No Joke: Dwayne De Rosario Traded To New York Red Bulls

There were lots of good reasons for Toronto to embrace Dwayne De Rosario during his two-plus seasons with his hometown team. Yet, here he is walking out the door and the only people apparently shedding tears are kids who don't know any better. Waking the Red, SB Nation's Toronto FC blog, tries to assess where blame belongs in the whole sorted affair.

Despite his status as MLS superstar and one of the most exciting Canadian players out there in the last decade or so, and despite all the goals he scored for Toronto, De Rosario became a polarising player among supporters, especially when he took his frustrations public towards the end of his TFC career, and at the end, supporters let him leave with a whimper. The game against Chivas, within 24 hours of the trade, saw no protests, no banners, no songs for De Ro. He should have retired a Red, leaving the field after a teary lap of honour to a standing ovation, instead we got this.

Waking the Red has a second post planned that will look at where Toronto FC goes from here. One thing we know for sure, they have plenty of work to do.

If you've been paying attention, this should come as little surprise, but Toronto FC coach Aron Winter says Dwayne De Rosario forced the trade that ultimately sent him to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for two players and a draft pick. De Rosario, who made no secret of his desire to be paid more than the more than $400,000 he made last year, wanted a Designated Player contract, but TFC was either unwilling or unable to give it to him according to a story at MLSSoccer.com:

"I’ve heard a lot of things about what Dwayne is saying, that he didn’t want to trade or whatever," the coach said following TFC’s 1-1 draw with Chivas USA here on Saturday. "But what I want to be clear to everybody is that we had a very good offer for the first three years, and he was not happy with that, and then he came to us to ask to be traded, and that’s the real story. We’ve made, I think, a good trade with him because we have opened up cap space to invest more to rebuild our team. And we have got two good players back. That was the reason."

Adding a five-time MLS Best XI player with three MLS Cups to his name is normally cause for celebration, but the club that acquires him has a long history of losing and disappointment in the league's biggest market, it's almost worthy of a parade. The New York Red Bulls have a history filled with embarrassment, but with the acquisition of Dwayne De Rosario on Friday afternoon they went from one of the top teams in the league to the clear-cut favorite to bring home the MLS Cup.

"Dwayne has been one of the league’s best players over the past several years and we are thrilled that he is a Red Bull," said New York General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler. "He is one of the most dangerous players MLS has seen in the attacking third and he is a true leader both on and off the field. We had to trade Tony and Danleigh – two very talented, young players who both need more playing time with a first team in MLS to develop their potential. At the end, we think this is a massive step in our quest towards the MLS Cup title."

New York has not won a single trophy in their club's history despite being one of the league's original teams in 1996 and having been given plenty of financial backing. With Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez as Designated Players, Juan Agudelo as a rising phenom and other top players such as Joel Lindpere, the club is in prime position to capture that elusive trophy in 2011.

Of course, adding a player of De Rosario's caliber doesn't come cheap. New York traded away Tony Tchani, one of their top young players, to acquire De Rosario. It is abundantly clear that the Red Bulls are going after a trophy this season, but they have put their future in peril to do so. In two or three years, the Red Bulls will likely have to rebuild their team all over again. Of course, if they're rebuilding with a trophy in their trophy case, it will be worth it and De Rosario will have certainly played a major role in getting that piece of silverware.

After a day full of speculation and complicated by the fact that it's April Fools' Day, official word has just come down that Dwayne De Rosario has been traded to the New York Red Bulls. As part of the deal, Toronto FC has acquired Tony Tchani, Danleigh Borman and a first-round pick in the 2012 SuperDraft.

"We have acquired two very strong players that I believe will have an immediate and long-term impact at our club. I’d like to thank Dwayne for all his contributions to Toronto FC and wish him well with his new club in New York," said Toronto FC Head Coach and Technical Director Aron Winter in a statement released by the club. "It is unfortunate to have to trade our captain, but this deal is part of our rebuild process and helps to open cap room for our club."

The Red Bulls instantaneously have a strike force the likes of which has rarely been seen in MLS. De Rosario has scored 27 goals in the past two seasons, while Thierry Henry is arguably the greatest goal scorer to ever play in MLS and Juan Agudelo is one of the league's brightest up-and-coming stars.

How the Red Bulls are fitting De Rosario under the salary cap remains an open question. Last year, he made more than $400,000 in guaranteed compensation and the Red Bulls already appeared to be up against the salary cap before his acquisition. Since Tchani was a Generation Adidas player, he did not count against the cap at all and Borman was a minimum salary player last year.