De Rosario looks forward to contract talks with D.C. United

MLS Golden Boot winner Dwayne De Rosario is happy that he and D.C. United will sit down and dicuss a new contract, but he stopped short of saying that he’ll be back in black in 2012. “D.C United has put it out there than they want to renew my contract,” said De Rosario, Canada’s best-ever MLS player who scored 16 times this season and also led the league in assists. “Everyone knows it’s my option year…. but until we sit down and talk, then I can decide where my future is.” De Rosario won the Golden Boot in a year in which he was traded — twice. He scored goals for Toronto FC, the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United this season. In 2009, he signed a four-year deal with two included option years. By late 2010, De Rosario had publicly stated he wasn’t happy with his current deal and wanted to be a Designated Player. (MLS made a minor tweak in the rules in 2010, when it suggested DP spots could be used for existing players on team rosters. Toronto FC had stated that it couldn’t get permission from MLS to alter De Rosario’s contract, but other sources have told The 11 that MLS had actually green-lighted the change.) De Rosario went to Celtic’s camp in December and January, and his camp and TFC had radically different takes on whether or not he was allowed to trial there in the first place. In 2011, TFC dealt him to New York early in the season. But De Ro didn’t stick in New York; needing to make salary-cap room so it could sign DP keeper Frank Rost, New York traded De Ro to D.C. United, then promptly went into a tailspin that saw it go from being near the top of the East to fighting for a playoff spot. Through all of this, De Rosario led the league in scoring. “There was lots to deal with,” admitted De Rosario. “The relocation, having to work alongside different players. I had to overcome all that.” But his popularity in Canada can’t be denied; the Canadian Soccer Association hastily organized a Friday media conference call with De Rosario. And, despite the short notice, there was more media members on the call than we usually see for national-team coach Stephen Hart or other Canadian national-team players. In speaking of his desire to become the MLS MVP — the voting was completed on the weekend — and the all-time Canadian national-team scoring leader (he’s one goal shy of Dale Mitchell’s total of 19) — De Rosario spoke of how he feels he can inspire young fans, that a Scarborough, Ont. kid from an immigrant family can achieve a lot in a game that, well, isn’t where Canadians have traditionally excelled. “If I become the all-time Canadian scorer that would be huge for me and for the kids who aspire to play for the national team,” said De Rosario, who has a chance to tie Mitchell when Canada plays its final two CONCACAF preliminary group-stage qualifiers Nov. 11 and 15 against St. Kitts and Nevis. Canada just needs a draw from the two games to ensure a spot in the next round. As for a chance to be MLS MVP? He’s been nominated for it in the past, but hasn’t won the title. The fact that D.C. United didn’t make the playoffs will hurt him. The fact that he was traded twice will hurt him. The fact that he isn’t as well-loved by large sections of the media as some of the other MLS stars are will hurt him. But, no one came close to him when it came to amount of goals scored and created. He is clearly one of the best players ever to play in MLS, and he may get some help from voters who would want the MVP to act as a lifetime-achievement award. His goals of the year, four MLS Cup triumphs and knack for scoring huge goals may influence voters, even though they are told to only focus on the 2011 regular season. “It would mean a lot to me,” De Rosario said of the MVP. “I’ve been runner up quite a few times…. (It’s a) Huge lift for kids who look up to me. “When I am on the field that’s where my heart and passion is.” De Rosario called the season “a double-edged sword” because his personal achievements were diminished by DCU’s failure to make the post-season. He says he still thinks he can play well into his late 30s. He is 33 and seems to be getting better with age. He spends his off-seasons in the Caribbean, pushing himself through dry-land training sessions. And he has gone on the record in the past, saying he wants to be part of a Canadian team that qualifies for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and that he’ll be fit enough to play. “Hopefully (I’ll play) a couple of more seasons like this,” said De Rosario of his longevity. “I’m definitely not going to put an expiry date on it (my career).”