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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
January 9, 2013 |
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Email Steve Bottjer
Twitter @BottjerRNO |
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With the 2013 MLS SuperDraft just over two weeks away, Toronto FC president and GM Kevin Payne is confident that he will be able to use the first and third selections that the Reds hold towards achieving a significant upgrade to the team’s roster and talent base.
One of the most interesting stories to come out of Indianapolis on January 17th will like center on whether Payne will draft according to the tenet of taking the best player available or whether he will employ the approach of using the picks to acquire players who will address the current positional weaknesses on Toronto’s roster, either via the draft or by trading his draft picks.
Given that Toronto suddenly finds itself quite deep at the centre back position with Danny Califf, Darren O’Dea, Doneil Henry and Gale Agbossoumonde, it will be interesting to see whether or not Payne will be able to resist the urge to select the consensus best player in the Draft, Andrew Farrell, who played primarily as a central defender with the University of Louisville Men's Soccer team over the last two years.
To date, Payne has kept his cards close to his chest, offering up both the possibility that the Reds could use both the 1st and 3rd picks to select top class young talent and expressing that he would not have a particular reservation with regards to using one or both of the picks to strengthen his club via a trade.
Interestingly, the TFC president and general manager has spoken about the need for Toronto to get younger and he has a significant track record of using the draft to acquire core players such as Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius, Nick DeLeon and Chris Korb for D.C. United. More importantly, he has recently been quoted as saying that he wants Toronto FC to be a club that has an identity that is based on a strong work ethic and employing players and coaches with strong character.
In that vein, Andrew Farrell looks like he could be exactly the type of player who could play a key part in the rebuilding process that has begun at TFC under Payne.
According to University of Louisville men’s soccer head coach Ken Lolla, Farrell is a player who will bring the complete package to whichever team drafts him. When asked to describe the qualities that he believes have enabled his now former player to rise to the top of his draft class, the 2010 National Coach of the Year highlighted both Farrell’s character and work ethic.
“To start with, I think it is his character and the type of person that he is. He is a hard working player with a great attitude. He is very committed to getting better and he is a winner. He is also a great leader. All of those things have allowed him to grow and to become the player that he is today. In terms of the physical aspects, he is very quick and strong. His technical ability is very good, especially for being a back player. As people look at him, all of those qualities make him somebody that can come into the MLS and play right away,” Lolla told RedNation via phone interview on Monday.
Lolla is certainly no stranger to seeing his former players enjoying success in the MLS. Last season two former Louisville Cardinals standouts, Austin Berry and Nick DeLeon, came into the North American top flight and played important roles on a pair of squads that qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Both Berry and DeLeon finished up at Louisville in 2011 and a year later were named the 2012 Rookie of the Year and runner-up respectively.
“Looking at what Austin Berry and Nick DeLeon did this past year, I think Andrew is in that similar mold, with a similar level of play in that he will be able to handle the speed of play and the physical aspect of the MLS. I think he is also versatile enough to play at a number of different spots. His athletic abilities are on the level of Austin and Nick. Furthermore, most importantly, I think his attitude is right. Austin and Nick both had the right mentality to go in and be successful and I think Andrew is very similar in that regard,” Lolla said.
In a league that is often defined by its athletic nature, Farrell is widely considered by many to be a player with both the physical and technical attributes necessary to excel at the MLS level. Interestingly, his background also comes with a South American angle to it. As the son of Presbyterian missionaries, Farrell spent most of his childhood in Peru and developed during his formative years in the soccer hotbed of Lima.
Asked to comment on how Farrell’s time in South America might have affected his development as a young American player, Lolla expressed his belief that the young central defender’s time in Peru was beneficial at both the tangible and intangible levels.
“I think what it did was fuel his passion for the game. When he was down there (in Peru), it was a place where there was a great love for the sport. That was embedded in him early on and, in a lot of ways, I think his development has come about because of that passion,” Lolla stated.
Given that Kevin Payne often favours committed players with a genuine passion for the sport, it is possible that he could be drawn to a player like Farrell as much for his personal qualities as for his technical abilities. With that idea in mind, whether or not the Kentucky native will be wearing a TFC kit in 2013 will still likely come down to both Payne’s long and short terms visions for his roster.
While on paper Toronto now appears to be stacked at the central defender position, it is important to note that Farrell can play multiple positions. Furthermore, many MLS players are now playing at positions different from the ones they excelled in at the collegiate level.
According to Lolla, Farrell is a versatile player who could help a team at a number of different positions on the pitch.
“I think a lot of it is going to depend on the needs of his team, because I think he will develop anywhere that they put him on the field. If they need a right back, I think he will be very good there. If they need him in a deep midfield role, I know he can get it done there. He played at that position for us in his freshman year at the College Cup. And certainly as a centre back over the last couple of years, he has been very good. He has the ability to play in all of those positions. Which one will he be the best at? I think his attacking qualities lend him to be a right back more, as somebody who can get forward and serve a good ball. He is also a very good 1v1 defender. However, if you put him in the midfield, he does possess the range to play there and the feet that are good enough as well. I think for him right now, position-wise, it will depend on the needs of the team, because he is very versatile,” Lolla said.
Toronto FC supporters will soon learn whether Andrew Farrell will become a big part of TFC’s future. As a talented player loaded with a number of positive intangible qualities, the young American is certainly a player that the TFC brass must be following with interest and consideration.
At Toronto FC’s press conference introducing Ryan Nelsen, Kevin Payne went to great lengths to talk about the importance of character, dedication and work ethic and highlighted those qualities as being the reason Nelsen was his only choice to be the next manager of Toronto FC. Interestingly, Ken Lolla speaks about Andrew Farrell in similar teams, very much akin to how a manager might have described a young Ryan Nelsen in years past.
With that in mind, it would not be a surprise if the Reds head honcho defied those pundits who believe he can’t afford to use the 1st overall pick on another central defender and he went ahead selected Andrew Farrell to be a cornerstone of TFC for years to come.
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