Toronto FC vetoed Celtic loan for De Rosario: Sources By Steven Sandor Posted on January 14, 2011 1 0 632 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne De Rosario was on his way back to Toronto Friday after a loan deal between Celtic and Toronto FC did not materialize. Multiple sources have indicated to The 11 that the Scottish giants had a loan offer for De Rosario refused by Toronto FC’s brass — and that new TFC regime, under the direction of technical director Aron Winter, have indicated that the club is no longer willing to loan out the services of the club’s top scorer. “Celtic inquired about the possibility of extending Dwayne’s time with them,” Winter said Friday. “My preference is for Dwayne to start the season with Toronto FC right from training camp. We are making a fresh start and need a strong competitive camp. Dwayne is the captain and leader and needs to be part of building a new winning culture.” De Rosario confirmed his position on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. “Thanks to all the Celtic supporters, players and coaching staff for making my trip to Scotland pleasant and memorable. TFC has denied Celtic’s interest for a short-term loan so I will be returning. Wish the Celtic club and supporters all the best for 2011. Cheers!” Toronto FC was never under any threat to lose De Rosario, as Celtic had only ever been interested in a short-term loan for the striker, sources say. TFC made note of a possible load deal when it made a statement on the DeRo affair in late December. “We were unaware of Dwayne’s plan to train with Celtic and we will contact them to understand the situation. Obviously, if there is interest in a short-term loan arrangement by either him or Celtic, they will need to approach us and the league formally and we will consider based on what is in TFC’s best interest.” Meanwhile, De Rosario’s camp continues to keep its vow of silence about the affair. De Rosario started training with Celtic right after Christmas, a day after then-Toronto FC general manager Earl Cochrane stated that rumours linking the Scottish giants to the Reds’ all-time leading scorer were false. As soon as TFC found out De Rosario was indeed on a pitch in Scotland training with the Bhoys, the club demanded that the official paperwork on a trial be completed. Cochrane said that the club had been contacted about a possible training stint with Celtic, but needed to give final blessing before that could go ahead. After that was done, the training session was allowed to continue, and Celtic extended the sessions up to the end of this week, with intentions to ask for DeRo to remain with the Hoops until March. As the training sessions continued, Toronto FC named Winter the club’s new technical director and head coach. The opening week of training camp promises to be fascinating. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment vice-president Tom Anselmi promised that club would not hold a grudge. But the reality is that there are three embarrassed parties here: Celtic, Toronto FC and De Rosario. For Toronto FC, the mitigating circumstances are that the club was in a state of flux when the situation arose. An interim general manager dealt with the initial offer, and a new technical director inherited the situation. Winter, to his credit, is talking about a fresh start and including De Rosario in his plans to rebuild the club. For Celtic, there has to be a feeling of how an initial offer of a trial — which could only ever become a loan — turned into something that portrayed the club as acting in bad faith, and was plastered in headlines throughout not only Toronto, but Glasgow as well. For De Rosario, he must return to Toronto and deal with fan base that, for the most part, has made up its mind about the situation; taking the side that he acted selfishly and went to Scotland without Cochrane’s knowledge. The key is how to move forward. The Reds must publicly clear Celtic of any wrongdoing, in order to preserve good relations between the club and MLS in the future. Winter can use his status as the new man on the job, as the one who walked into the situation as it was happening, to make his mark. He can rely on his past as an elite player, with experience on the world’s biggest stages, to bridge the gap between himself and De Rosario. He needs to diffuse a situation with his franchise player, who is likely seething right now over being refused the chance to spend the next couple of months in Scotland. His statement today is a first step.
