Bewerbungen » Robin Van Persie.

ORLANDO - It is a bright, warm morning in Orlando and Toronto FC are going through an intense match between themselves at training. The smell of freshly cut grass makes you think of those back home chipping away at the ice on their car windows. Young defender Gale Agbossoumonde receives the ball, looks back and sees Steven Caldwell open. He decides not to pass it and instead forces a more difficult pass forward. Minutes later he is handed another opportunity. In his strong Scottish twang, Caldwell screams at his defender for the ball but, once again, he doesnt receive it, instead the ball is given away to the opposing team. It might still be February but Caldwell doesnt let it slide, telling his colleague in no certain terms what he must do next time. In a quick five-second moment, he shows to Agbossoumonde, and the rest of the team, the type of leader he is and the mentality expected inside Toronto FCs camp. Caldwell is as intense as he is driven. Hours after the training game he is preparing for a pre-season match here in Orlando and as he walks out of the dressing room he is focused firmly on the match as if its the most important game of his life. It is hard to believe this is Steven Caldwells first pre-season camp with Toronto FC. Since making his debut last May, the Scot has become club captain and was voted player of the 2013 season. Despite not even playing one full season for the team he also is unquestionably the best centre back the club has ever had. Toronto FC have struggled a great deal throughout their short existence in MLS and one of the main reasons for this has been the genuine lack of talent playing for them at the heart of defence. While the likes of Miguel Aceval, Andrew Boyens, Adrian Cann, Nick Garcia, Tyrone Marshall, Darren ODea and Marco Velez combined to play over 250 games at that position for this team, Caldwell was playing at the highest level in England. "I had some great times at Newcastle and in the Champions League I came on against Inter Milan, played the full 90 against Leverkusen, they were fantastic experiences. We had a good run, we went to San Siro, Nou Camp, Feyenoord was a special night when we scored two late goals to get through," Caldwell tells me. Having played all over the world, the Scot, who signed for Newcastle as a schoolboy, still names St Jamess Park as his favourite all-time stadium: "Fantastic atmosphere, the noise is incredible. I remember against Sunderland, that game sticks out, my first derby, we lost to a Niall Quinn header, but you couldnt hear the person who was five yards next to you, you just had to read his lips." Caldwell was loaned to Leeds in January 2004 to try and help them stay in the Premier League. He failed but remembers his time fondly. "I loved it, it was my first spell of regular football in the Premier League, Eddie Gray was the manager at the time - we had a great group of players, it still perplexes me to this day (getting relegated) - wow we had some team, Mark Viduka, Ian Harte, Alan Smith, stars everywhere really, it was a bitter disappointment for me to not do it for one of the best group of supporters I have ever had." One of the lowest moments of the season for Leeds was a crushing 5-0 loss against Arsenal at Highbury. Caldwell was one of the defenders asked to stop Thierry Henry that day, instead he was given a memory to last a lifetime. "Without even thinking about it, I can say he is the best player I have ever come across. That game he scored four goals and the last one Gary Kelly tripped him up and he still put it in," he laughs as he recreates the goal for me. "He was the best player in the world, for me, then and I was fortunate to say I played against him. What a gentleman he is and it is a real honour to still play against him now." In the summer of 2004, Caldwell joined Mick McCarthy at Sunderland and it was there where he created another special bond. Current Vancouver Whitecaps boss Carl Robinson had played on loan for Sunderland the year previous but would sign permanently the same month as Caldwell. "Mick brought in a special group who could deliver every single week, we were a fantastic group. We had that togetherness, spirit, camaraderie. We won so many games 1-0, in the end we couldnt get beat, we were just rolling along and won the Championship with games to spare. That year means Robbo and I are very close, we spent a lot of time together in that first season. Our careers moved on and we would play each other and have the weekends together with our families, we always hooked up and stayed in touch. We will always have that bond because we have won something together." Robinson cant say enough about what kind of person and player, Caldwell is. He told me this week: "Toronto has a fantastic leader. He is one of the best teammates I ever had, he is a true friend off the field." Both Robinson and Caldwell experienced that feeling of success at Sunderland and are hoping to bring that to their MLS teams this season. Caldwell said coming to work every day knowing your team is at their best and wont let you down is the best feeling in football. He said: "I had it at Sunderland and Burnley, different makeups of teams but one thing that was the same was the spirit of the team and you just wake up and you know what you are going to get." After winning promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland, Caldwell did it again with Burnley, this time via the playoffs when he would lift the trophy at the iconic Wembley Stadium. "We played Reading in the first leg of the playoffs - they were superb with Kevin Doyle and Shane Long, theyd been in the Premier League a couple of years earlier, and they came to Turf Moor and battered us, but we beat them 1-0 with a penalty late, and I am driving home thinking we cannot play any worse than that (in the second leg) so in my mind we had won it already because I knew it couldnt be that bad. We got bombarded again but held out and scored two goals late on to take us to the final, where we felt the momentum was with us." Burnley ended a 33-year drought of top flight football at Wembley that day and the image of captain Caldwell lifting the trophy sits proudly inside their Turf Moor Stadium. It is the end result of a team going from below average to very good in one season and is something the 33-year-old is leaning on this season for Toronto. "It is a similar type of experience, you start (the season) and it grows and you know you have something going and I feel it here again. I am not speaking too quickly and getting ahead of ourselves, I have that feeling here that something is building at this club and it was very similar at Burnley." Caldwell has heard often about the constant comparisons between the Championship and MLS and, as a veteran of so many matches in the second tier of English football, offers a unique perspective on it. "I think MLS has a little bit more talent, a lot of that comes because we are fresher and play a lot less games. The Championship plays far too many games - you have 46 league games, players get tired, in the middle of the season you are exhausted, its crazy. You cannot even play the game you want to play because of fatigue so you just do what you can and hope you have that striker or that one bit of quality to change a game. "Here we have the quality, the facilities, the conditions, the weather, its a bit more enjoyable to play but where we have to catch up in North America is with our mentality. We have to be a little more tough and once that improves, which it is doing, I think you will start to see MLS teams improving and going on to win the CONCACAF Champions League." Much has changed in the offseason for Toronto. Yet, Caldwell is not the missing piece. He was the first piece awaiting others to surround him. Jermain Defoe, Gilberto and Dwayne De Rosario have been brought in for goals. Michael Bradley has been signed to anchor the midfield and Julio Cesar signed to make the crucial saves. One thing they need to secure to create a strong spine through the middle for this team is a centre-back who brings leadership, experience and, above all else, a strong mentality that becomes contagious. It was once the thing Toronto FC lacked the most. Now it is the one thing they know they can rely on. Danielle Hunter Jersey . On the day the club activated Casey Janssen from the 15-day disabled list, his return from a strained oblique that cost him the first six weeks of the regular season, it announced Sergio Santos would be placed on the disabled list on Monday with discomfort in his right forearm. Chris Doleman Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. http://www.officialminnesotavikingsfootball.com/authentic-fran-tarkenton-jersey-womens . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. John Randle Jersey . The English Football Association had charged the German right back with violent conduct after retrospectively reviewing video evidence of an incident that was missed by match officials at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Chuck Foreman Jersey . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes.Richard Whiting has brought his 12-year spell at Hull to an end by turning his loan deal with Championship leaders Leigh into a permanent move. The 31-year-old centre or second-rower scored 78 tries in 257 games for Hull after joining them from Featherstone in 2004 and was a member of their 2005 Challenge Cup-winning side. Unable to break into Lee Radfords team this year, he joined the Centurions two months ago and will now stay on loan at the Leigh Sports Village until the end of the season, when he will take up a contract until the end of 2017.Leigh coach Neil Jukes said: Richard is a great professional and has proved himself to be a big asset during his time with us.He is a very versatile player and has really enjoyed his time here. I know that in one way he will be sad to leave Hull after giving many years of valuable service to them but he is excited by the challenge at Leigh Centurions and ready to write a new chapter into his illustrious playing career.Whiting was named Super Leagues young player of the year in 2005 and scored a try in Hulls shock Challenge Cup final win over Leeds. He was also in the Hull team that reached the 2006 Super League Grand Final.Whiting said: I knew at some point it would be time to say goodbye.The opportunity has presented itself at Leigh where I am really enjjoying playing and it is an exciting time to be around the club so it is the right time for me and the club.ddddddddddddWe have a great squad at Leigh and a chance to go up into Super League, which is exciting and something I want to be part of. Whiting joined Leigh on loan earlier this year Hull coach Lee Radford said: Rich has been a fantastic servant to the club since day one and his utility value has been important over the many years he has played for us.Hes done the same job in whichever position hes been asked to play, both in the build-up to matches and switching during games.We are at a point where we couldnt guarantee Rich regular footy and he is at the stage in his career where that is important, he needs to be playing week in-week out.Leigh have presented him with the opportunity to have that both this season and beyond, so the call was a no-brainer for him. Also See: Rugby League on Sky Fixtures and results Follow @SkySportsRL Pundits China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '