Toronto FC know they have ‘targets on their backs’ in 2014

Toronto FC got all dressed up for the media on Tuesday.

Sporting their red uniforms and colourful soccer shoes, from pink to orange to red, the freshly pressed and highly glossed players spoke about the upcoming season at their training facility in Downsview.

Most of the big names were there, except for Englishman Jermain Defoe, who is still playing for Tottenham Hotspur and won’t become Toronto’s property until March 1. And the club may soon announce the acquisition of Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, although nothing has been finalized.

U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley, one of the big off-season signings, said a year ago nobody would have believed that Toronto FC would even be talking about bringing in a player like Cesar.

“It raises the profile of our team ... and certainly puts the target on our backs even more than it already was,” he said.

Bring on the pressure, he says.

“It’s why we do this,” Bradley said. “The chance to walk out into sold-out stadiums and play with the pressure to win games and trophies, that’s exciting.”

What a difference a year makes.

Optimism hasn’t been this high for a Toronto sports team since the Blue Jays loaded up on off-season talent — and then crashed and burned in 2013.

TFC captain Steven Caldwell dismissed any comparisons, although he wasn’t prepared to assure fans that the same fate won’t happen to them. After all, he allowed, the players still have to mould into a winning team.

“I know they (Blue Jays) built a kind of super team and it never quite worked, but there’s no given formula for success,” Caldwell said. “We’re well aware these things can happen.”

The buzz felt almost like a pre-season coronation, with the team still basking in the off-season glow from the million-dollar acquisitions.

However, few made any bold predictions — except for Brazilian striker Gilberto.

Speaking through a translator, he didn’t flinch when asked what expectations he is setting for himself in the upcoming Major League Soccer season.

He said he wants to score 25 goals.

Given that only four players have ever scored that many goals in an MLS season, such an output would likely put him atop the goal-scoring leaderboard in 2014.

TFC coach Ryan Nelsen will be cheering him on every step of the way.

“Some people thrive off that kind of stuff,” the coach said of Gilberto’s target. “Some people are motivated by targets. If he gets it, will I be doing cartwheels? Yes.”

When asked for his thoughts on his teammate’s lofty ambitions, hometown star Dwayne De Rosario had a tongue-in-cheek response.

“I just want to score one first,” said De Rosario, who won the MLS Golden Boot in 2011 with 16 goals.

GM Tim Bezbatchenko said he believes TFC is a strong team “on paper” and said his lineup on rivals the best in the league.

However, he wants to continue his evaluation during the pre-season.

“It takes an entire pre-season to see how they’re moulding together. We have four pre-season games coming up, and hopefully teams expose some weaknesses. That’s what we want these pre-season games to do.”

The players say they can’t wait to get on the field for their opening game in Seattle on March 15 and the home opener March 22 against D.C. United. In fact, their passion and fitness levels have created a problem for the coach, and one that others might envy.

They are working too hard.

“My problem is getting them off the field and out of the training room,” Nelsen said. “For the majority of guys, the off-season was too long for them. They were in the gym, they want to get training. I have to get them out of the gym, off the training field because they work too hard.”

Work too hard? Why would that be so bad?

“There’s a famous quote,” Nelsen added, “that you can overwater a flower, can’t you?”

For Bezbatchenko, the players’ intensity indicates one clear fact: “They know it’s a new ball game here.”