For years it has been understood that the Vancouver Whitecaps stood alone at the top of the Canadian player development. And there is little doubt that the club’s residential program remains right there at the forefront.
However, today the Caps east coast rivals may have raised the stakes. Details of the long rumoured facility were announced Monday at BMO Field. The cost ended up higher than the $17.5 million that was originally suggested, with MLSE officials saying that the Downsville Park location will come it at nearly $20-million.
Tom Anselmi was a bit like the clichéd kid on Christmas morning:
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Toronto FC and the Canadian national teams represent the top of our aspirational pyramid not only in Toronto, but across the country – we now have a home-grown solution for the future Jimmy Brennans and Julian de Guzmans to hone their craft and become professionals.
Ben Rycroft reported the details earlier today – three grass pitches, a keeper practice pitch and several multi-use fields along with the requisite office space. Although it’s still all in the future, Anselmi reminded those at the press conference that there were already five graduates from the facility-less TFCA. Imagine what they could do with a proper investment, the rhetorical question that hung in the air.
Indeed, it was a day that felt like anything was possible. Bob de Klerk talked about how it was the plans for the academy were one of the reasons that he decided to come to Toronto. It was just like they brought Ajax to Toronto, he joked. Not joking, he talked about the desire to bring the program all they way to a U-6 level. That might take some time, he understood, but he liked the direction.
Another important detail he talked about was the desire to keep consistency throughout program. Using props, he stressed that a No 9 should mean the same thing from the u-10 team all the way through to the senior side.
But it’s no good to build a base if the rest of the house is falling down. That’s something that head coach Aron Winter stressed.
“When the results of the first team aren’t (good), you can’t be (good) at the lower levels,” he stressed.
TFC fans will likely agree, but they should also take a moment today to feel hope – something that has been in short supply at TFC over the last four years.