ganjavih
Senior Member
Was Scarborough this bad in the early 80s?
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3321720/Dwaynes-world.html
The Canadian hails from Scarborough - a crime-ridden area of greater Toronto known as the 'gang-infested wild, wild east'.
And he admitted his upbringing was as tough as they come with drugs, gangs and violence everywhere he turned.
De Rosario, on trial with Celtic this week with the hope of winning a permanent move from Toronto FC, said: "Scarborough is like every other poor community. It can either make you or break you - and there are more ways to break you than make you.
"I didn't stick around to see if people were dead when they were shot, but I've been at places where suddenly there's stuff being shot up and you're diving over pool tables. That's as scary a situation as you can imagine."
De Rosario, whose parents moved from Guyana to Canada in the '70s, insists he refused to follow a path of crime.
He said: "I had my own moments of trouble-making but I grew up with a conscience and I followed it.
"When I did bad things, I was punished and I learned from my punishments.
"How I grew up taught me nothing is ever going to come easy. And when you grow up with not a lot, when you finally get something, you want more."
DeRo insists he isn't kidding when he describes how deprived his hometown is - and reckons the infamous South Central LA is paradise in comparison.
He said: "I would have traded that for where I grew up. People have houses with front and back yards. There's no projects with people stacked on top of one another.
"You haven't got tap water coming out grey or people setting off fire alarms and elevators not working."
De Rosario's two older brothers kept him in check as well as his great aunt after his parents separated.
But it was really his love of football which kept him away from a life of crime.
He added: "We needed an income in our family so I became the breadwinner.
"I gave up a lot of my teenage years, the so-called fun years of my life for soccer so I decided I couldn't just waste all that. I gave up so much."
De Rosario, who has 55 caps for his country, signed for Toronto Lynx at the age of 18. But he lasted just half a season in the Canadian A league as he switched to German side FSV Zwickau where he spent two seasons.
He headed back to North America in 1999 and signed for Richmond Kickers - where his career took off.
San Jose Earthquakes signed him in 2001 and he helped them win the MLS Cup by scoring a golden goal in the final against LA Galaxy.
He again helped Quakes to the cup in 2003 as well as the Western Conference title before a trial with Nottingham Forest the following year.
He landed the MLS goal of the season award for 2004 and 2005 then moved to Houston Dynamo in 2006 and scored the only goal for the MLS All Stars in a 1-0 win over Chelsea.
He won the MLS Cup twice more with Houston as well as two more Western Conference titles before moving to Toronto in late 2008.
And there is no doubt he lives for football.
De Rosario, who also turned down a chance to train with Blackburn, said: "I have always admired clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid while my past and present heroes are Pele, George Best, Maradona, Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Raul.
"My dad told me football was all about flair and rhythm. And that's how I like it - but I appreciate it is also about hard work."
De Rosario has made sure he has looked after wife Brandy and their three kids, Asha, Osaze and Adisa.
DeRo, who will be right at home in Scotland as he claims no one eats more porridge than he does, has also invested wisely over the years.
He added: "I grew up in an environment where we didn't have money to save. We just didn't know what savings were all about.
"I started to learn about all these different areas of investment and thought it was a whole new world.
"Careers go so fast, I want to be able to enjoy my hard work by having some money put aside to support my family, or do whatever it is that I desire.
"I try to share tips with some of the young guys and ask them if they've considered investing.
"If you're not going to be making a significant amount, it's important that you understand how you're investing your money.
"I'm not a big risk taker. On the field I am and it works for me sometimes, but I would say I'm more of a conservative investor."
And once he retires from the game, De Rosario is hoping to put all his efforts into helping charities and under privileged kids.
The 32-year-old player hopes to help the United Nations anti-malarial programme 'Spread the Net' and he already owns DeRo Entertainment which helps talented artists from poorer areas become professionals.
He said: "When I do retire, I can put more effort and time into DeRo Entertainment and create environments where people, who at a young age aspire to be musicians or artists, can develop.
"Then, hopefully, they can have a successful career like I've had."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3321720/Dwaynes-world.html#ixzz1AMqWXiDL
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3321720/Dwaynes-world.html
The Canadian hails from Scarborough - a crime-ridden area of greater Toronto known as the 'gang-infested wild, wild east'.
And he admitted his upbringing was as tough as they come with drugs, gangs and violence everywhere he turned.
De Rosario, on trial with Celtic this week with the hope of winning a permanent move from Toronto FC, said: "Scarborough is like every other poor community. It can either make you or break you - and there are more ways to break you than make you.
"I didn't stick around to see if people were dead when they were shot, but I've been at places where suddenly there's stuff being shot up and you're diving over pool tables. That's as scary a situation as you can imagine."
De Rosario, whose parents moved from Guyana to Canada in the '70s, insists he refused to follow a path of crime.
He said: "I had my own moments of trouble-making but I grew up with a conscience and I followed it.
"When I did bad things, I was punished and I learned from my punishments.
"How I grew up taught me nothing is ever going to come easy. And when you grow up with not a lot, when you finally get something, you want more."
DeRo insists he isn't kidding when he describes how deprived his hometown is - and reckons the infamous South Central LA is paradise in comparison.
He said: "I would have traded that for where I grew up. People have houses with front and back yards. There's no projects with people stacked on top of one another.
"You haven't got tap water coming out grey or people setting off fire alarms and elevators not working."
De Rosario's two older brothers kept him in check as well as his great aunt after his parents separated.
But it was really his love of football which kept him away from a life of crime.
He added: "We needed an income in our family so I became the breadwinner.
"I gave up a lot of my teenage years, the so-called fun years of my life for soccer so I decided I couldn't just waste all that. I gave up so much."
De Rosario, who has 55 caps for his country, signed for Toronto Lynx at the age of 18. But he lasted just half a season in the Canadian A league as he switched to German side FSV Zwickau where he spent two seasons.
He headed back to North America in 1999 and signed for Richmond Kickers - where his career took off.
San Jose Earthquakes signed him in 2001 and he helped them win the MLS Cup by scoring a golden goal in the final against LA Galaxy.
He again helped Quakes to the cup in 2003 as well as the Western Conference title before a trial with Nottingham Forest the following year.
He landed the MLS goal of the season award for 2004 and 2005 then moved to Houston Dynamo in 2006 and scored the only goal for the MLS All Stars in a 1-0 win over Chelsea.
He won the MLS Cup twice more with Houston as well as two more Western Conference titles before moving to Toronto in late 2008.
And there is no doubt he lives for football.
De Rosario, who also turned down a chance to train with Blackburn, said: "I have always admired clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid while my past and present heroes are Pele, George Best, Maradona, Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Raul.
"My dad told me football was all about flair and rhythm. And that's how I like it - but I appreciate it is also about hard work."
De Rosario has made sure he has looked after wife Brandy and their three kids, Asha, Osaze and Adisa.
DeRo, who will be right at home in Scotland as he claims no one eats more porridge than he does, has also invested wisely over the years.
He added: "I grew up in an environment where we didn't have money to save. We just didn't know what savings were all about.
"I started to learn about all these different areas of investment and thought it was a whole new world.
"Careers go so fast, I want to be able to enjoy my hard work by having some money put aside to support my family, or do whatever it is that I desire.
"I try to share tips with some of the young guys and ask them if they've considered investing.
"If you're not going to be making a significant amount, it's important that you understand how you're investing your money.
"I'm not a big risk taker. On the field I am and it works for me sometimes, but I would say I'm more of a conservative investor."
And once he retires from the game, De Rosario is hoping to put all his efforts into helping charities and under privileged kids.
The 32-year-old player hopes to help the United Nations anti-malarial programme 'Spread the Net' and he already owns DeRo Entertainment which helps talented artists from poorer areas become professionals.
He said: "When I do retire, I can put more effort and time into DeRo Entertainment and create environments where people, who at a young age aspire to be musicians or artists, can develop.
"Then, hopefully, they can have a successful career like I've had."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3321720/Dwaynes-world.html#ixzz1AMqWXiDL
