He’s a defender and that’s a good thing. However, at this point that’s all we really know about Geovanny Caicedo, the Ecuadorian defender that TFC singed today.
The resume looks good. He’s an international. He’s big. And he’s South American (and therefore likely relatively cheap on the cap). So, there is reason to hope.
So, don’t shoot the messenger (that would be me) for telling everyone to take a deep breath. There have been promising signings before. We simply don’t know enough about Caicedo to judge whether he’s the guy to finally plug the hole in TFC’s back-line. We will at least need to see him play against MLS competition first.
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We won’t have to wait long. About a month from now Toronto will be in the thick of its preseason schedule. The Disney tournament holds the potential of illumination far more than past pre-season friendlies have. Watch that Web stream carefully for evidence of hope.
There are two pitfalls that take down players like Caicedo in MLS. The first is the physicality of MLS. Judging by his size – it looked like the Argos and TFC mixed up their signings today when he was introduced – that shouldn’t be a problem. The only real question is whether he’s quick enough, but the Ecuador caps suggest he might be.
The second is less easy to brush aside. Language. That Joao Plata can’t really speak a lick of English yet is less of an issue than having the guy that is supposed to be marshalling your back-line screaming at defenders in Spanish – paging Rosetta Stone.
The caveat here is that the rumours of another Latin American coming in to start beside him continue. And half TFC’s midfielders speak Spanish. The team’s starting to have quite the Latin feel to it actually. So, maybe it doesn’t matter.
Regardless, it’s hard to remember a day in recent TFC history full of so much hope. Caicedo and the full-time move of Richard Eckersley has the Reds faithful in a tizzy.
It’s been a while. Feels good, doesn’t it?
So good I won’t bother you with my concerns that Eckersley is slightly overrated by Toronto fans. For that, I’ll wait until tomorrow.