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With TFC adding another world class player to their roster on Friday in Brazilian keeper Julio Caesar, Toronto General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko was quick to characterize the acquisition as not just a boon for his club, but also as something that is a credit to the league as a whole.
“What is important here is that you are starting to see world class players make MLS their league of choice,” Bezbatchenko told reporters. “Julio could have gone to a lot of places to get games before the World Cup and to get fit and ready to go to Brazil. But he chose Toronto and he chose Major League Soccer. I think that is a testament to what this league has done and what this club has done over the last six months.”
With not only European stars such as Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane electing to ply their trade in North American in recent years, but also top United States national team players such as Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey choosing to return to MLS while still in their prime years, the Brazilian national team keeper is just the latest in a considerable line of top players who have recently chosen Major League Soccer over other top leagues in the world.
In Bezbatchenko’s estimation, that speaks to the growth and professionalism of the league and Major League Soccer’s growing reputation as highly competitive.
“I think the first questions you get when you talk to players are who is the coach? And what are the training facilities and the environment like? To have a coach like Ryan Nelsen who has played with these players and who knows what the grind is like day in, day out in the English Premier League, he can talk to them and tell them that our league is very competitive and you aren’t going to play away and have a sleeper game, just as you don’t in the EPL.”
“Every week the games in MLS are competitive,” he added. “It is one of the most competitive leagues in the world.”
Julio Cesar himself admitted that the competitive and quality nature of MLS is something that is not a secret to those working in the highest echelons of the game.
“Before deciding to come to Toronto, I spoke with (Luiz Felipe) Scolari and especially (Carlos Alberto) Parreira because he has worked here and he knows the league really well,” Julio Cesar said. “Parreira told me, ‘Julio, if you go there you will be playing in a tough league that is growing.’ Once I spoke to them, I did not have any doubts about coming here.”
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