terribly effusive, turned most of the questions about his own contributions back toward the team.

"I can't speak anymore highly of my teammates," he said. "The dedication and determination. Just the will to never give up is unbelievable. I feel very blessed to be with this group of guys and this coaching staff."


Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet Dynamo notebook: Focus never failed
Kinnear used calm, not anger, to inspire Dynamo
By Dylan Butler and Chris Snear / MLSnet.com Staff
Down a goal, Dwayne De Rosario and the Dynamo never lost their cool. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -- After a disjointed first-half performance that was clearly not their best, Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear did not rant, did not have a tantrum at halftime. He just asked for 5 percent more from his club ... or maybe 10.
"No, not at all," said Kinnear if he took any frustration out on the wall of what is normally D.C. United's locker room. "However that gets thrown out there that I'm a paint-peeler, that maybe happens twice a year. For me, and the guys will testify to that, it was just 'play a little better.' The field kind of slowed us down a bit as the ball was getting stuck in our feet a bit and I just told the guys that if we pick up our play maybe 5 or 10 percent I think we'll be in good shape."

During their last visit to RFK Stadium, Kinnear shut the locker room down for more than 50 minutes after a loss to United that left them 2-5-1 and in the midst of a goal-scoring slump.

"I think just in general we didn't have a very good first half. We said at halftime that everyone needs to come out and be 5 percent better and take a little bit better care of the ball and come out and be relentless in the second half," said Houston captain Wade Barrett, echoing Kinnear.

Just moments into the second half, Joseph Ngwenya had a decent good scoring opportunity that went wide but seemed to change the tempo for Dynamo.



NEWS
MLS Cup headlines
• Dynamo stun Revs, earn repeat
• Lewis: Dynamo add to historic run
• Davis: Kinnear switches it up
• Dynamo come full circle
• De Rosario adds to trophy case
• Twellman empty after Cup loss
• Despite loss, Revs had chances
• Mulrooney cherishes playoff run
• MLS Cup 2007 notes
• Fans show up to support teams
• MLS Cup celebration of soccer

Nov. 17 headlines
• Island roots boost Revs
• Once again, Clark a Cup spectator
• Revs notebook: Dorman raises bar
• Parkhurst's play shows soccer IQ
• Dynamo notebook: Raising the pace
• Revs rely on unflappable rookie
• Davis: Conflicted on Robinson
• Dynamo ready, Ching likely out
• Teams draw lessons from rematch
• Revolution hope to start fast

Nov. 16 headlines
• Gulati pulling for a Revs Cup win
• Family feeling keeps Dynamo on top
• Revs, Dynamo products of stability
• Dynamo, Revs full of U.S. talent

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
De Rosario scores winner: 350K
Ngwenya equalizes: 350K
Pat Onstad's strong day: 350K
Taylor Twellman's header: 350K
Cup Trophy presentation: 350K
De Rosario at postgame: 350K
Twellman interview pregame: 350K


GEAR
• Order MLS Cup Champs gear


"I thought the first half from my perspective, we looked a little tentative, a little nervous for the type of guys we have," said goalkeeper Pat Onstad, whose brilliant reflex save in the 87th minute sealed the victory. "At halftime no one was really down, we got 45 minutes, we haven't played our best stuff. We could tell we were into it (after Ngwenya's chance)."

THANKING FRANK: That Houston is a team with a large core of players that had been together for several years was a big topic of conversation in the days leading up to MLS Cup 2007. That camaraderie is seen as a big part of Dynamo's success and a major reason why they're able to rebound from adversity.

While Houston is only the second team to win back-to-back MLS Cup titles, following D.C. United in 1996-97. the dynasty actually started back in San Jose, when many of these players won a pair of championships with the Earthquakes in 2001 and 2003.

And while the two teams are considered separate entities in the MLS record books, Kinnear knows where his team's dynasty started.

"These guys played for Frank, learned how to become a team under Frank and I just kind of taken over where Frank left off," Kinnear said referring to Frank Yallop, who coached San Jose during that run. "They were successful then, they're successful now. They hate to lose."

USING HIS HEAD: After having his hands full in the first half with the crafty Khano Smith, who nearly set up a second Taylor Twellman goal with a darting run through the Houston defense in the 33rd minute, Dynamo defender Craig Waibel knew he had to do something to contain the Bermudan international.

So he used his head. Actually, it was Smith who used his following a collision in the box in the 64th minute.

After the two tumbled to the ground inside the box, Smith jumped up imploring for a penalty kick call from referee Alex Prus. When Prus turned a deaf ear, Waibel got into Smith's for his appeal.

That's when Smith turned and head butted Waibel, who fell to the turf. It wasn't quite Zinedine Zidane on Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final, but there was a concern Smith would be the first player sent off in an MLS Cup Final since Dema Kovalenko in 2004.

Instead, Prus went with a caution, but Waibel believes the damage was done.

"I knew at that point Khano was frustrated," Waibel said. "Obviously I didn't do a good enough job of it in the first half. Part of my game is outthinking people, part of my game is playing angles, the one part of my game that isn't there is speed so I had to get something into his head and I finally did."

SAY WHAT?: Waibel had a pretty good week in the quote department, as well. When he arrived at the team hotel, the 32-year-old defender talked about his run of five MLS Cup appearances.

"I'm a dinosaur," he said. "I've been lucky enough to be on some great teams. I've got the full spectrums of MLS Cups from watching to playing from behind to being subbed out to finishing an MLS Cup. I've run the gambit."

Sunday, Waibel was credited with an assist on Dwayne De Rosario's winning goal in the 74th minute when he fed Brad Davis, who launched a perfect cross towards the penalty spot where De Rosario headed the ball past Matt Reis.

"I did not know that," Waibel said. "But that's a two-game point steak for me -- a career best!"

WASHINGTON -- Six years ago, Dwayne De Rosario capped his first season in Major League Soccer with a sensational MVP performance in the MLS Cup Final at Columbus Crew Stadium, coming off the bench to score the Golden Goal that won the league title for the San Jose Earthquakes.
Since then, one individual accolade after another has piled up for the Canadian international: two second-place finishes in the league Most Valuable Player race, two nominations to the MLS Best XI, two awards for MLS Goal of the Year.

Now De Rosario's gritty performance on a sunny fall afternoon in Washington, D.C. has further padded that tremendous resume, earning him the 2007 MLS Cup MVP award. After setting up Joseph Ngwenya to draw the Orange level with the New England Revolution, "DeRo" headed home a Brad Davis cross for the game-winner at RFK Stadium to bring home a second consecutive MLS Cup championship for Houston Dynamo.

"He has a flair for the dramatic," said Houston coach Dominic Kinnear. "He is a scorer of great goals, as we've seen year after year. His play is, you could say it's not risky but a little bit cavalier, where he tries to do things that maybe other people don't try to do -- and a lot of times it comes off. Today was maybe not an exciting goal, but it was an important goal."

Dynamo's come-from-behind triumph also adds to De Rosario's most important statistic of all: four career championships, just one behind the all-time league record held by his former teammate Jeff Agoos.


NEWS
MLS Cup headlines
• Dynamo stun Revs, earn repeat
• Lewis: Dynamo add to historic run
• Davis: Kinnear switches it up
• Dynamo come full circle
• De Rosario adds to trophy case
• Twellman empty after Cup loss
• Despite loss, Revs had chances
• Mulrooney cherishes playoff run
• MLS Cup 2007 notes
• Fans show up to support teams
• MLS Cup celebration of soccer

Nov. 17 headlines
• Island roots boost Revs
• Once again, Clark a Cup spectator
• Revs notebook: Dorman raises bar
• Parkhurst's play shows soccer IQ
• Dynamo notebook: Raising the pace
• Revs rely on unflappable rookie
• Davis: Conflicted on Robinson
• Dynamo ready, Ching likely out
• Teams draw lessons from rematch
• Revolution hope to start fast

Nov. 16 headlines
• Gulati pulling for a Revs Cup win
• Family feeling keeps Dynamo on top
• Revs, Dynamo products of stability
• Dynamo, Revs full of U.S. talent

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
De Rosario scores winner: 350K
Ngwenya equalizes: 350K
Pat Onstad's strong day: 350K
Taylor Twellman's header: 350K
Cup Trophy presentation: 350K
De Rosario at postgame: 350K
Twellman interview pregame: 350K


GEAR
• Order MLS Cup Champs gear


"It speaks for itself: four championships," said teammate Richard Mulrooney, who watched De Rosario blossom during their time together in San Jose. "I think at the end of all of our careers, it will be looked at -- how many championships you won. He's got four. He's got MVPs of All-Star Games, of MLS Cup. And most importantly, he's a good person. He works hard, he's a family man and I'm just happy he's on our team."

Fittingly, De Rosario brought his 10-year-old daughter Asha and six-year-old son Osaze -- who needed both hands to clutch his father's MVP trophy -- up to the podium to sit with him for a post-game press conference deep in the bowels of RFK, where he then proceeded to deflect praise onto those around him.

"We never give up. I can't speak any more highly of our teammates -- just the dedication, determination and just the will to never give up is just unbelievable," he said. "I feel very blessed to be with a great group of guys, a great coaching staff that instills that attitude in us every day in training and every time we step on the field. And it shows. Joseph scoring that goal ... and then Brad played a perfect ball to my head and I just had the easy job of putting it in. The rest is history."

His coach contended that the game-winning goal was somewhat out of character, given his tendency to notch highlight-reel finishes.

"I can say, laughingly, that I can't believe he scored with his head this year, because if you see him in practice he never does," said a grinning Kinnear. "But he picked a great time -- I'm surprised he didn't take a step back and try to sidewinder it. But I think if you look at it, Dwayne's being a bit humble when he's saying that all I had to do was finish it. Because it was a good ball from Brad but it was an excellent header."

De Rosario himself was all smiles as he willingly conceded the point.

"As Dom says, I don't score with my head," he said. "I guess in these game situations it's more instinct than it is anything else. The ball was played and like Dom said, usually I bicycle or try to volley it -- actually that's the first thought that came to my head. But I thought my head was the best option, and thankfully I did it, and it went in the net."

De Rosario's influential plays wiped away more than 45 minutes of frustration and disjointed play from the Orange, who overcame a slow start to become just the second team in MLS history to successfully defend their crown.

"I think 2001 was special and I think this one was even more special, because of just the fact that we're the second team now to go back-to-back," he said. "Just to make history in the league again, to be the second team to go back-to-back, is a special moment and I think this moment will live in our hearts forever."
Dwayne De Rosario
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Dwayne De Rosario

Personal information
Full name Dwayne De Rosario
Date of birth May 15, 1978 (1978-05-15) (age 29)
Place of birth Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Playing position Midfielder/Striker
Club information
Current club Houston Dynamo
Number 14
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997
1997-99
1999-2000
2001-05
2006- Toronto Lynx
FSV Zwickau
Richmond Kickers
San Jose Earthquakes
Houston Dynamo 7 (3)
12 (1)
35 (17)
108 (27)
39 (15)
National team2
1998– Canada 44 (13)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 1 June 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 3 June 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Dwayne De Rosario (also spelt de Rosario and commonly shortened to DeRo by fans; born on May 15, 1978 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian soccer player, who currently plays as a midfielder and forward for Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer.

Contents
1 Club career
2 National team
3 Personal
4 See also
5 External links



[edit] Club career
De Rosario began his professional career in 1997, signing with the Toronto Lynx of the A-League, where his future Canadian national team teammate Paul Stalteri had also just signed. Halfway through the season, however, De Rosario opted to change clubs, signing with FSV Zwickau of Germany. After two seasons with Zwickau, de Rosario opted to return to North America, signing with the Richmond Kickers in 1999. After a slow 1999 season, in which he registered a goal and five assists, DeRosario exploded in 2000, scoring 15 goals and five assists while leading the team to a 20-6-1 record.

The next season, when Canadian Frank Yallop was named head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, De Rosario was one of his first acquisitions. De Rosario proved Yallop's judgment right, scoring five goals and four assists in only 1,072 minutes for the Earthquakes in 2001, playing an important role as the team went on to win the MLS Cup; he scored the golden goal in the final and was named Cup MVP. De Rosario had similar success in 2002, registering four goals and eight assists in 1,637 minutes, though the Quakes fell short of a repeat. In 2003, a torn ACL hobbled De Rosario for much of the season but he still managed to make a late surge, registering four goals and three assists in only 686 minutes and helping lead the team to a second MLS Cup championship. De Rosario played 1,214 minutes in 2004, scoring five goals, including the 2004 MLS Goal of the Year, and three assists.

In 2005, with Landon Donovan's departure, De Rosario moved to midfield, and promptly led MLS in assists with 13, while scoring nine goals, including the 2005 MLS Goal of the Year - the only player ever to receive that honor in two consecutive years - for a powerful bending free kick in the last regular season game against the Los Angeles Galaxy. He was named to the MLS Best XI. Due to San Jose's failure to reach a stadium agreement with AEG, Dwayne, along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, moved to Houston for the 2006 season.

During the 2006 MLS All Star Game in Chicago, De Rosario scored the only goal of the game in the 70th minute to lift the MLS All Stars to a 1-0 win over Chelsea F.C., in what was a pre-season friendly for the London club. De Rosario was one of only four players on the MLS team to play the entire match.

Dwayne De Rosario and the Houston Dynamo captured the first franchise MLS Cup in 2006 versus the New England Revolution on Sunday November 12. The game was a real struggle until the end, when the Dynamo won on a Penalty Kick Shoot out. De Rosario signed a contract extension with Houston through 2010, where he is reported to make $325,000 per year.[1]

According to a recent Toronto Star article, Dwayne told a media conference call that playing for Toronto FC one day is one of his goals. The club is also interested in getting a big name Canadian soccer player as well.


[edit] National team
De Rosario is also an important player for the Canadian national team, playing either at forward or midfield, and has registered thirteen goals in 44 caps (as of July, 2007). He received his first cap May 18, 1998 against FYROM at the age of 20. He also played for the Canadian U-20 team in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

De Rosario was named 2006 MVP of the Canadian Men's National Football Team.

He scored a goal against Costa Rica in a 1-1 draw during the first Canadian men's team friendly played in Toronto in seven years.