Toronto F.C. midfielder Maurice Edu wants to become more of an attacking force in his second season in MLS. Edu scored his first goal of the year in the closing stages of the loss at D.C. with a looping header from a Jim Brennan cross.
The reigning MLS Rookie of the Year scored four goals in 2007 and believes he can improve on that this year. "I want to contribute more offensively. From the position I am in, I want to score goals. But it's not just about that. It is about improving all parts of my game offensively and defensively," said Edu.
The midfielder says he is being encouraged by Coach John Carver to get into attacking positions: "He's telling me to use my energy and to get forward as much as I can, but it's all about timing. I have to pick and choose my moments to get forward and get on the end of crosses. It was a great cross from Jim for the goal at D.C. and fortunately I was able to get onto it."
Edu would have preferred the goal to have been scored in better circumstances, but despite TFC losing the first two games of the season he has a positive outlook. "It was good to get the first goal, but more importantly we want the first win. We know we are capable of scoring goals, we have the talent and it will happen for us," he said.
"It's a long season and we just have to look to improve day by day. It's a learning process. In both games we have played so far we have had chances and that is something positive we can take away. We played with heart in both games, we fought hard and battled. We have created opportunities to score but haven't taken them and we've been unfortunate. The way D.C. plays it was very difficult for us because they keep possession very well."
"Everyone on the team is competitive. We all strive to win. We have quality players and coaches here so we just have to go back to training and work as hard as possible. I want the team to keep getting better and for me to keep getting better."
Last season Edu often talked about the influence of Carl Robinson and the importance of learning from more experienced players. Last week TFC added 32 year old former France international midfielder Laurent Robert, and Edu believes it is a quality signing. "Laurent is a good player. He's smart he will bring creativity and you can see he will combine well with the rest of the players. It is good to have players like that in the team because we can all learn something from them."
Edu has a big year ahead with TFC and also internationally. He will be heading to the Olympic Games in Beijing with the U.S. team. He spent most of the winter with the U.S. squad preparing for the Olympic Qualifying tournament missed much of Toronto's preseason schedule.
"It would have been nice to have had a break over the winter, but i'm still pretty young and it's always good to play competitive games. I was playing in big, competitive games and that is important for my development," he said.
