TFC Gets It Right With Adrian Cann
I for one was a little surprised. Happy, but surprised.
COURTESY OF TFC TV
Last night at the Toronto FC “90th Minute” end of season party the club announced that defender Adrian Cann had won the club MYP award for 2010. And upon sleeping on it I think that this was a very smart choice. With fifteen MLS goals in 27 league games, and being named to the MLS Top XI squad, the obvious choice of course would have been Dwayne De Rosario. But I think that the choice of Adrian Cann instead was the smart choice and the right choice on many levels.
First off you could make a valid case that he was the bargain of bargains in all of Major League Soccer this season. Upon returning to Canada from Denmark he trialled with TFC and signed for the relatively paltry sum of $56,592 (just a little more than $2175 per league game!!). And the best information I have is that Cann is out of contract at the end of the season and there is either a club option available to re-sign him (likely) or he is free to go wherever he pleases. Showing him how much his effort on such a relatively small pay packet was appreciated by the club by this kind of gesture should perhaps make him more amenable to re-upping with TFC.
And whoever is calling the shots in the coming months for the Reds, I feel it is imperative that Adrian Cann be re-signed. At 30 years of age he is now in the prime of his years as a central defender. I think the award from the club also recognizes how important to the ongoing development of his fellow central defensive partner Nana Attakora he has been. We all want to see Nana take further steps forward like he has in 2010 and keeping him partnered with Cann in 2011, and hopefully beyond, makes a whole lot of sense to me.
One moment stands our for me in particular when looking back on what Adrian Cann means, and may may mean in the future, for Toronto FC. In the turmoil after the firings of Preki and Mo Johnston in September, TFC was still in the hunt for a spot in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League. However the daunting task of getting something away in Mexico City from powerhouse Cruz Azul was the only way to keep their qualification hopes alive. With a relatively weakened lineup, with altitude and pollution to deal with, and playing their sixth game in eighteen days, plus playing in a city where no MLS side has ever gotten anything significant from, the task was a huge one. Cann donned the captain’s arm band that evening and was the linchpin of what was arguably TFC’s best single defensive effort of the season as the Reds escaped with a nil nil draw. Personally I think it was the best effort of the season from the team, considering the circumstances, especially from Adrian Cann.
I for one hope that this game in Mexico is not the last time we see him wearing the captain’s arm band, or for that matter TFC Red.
” Adrian Cann is leaving his team out to dry”? We all know that’s nonsense. Tfc is leaving him out to dry. Their MvP, that is. Paying him pennies while players of much less quality, like DeGuzman and former player slash clown Jim Brennan make rediculous amounts of money is a discrace to the sport and the team. Shame on you TFC. And shame on you Aaron Winter, for not supporting your player. What happened here is clear. TFC (a bunch of money hungry goons/borderline criminals) tried to take advantage of an excellant player, who happened to not have an agent. Such a kind hearted fellow like Cann should have known better than to show up agentless to negotiate with these ruthless tyrants in suits. To assume he (the reigning MVP), would be treated with any sort of respect by his employers was a huge mistake on his behalf. These spineless, gutless tycoons thought they could take advantage of Cann, but what has resulted is just a complete shame for Canadian soccer. One of the best players in Canada not playing. I hope they (tfc) have the honour to accept that they’ve made a huge mistake, and offer him something close to what he deserves.