the club for which Earthquakes teammate Wade Barrett played one season -- but again, he couldn't win a spot on the team. As AGF assistant coach Brian Steen Nielsen told the Danish newspaper Arhus Stiftstidende, De Rosario performed well during his tryout with the club, including scoring a few goals at a training tournament in Sweden. However, Nielsen said signing De Rosario was not a "top priority" for the club, and the player was not offered a contract.
De Rosario's final effort to find work in Europe came in late February during a trial with Blackburn Rovers, the club of former Columbus Crew 'keeper Brad Friedel and former D.C. United defender Ryan Nelsen. De Rosario spent several days with the English Premier League side, but manager Mark Hughes decided not to sign him.
Throughout De Rosario's European job hunt, Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear expressed his hope to bring the striker back to the Bay Area.
"We want (De Rosario) to come back because we know his value in the league, and we know what type of player he is," Kinnear said in early December, adding that he supported De Rosario in his desire to test the waters abroad. De Rosario said Kinnear made him aware of that support, and he said he is grateful for it.
"It's a stable type of situation. You know that they really care for you as a player, and they really want you to exceed your goals," De Rosario said. "But saying that, there are open arms here to accept you back. To have that honesty and that bond amongst an organization is very good for me.
"If you go to Europe, that could be it. You could come back and there's no team there for you. Then you're in an awkward situation."
De Rosario's return means two out of the club's top three marksmen will be back at Spartan Stadium for 2005. The Earthquakes' -- and the league's -- leading goalscorer from 2004 is also back in Brian Ching, while No. 2 scorer Landon Donovan departed for Germany in November.
The options don't stop there for Kinnear, though. A series of offseason additions, combined with the club's returning players, provides Kinnear with a wealth of choices where once the cupboard seemed bare.
Brian Mullan, who has been often been used as a midfielder, is back from last year's squad. Also, the club reacquired its all-time leading scorer, Ronald Cerritos, in January and added young striker Alejandro Moreno in a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Roger Levesque has rejoined the Quakes after a year-long loan with the USL First Division (second tier) Portland Timbers. For his part, De Rosario is looking forward to the competition.
"For me, this is a totally new team," he said. "San Jose has always had great forwards. It's always a battle for who's going to start and who's going to play. I love the challenge. I love playing with great forwards."
In in his four seasons with the Earthquakes, De Rosario has scored 18 goals and 18 assists. He helped the club win two MLS Cup titles, scoring the winning goal in overtime of the 2001 championship match to take home MLS Cup MVP honors.
"Dwayne has been a big part of San Jose's success the past four seasons," Kinnear said. "He is a strong goal scorer and I believe that he will add a lot to our attack this year."
Despite not catching on across the pond, De Rosario said his trials helped prove to him that his abilities and the standard of MLS are on par with those of players and leagues around the world.
"I'm glad to know that MLS is a very high standard because when you leave here to go over there and you play at the same level or better than some of the talent they have over there, you know, that the league over here is moving forward very fast," he said.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
