TORONTO – Toronto FC's big-name offseason acquisitions have left them with four Designated Players on the roster, one more than is permitted by league rules. And Brazilian striker Gilberto could be the odd man out.
Following the recent additions of Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, who are expected to be lineup staples alongside midfield anchor Michael Bradley, pictures of Gilberto have surfaced wearing the colors of Brazilian outfit Vasco Da Gama, but TFC say that Gilberto was only there to train.
One of those four DPs will eventually need to come off the roster sooner or later. Although a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is currently being negotiated, TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko says he is operating under a “business as usual” mentality, which means complying with the current league maximum when it comes to Designated Players.
“Unless we hear otherwise, we’re planning that you can only have three DPs," Bezbatchenko said. "We’re going to be very clear with that. We’re working through our options right now with the league and it could be a trade, a loan or a transfer. We’re hoping to have a resolution quickly but we have, technically, until March 1, [the] roster compliance date. You can only have three DPs as of that date.”
In addition to the activity on the DP front, Toronto continued to make moves this week, adding defenders Eriq Zavaleta and Damien Perquis and trading Dominic Oduro to Montreal, all in an effort to find the right balance and depth in the team.
“Rather than a roster overhaul, we wanted to make sure it was consistent with our vision and filling our needs,” Bezbatchenko said. “We needed pieces that complement each other and going into games knowing who we are, so we’re not letting other teams dictate things on us. That is driving our decision-making.”
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Whether Gilberto is one of those pieces or not remains to be seen. Toronto found themselves in a similar situation last season, when the club traded Argentine midfielder Matias Laba to the Vancouver Whitecaps in order to keep to the league maximum of three DPs. But Bezbatchenko says he now has full confidence in the entire group of players that he and head coach Greg Vanney have put together for the 2015 season.
“We’re excited about the moves we made and we were excited about the team that was coming back,” Bezbatchenko said. “Last year, I couldn’t stand here and say I was extremely confident in everything, because I didn’t know a lot of the players.
“But after having lived with the players and seeing them play and knowing the character of the guys in the locker room, I’m excited about this group. It was just about filling those key needs.”
Armen Bedakian covers Toronto FC for MLSsoccer.com.
