Dwayne De Rosario

At 45 years old, Dwayne De Rosario has this physical status:

Dwayne Anthony De Rosario (born May 15, 1978) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward or a defensive midfielder.

De Rosario last competed for the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League, winning the championship.

He competed for the Toronto Lynx, FSV Zwickau, and the Richmond Kickers early in his career, making him a versatile attacker.

He rose to fame in Major League Soccer in the 2000s, with the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls, and Washington, D.C. United.

He also received the 2011 MLS Most Valuable Player award, becoming a four-time MLS Cup champion.

De Rosario played for the Canadian national team from 1998 to 2015, where he was the country's top scorer with 22 goals in 81 games.

De Rosario is the current CONCACAF Gold Cup champion and four-time Canadian Player of the Year.

He was honoured on the all-time Canada XI men's team as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's 2012 centennial celebrations.

Personal life

In 1994, De Rosario began a strict vegetarian diet, but ten years later, she began eating fish. He is married to Brandy De Rosario and has four children, including his son Osaze De Rosario, who is also a professional soccer player. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, an Olympic hurdler, is his cousin. In February 2020, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario. ECW Press's autobiography, 'DeRo: My Life,' was published in May 2021 by Brendan Dunlop.

De Rosario founded the De Rosario United Futbol Academy in 2012. They joined a team in the League1 Ontario women's division, which began in 2018. The club became a official affiliate team of De Rosario's former club Toronto FC in June 2021, joining their academy system and rebranded as DeRo TFC.

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Club career

De Rosario, a born in Scarborough, Ontario, is the son of Guyanese immigrants to Canada. He began playing soccer at the age of three with Scarborough Blizzard SC and later joined the Malvern Majors. After a fruitful trial, De Rosario, a 14-year-old boy, turned down an A.C. Milan contract because he was not ready to live in Italy.

De Rosario began his career in 1997, joining the Toronto Lynx of the A-League. De Rosario has signed with German side FSV Zwickau halfway through the season, however, he has not started the season. De Rosario returned to North America after two seasons with Zwickau, playing with the Richmond Kickers in 1999. De Rosario scored fifteen goals and five assists in 2000, leading the team to a 20–6-1 record.

De Rosario was one of his first acquisitions in the San Jose Earthquakes' next season, when Canadian Frank Yallop was named head coach. In only 1,072 minutes for the Earthquakes in 2001, De Rosario had a major role in the team's victory; he scored five goals and four assists in the final and was named MLS Cup MVP. De Rosario had similar success in 2002, scoring four goals and eight assists in 1,637 minutes, but the Quakes fell short of a repeat. ACL torn ACL hobbled De Rosario for a good chunk of the season in 2003, but the team's late surge helped propel the team to their second MLS Cup championship. De Rosario played 1,211 minutes in 2004, scoring five goals, including the 2004 MLS Goal of the Year, as well as three assists.

De Rosario was not hired by Nottingham Forest in December 2004, but the team did not provide him with a deal.

Following Landon Donovan's retirement, De Rosario pushed MLS in assists with 13, while winning nine goals, including the 2005 MLS Goal of the Year for the final regular season match against the Los Angeles Galaxy. He was named to the MLS Best XI six times (2005–07, 2009–11).

San Jose and the majority of his Earthquakes teammates migrated to Houston for the 2006 season due to San Jose's inability to reach a stadium deal with AEG, De Rosario. 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 in 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.

The 2006 MLS Cup championship was won by De Rosario and the Houston Dynamo after defeating the New England Revolution on November 12, 2006. The Dynamo was successful in a shootout, and De Rosario converted his penalty kick to a point. De Rosario has been working with Houston until 2010, where he was forecast to make $325,000 per year. He was later moved to Toronto before the end of his deal.

De Rosario was assisting on Joseph Ngwenya's equalizing goal and landed the 2007 MLS Cup final, giving Houston a 2–1 victory over the Revolution and the Dynamo their second championship. De Rosario was named MLS Cup MVP, the first person to win the award twice.

When the game was held in Toronto, De Rosario made his third straight appearance at the 2008 MLS All-Star Game in his home country. In the 69th minute of the MLS All-Stars' 3–2 victory over West Ham United, he scored the decisive goal on a penalty kick in the 69th minute.

After long rumors that De Rosario will transfer to his hometown club, De Rosario was traded to Toronto FC on December 12, 2008 in exchange for Julius James and allocation funds. In a 3–2 win over Toronto FC, he made his competitive debut against the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, setting up Jim Brennan for Toronto's first goal. In a 1–1 draw against FC Dallas, he scored his first goal for Toronto from a header.

De Rosario was supposed to miss the first two to four weeks of Toronto FC's training camp due to a calf injury sustained in the 2010 match against Jamaica, but the University of South Florida's 11-0 victory over the University of South Florida was the first to play.

After the retirement of Jim Brennan, De Rosario was named captain of Toronto FC, the second in the club's history. In a 4–1 loss to the New England Revolution two days later, De Rosario scored his first goal of the 2010 season, his team's first.

De Rosario scored twice in Toronto's 2–1 home opener over the Philadelphia Union on April 15, 2010. De Rosario scored his fourth goal of the season and, more importantly, became Toronto FC's all-time leading scorer in the regular season in his next game versus the Colorado Rapids. De Rosario's first goal, his fifth of the season, came from the back of the net in a 2–0 home victory over Seattle Sounders FC on April 25. De Rosario had scored all of Toronto's goals until this point in the season before O'Brian White scored his second goal for Toronto. He was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 5 for his participation in that game. On week ten of the MLS season, De Rosario was honoured with the Player of the Week award for his two-goal play against his former team the San Jose Earthquakes. In Toronto FC's 3–1 victory, De Rosario had scored his second and third goals.

De Rosario continued to have a fruitful 2010 season for Toronto, culminating in a spot on the MLS All-Star team and scoring a goal in the 5–2 loss to Manchester United.

De Rosario scored against C.D. on August 3, 2010. Motagua is a member of the Toronto FC's CONCACAF Champions League second leg, which puts TFC ahead by 2–1 on aggregate. On aggregate, they would win 3–2 on aggregate.

De Rosario was confirmed by boss Neil Lennon to be on trial with Scottish Premier League club Celtic on December 28. Dwayne and Celtic consulted about the possibility of a short-term loan contract before the MLS season began in March, but new Toronto FC coach Aron Winter and the league have declined any further talks.

In a 4–2 away loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in what was the league's first all Canadian match up, De Rosario scored his first Toronto goal of the 2011 season on March 19. The goal scored in the 20th minute was also the 8000th goal scored in Major League Soccer's history.

De Rosario was acquired by the New York Red Bulls on April 1, 2011, in exchange for midfielder Tony Tchani, defender Danleigh Borman, and a first-round 2012 MLS SuperDraft pick. In a 3–2 loss to Chivas USA, he scored his first goal for New York on a penalty for his second goal.

United D.C. United acquired De Rosario in 2011 in exchange for midfielder Dax McCarty. On his return to Red Bull Arena, he scored his first goal for the team against his former club, the New York Red Bulls. United defeated San Jose, the former team, on July 30, 2011. He led United to a 3–3 draw against Toronto F.C. on August 6, 2011. With his hat-trick, he had a blast. Following Bill Hamid's dismissal early in the game, both three goals were scored while United played with ten guys. On September 25, 2011, he scored all three goals in a span of 9 minutes, setting another MLS record. De Rosario had a total of 16 goals and 12 assists in 32 games throughout the season. During his 17 games with United, he scored 13 goals and 7 assists.

In a 2–2 home draw against the Red Bulls on August 29, 2012, De Rosario scored his 100th MLS goal. He was the seventh player to reach the milestone.

After being rejected by Washington, D.C. United, De Rosario returned to Toronto FC on December 18, 2013, after being selected in the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft. He officially signed with the club on January 9, 2014. Toronto had declined to renew De Rosario's contract as a result of the deposing of his employment on December 3, 2014.

On May 10, 2015, De Rosario announced his resignation on May 10, 2015, and that he would play an ambassador for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

De Rosario came out of retirement to join the Mississauga MetroStars, the club's newly formed MASL club; he later scored his first goal for the team in the MetroStars' opening game, an 11–3 loss away from the Baltimore Blast.

International career

At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, De Rosario represented the Canadian U-20 team and the Canadian U-23 team. He earned his first senior cap for Canada against FYR Macedonia at the age of 20. He won the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup with Canada and served them well at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.

De Rosario was named Male Canadian Player of the Year in 2007, making it three years in a row. He scored five goals in eight games in 2007, the most in a year for the CMNT since John Catliff in 1993.

After being selected by coach Stephen Hart in late May 2011 for the 23-man tournament roster, De Rosario was selected for his first CONCACAF Gold Cup in four years. After losing 2–0 to the United States in the group's first game, the group was unable to win the competition with a 1–1 record. Both De Rosario and De Rosario scored two goals in the first game. De Rosario continued his goal scoring in the first stage of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, with one against Saint Lucia in early September and the other against Saint Kitts and Nevis in mid November. His goal against Saint Kitts was his 19th international goal, securing him as the Canadian all-time top goal scorer with Dale Mitchell. De Rosario was named 2011 Canadian Player of the Year after receiving 47 percent of the vote, Simeon Jackson in second, and Josh Simpson in third. This was De Rosario's fourth time being honoured with the award. In a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Panama, De Rosario scored his 20th goal for Canada, making him the all-time top goal scorer for Canada.

In De Rosario's last appearance for Canada, he scored a goal in a 1-1 draw with Iceland on January 19, 2015.

Before Cyle Larin surpassed his record in 2022, De Rosario was the country's all-time top male goalscorer, with 22 international goals in 81 matches.

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