honed with years of success in San Jose and Houston and those four MLS Cup titles -- dictates that every game, no matter the circumstances, is one worth winning. Losing, at least to De Rosario, isn't an option.
"You're talking to me here," De Rosario said. "For me, I need every result. That's the way I play. I play to win and nothing but win. I never go out there just to play for a tie or play to defend. I go out there to win. For me, every game we play, we need a result. That's the attitude that you have to have."
Spreading that latent desire to win isn't enough without the willingness of his teammates to adopt it, De Rosario said. Through 20 games, that attitude is starting to permeate through the squad. TFC is in the thick of the playoff race (7-7-6, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference and tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with Chivas USA) with its road form now competitive enough to make the playoffs a real possibility.
All of the new faces -- De Rosario, Ali Gerba. Adrian Serioux and Pablo Vitti to name just four -- are contributing to that form. As the players continue to settle into the squad and the relationships within the squad grow, De Rosario expects the chemistry (and the winning attitude) to continue to improve.
"Soccer's a sport that isn't (about) just one man," De Rosario said. "It's 11 players. It's about building that relationship on and off the field. People understand the way you play, you understand the way other people play. You know where they'd want the ball, and they know where you'd like the ball. It's getting that understanding. A lot of us, like Ali, just joined the team and we're trying to familiarize ourselves with each other."
After spending the majority of his time playing centrally over the past couple of years, the Canadian international has also had to familiarize himself with a new role. De Rosario has settled into a nominal right midfield role, but TFC interim coach Chris Cummins has given the former two-time MLS Cup MVP plenty of freedom to roam wherever he wants to find space.
"That's where I get my success," De Rosario said. "When a coach holds me down or limits me to one place, that's when I'm not comfortable. When I get the freedom to read the game and move when I want to move, I think that's when I'm at my best. Thankfully, Chris has pulled me aside and asked me how I like to play. I told him that I'm not feeling the right midfield, but it's worked so far. Hopefully, it continues to work and we get some wins."
Between the long-awaited homecoming (De Rosario is a native of nearby Scarborough, Ont.), his success in the free role (8 goals and 3 assists) and the relative success on the field, De Rosario has enjoyed a solid first season in TFC colors. A playoff berth would probably represent a coup considering the early-season turmoil, but De Rosario is focused on even greater success.
"At the end of the day, if you work hard for each other, you get the results and the ball bounces your way," De Rosario said.
No wizardry ahead for Vermes: Kansas City technical director and interim head coach Peter Vermes isn't mincing words about how difficult the next 12 games will be for the Wizards as he tries to steer them back into the playoff race.
"I don't have some magic answer," Vermes said in a phone interview last week as he settled into his new dual role. "I'm not a magician. We're just going to start from ground zero and work our way up."
As last week's notebook indicated, the first step forward from ground zero towards finding that answer requires increasing the intensity within the side.
"There's a certain way you have to approach the game," Vermes said. "We have to raise the intensity. That's not a criticism (of how things were done under former coach Curt Onalfo), it's just my belief. It's a lot of hard work. We have to run, fight, make good decisions and keep a high work ethic."
Vermes will need all of the work ethic he can muster to drag his side through what he called "a very difficult time." Instead of operating inside the "good working relationship" he had with Onalfo while handling his front-office tasks, Vermes now has to juggle his role as a technical director with the day-to-day rigors of managing the first team. By relying on those around him and managing his time effectively, Vermes said he can make the temporary situation work as the Wizards mount their search for a new permanent boss over the next few months.
"I've always been connected with the playing side," Vermes said. "I just have to be efficient (with my time)."
Hungarian connection nets Zoltan for Wizards: Part of the connection between the technical side and the playing side resulted in Vermes bringing Zoltan to Kansas City to help spark a sputtering attack.
The 29-year-old Hungarian international forward spent the past few seasons scoring regularly with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) and, mostly recently, Honved (Hungary). Vermes, who once played in Hungary with Raba ETO and has contacts in the area, said he spotted Zoltan during a trip to Eastern Europe last year and liked what he saw. The interest didn't go anywhere during the winger, but things perked up when Zoltan came onto the open market after the end of the European season. Sensing an opportunity to bolster his side, Vermes pounced.
"He's a complete forward," Vermes said. "He's very technical, so he can set up plays for others. He's also got good feet."
Right-side return for Ralston: The New England coaching staff wanted more service from the right wing to make better use of target forward Edgaras Jankauskas ahead of Saturday night's 2-1 loss to Los Angeles. With usual first-choice right winger Sainey Nyassi struggling to provide it in recent games, Revolution boss Steve Nicol opted to hand Steve Ralston a rare run-out in the position that led him to MLS and U.S. national team prominence.
Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner -- who helmed the match and the post-game press conference with Nicol serving the first game of a two-match ban -- said production fueled the tactical switch.
"We feel he's the master of the assist," Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner said. "If you give Stevie Ralston time and space on the ball, he'll hurt you. We though he could get balls in the box for Edgar. To a certain degree, it happened."
Ralston's return to the right side lasted only a half after Nyassi came on for the hobbling Jankauskas at halftime. The Revolution captain switched back into a central role to accommodate the young Gambian winger and add some attacking thrust in the middle of the park.
Kyle McCarthy covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com and serves as a contributing editor for Goal.com USA. Kyle can be reached at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com.
