A year ago, Juan Toja was a revelation for FC Dallas. After being signed during preseason, the 22-year-old Colombian midfielder started the first 19 games for the Hoops, scored six goals and was FCD's only MLS All-Star. An ankle injury in August kept him out for a pair of games and Toja wasn't the same player the balance of the year, failing to score in FCD's final eight games and registering just one assist.
But Toja's ankle is completely healed and the Hoops Nation cult hero is ready for an even better year in 2008. FCD head coach Steve Morrow agrees that the bar is raised for Toja this season.
"I think we expect a bigger year from him this year," Morrow said. "He came in, started off well and impressed everyone early on with his form. But then he got the ankle injury in the middle of the season and I don't think the second half was as good as the first half.
"He's a talented player who will be an important part of how we play this year. We want to find the right role and position for him, which we will do in the preseason."
Early in the 2007 season, Toja played an attacking role in the central midfield and had great offensive success. He was moved out wide later in the year and didn't appear to be as comfortable as he was in a more central role.
In Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Tigres UANL in Monterrey, Toja played just behind the two strikers in a a five-man midfield, with two holding midfielders in back of him. Whether Morrow remains with that system, or goes to a 3-4-3, still remains to be seen but Toja clearly has a preference.
"I can play [centrally] but don't like to play too much out wide," Toja said. "I like to play more in the middle but can play in both spots. When we play four in the midfield with me on the left, I like to move into the middle and sometimes outside. I like to play all over the field."
While many players on the FCD roster don't have much experience playing in the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formations, Toja is familiar with both and doesn't see switching from a 4-4-2 as requiring any adjustment on his part.
"I played in both of those before I came here," he said. "I feel comfortable in both of them. We will have to work hard on both of them because we have never played in these formations but I already feel comfortable with either formation."
Just having the preseason to iron out such kinks will be a new and welcome experience. Last year, Toja missed most of the first month of preseason as he was signed on Feb. 28 after impressing Morrow and the FCD brass during a trip to Brazil.
"It's better," he said. "Last year, I went to Brazil and missed the first month. Now, I'm here for the whole preseason and that's better for me because I have more time to train and practice. I'm very happy here."
In addition, coming off the offseason break after the long MLS campaign was definitely a welcome break for Toja.
"I went back to Colombia first to spend time with my family," he said. "I had a lot of good times there relaxing and thinking about things other than soccer. I also went to Spain on vacation. It's an incredible country and I had a good time there too."
But that didn't mean he didn't also find time to get some work in.
"I tried to work a little bit so that I didn't lose any fitness," Toja said. "That was hard to do since I was training by myself and it's not the same thing (as training with my teammates). I had a long vacation for two months. Now, we're here for practice and it's good to be together. I'm happy to be back here again."
When asked about his personal expectations for the '08 campaign, Toja definitely didn't mince words about what he feels FCD can accomplish.
"I expect us to win a championship," he said. "We always want to do that. We were close to that last year but now we have to work harder to get there."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
