TORONTO – If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
When Alejandro Pozuelo takes to the pitch for Toronto FC, there will be something familiar about his game.
Pozuelo, who joined Toronto from Belgian club KRC Genk at the start of the month and was introduced to the media on Monday, will fit the mold of a beloved TFC midfielder: Victor Vazquez.
“When we lost Victor, we wanted someone who could pull the strings,” TFC president Bill Manning said. “Alejandro can. Someone that can manage a game; make the special plays that create goals.”
Vazquez himself, who left TFC for Qatar in January after two seasons in MLS, provided high praise of his countryman.
“'Bill, he's a young Victor Vazquez,'” Manning said he told him. “That was as good a compliment as you could get with us.”
Pozuelo shied away from direct comparison, but saw similarities in their games: “He has a little more years than me, but he plays like me. Good vision, good passing, scores goals.”
In the 27-year-old midfielder, Toronto think they have found a player in Pozuelo who can fill the same role that Vazquez did when he arrived ahead of the 2017 season – the lock-picker – and chip in with a fair share of goals as well. Vazquez proved rather prolific himself given his stated preference for assists over goals.
“An attacking player first and foremost, we want to use him in that role,” Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney said of how he sees Pozuelo fitting into the side. “He'll play close to Jozy [Altidore] and help us set up attacks in the final action.”
“He's outstanding at understanding how to move around, manipulate numbers on the field, playing between lines, the vision for the final pass, the ability to spring runners and also to finish plays,” added Vanney. “[An] engine through that final phase of attack.”
Neither Vanney, nor assistant coach Robin Fraser, could tell if Pozuelo was left-footed or right-footed.
“Gives us a lot of versatility,” Vanney said.
What attracted Pozuelo to Toronto was a similar appeal.
“We have the same philosophy,” Pozuelo said. “I want to have the ball, play through combinations. This is my football. When I spoke with the coach, he explained everything. We have the same philosophy: to win and to play.”
And he arrives somewhat familiar with his new league, having watched regularly.
“Yes, because I like football,” smiled Pozuelo. “I was watching [the whole] league: David Villa; a lot of Spanish players. I think this league in two, three or five years, could be the best in the world because players want to come here.”
Conversely, when something is broke, do fix it.
Two of Toronto's three international recruits last year, Ager Aketxe and Gregory van der Wiel, are no longer with the club. Brazilian Auro, the third, is locking down the starting right-back role.
Manning and company took those lessons to heart in assessing how Pozuelo would fit into TFC.
“[It] was critical for us to go for a big acquisition, but make sure that he fits into the room, understands that he is an important player, but he's part of the team,” explained Manning. “Two references which really struck with us was Vazquez and Laurent Guyot, our [former] academy director, who is a first team coach in Belgium now [at Cercle Brugge].”
“To get references from two guys like that who know us, know our locker room, was really important,” Manning added.
TFC general manager Ali Curtis spent nearly a month shuttling back-and-forth in the complex transfer negotiations and in the process he got to know the player well and liked what he heard.
“In one of the first meetings with Alejandro, he mentioned that he feels his most valued attribute is the fact that he's there for the team,” Curtis said.
With some 40-plus matches already under his belt this season, Pozuelo feels that the chance he had to rest his legs for two weeks in his hometown of Sevilla since his last match was more than enough.
“I'm ready to play. I can play Friday,” Pozuelo said, referring to TFC's next match against NYCFC (8 pm ET | TSN 4/5 — Full TV & streaming info). “I [came to] play, this is my life.”
