Moments after his national team finished off a goal-lessdraw against Honduras in World Cup qualifying action on Tuesday night, DwayneDe Rosario was – much like he is in the aftermath of any D.C. United match – atthe epicenter of the gathered media’s attention.
And, despite the general consensus that Canada could havetaken three points, DeRo wasn’t about to focus on what might have been.
“We have a lot of positives to take away from this game,” DeRosario said with his Canadian side now sitting second in Group C behind onlyPanama. “Obviously finishing needs to improve, but the main thing is we aregetting chances. We are gettingour heads on a lot of balls, playing one and two touch and we can’t get too downon ourselves right now.”
While De Rosario’s positive outlook with Canada is similarto his leadership approach with United, the reigning MVP’s on-field role with Les Rouges is vastly different from howhe has been deployed under Ben Olsen. D.C. assistant coach, and former Canadian international, Pat Onstad recentlydescribed De Rosario’s international role as a ‘wing’ position in StephenHart’s 4-2-3-1.
“It’s fairly different,” Onstad noted. “[He] still has a pretty freeroll. We obviously put him in thecenter of the park, but I think he excels in both positions. He is the type of player that adapts.”
Though the roles aren’t the same, there is no denying howcrucial De Rosario is to both club and country.
“Last year he gave us the belief that we could be a betterteam,” Onstad added of his former international teammate. “With Canada he is going to do the samething. Whether it’s scoring goalsor setting up goals, he is creating opportunities and that will be good for thequalification process.”
