FRISCO, Texas -- At first glance, Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario's 2006 season might not seem to match up with his performance in 2005.
Though he scored more goals this year (11, compared with nine last season), De Rosario notched eight fewer assists than he did a year ago (five, as opposed to 13), and he only provided assists in two games this season.
But in soccer, statistics aren't always reliable indicators of a player's worth. In De Rosario's case, they belie the leadership and will the Canadian international has provided his team, particularly when the odds were not in their favor.
"He's stepped up when I've been away, and I think he relishes that," said forward Brian Ching, who missed time while with the U.S. national team at the World Cup and due to injury in August. "He looks for that. That's the kind of player he is."
For all he did this year when Dynamo were hurt by Ching's absences and other players' suspensions later in the summer, De Rosario might have deserved the Honda MLS MVP award more this year than last. But, for the second straight year, he finished runner-up to a player with more gaudy numbers, this time D.C. United's Christian Gomez.
"I think that time in July and August, he kind of carried us offensively," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Soccer's a game of opinions and people see things differently. It's too bad you can't vote for your own players because I know all of our guys in our room would have voted for him."
Using De Rosario's breakout 2005 season as a yardstick is inviting, but there are things he's done this year that he didn't do a year ago. For example, while he might have gotten caught too far up in the attack last season, this year De Rosario has rounded into more of a two-way player.
And then there's the other major improvement over last year: De Rosario's going to play for a third MLS Cup title on Sunday. A year ago he could only watch the game after his high-flying San Jose Earthquakes were ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
"Last year I didn't make the final, this year I did," he said. "That shows a lot; stats are not everything. Being an offensive midfielder, you don't get the credit for doing defensive work."
Though he's been on this stage before, De Rosario has never come into a title game as a marquee player. He's certainly done his part, though, earning MVP honors for the Quakes in 2001 by scoring an overtime winner against the Los Angeles Galaxy and assisting on Landon Donovan's winner against the Chicago Fire two years later.
In each of those games, De Rosario was used as a substitute forward, coming in late to provide a spark. Though he's now a full-time starter and an attacking midfielder, nothing in his approach has changed, he said.
"You can be called any time to make a difference and you've got to be ready when the opportunity comes," he said. "I think the pressure is the same when it's a final. When you go on, you're expected to do a job."
With his success the past two years, De Rosario has popped up in the media recently as a candidate to move to Europe this offseason. De Rosario, though, is focused on the task at hand.
"Ask me that on Monday," he said.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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