TORONTO – The first thing you notice about Bright Dike is his voice.
It’s booming and baritone, rich and voluptuous. If he’s already thinking about a career after soccer, he could easily get a lot of gigs doing commercial voiceovers.
His voice is also very big, a perfect match for his imposing six-foot-one and 220 pound frame.
And that’s one of the reasons why Toronto FC traded for Dike, acquiring him from the Portland Timbers earlier this week in exchange for fellow forward Maximiliano Urruti and a 2013 international roster spot. Toronto also received a first-round draft pick in 2015 and allocation money.
Dike, a 26-year-old native of Oklahoma, could make his TFC debut Wednesday night when the Reds host the Chicago Fire. Regardless of when he does play, coach Ryan Nelsen expects Dike to give Toronto a greater physical presence up front.
“Bright brings something that we just don’t have, in terms of the pace and the power,” Nelsen told reporters after Tuesday’s practice.
Asked what he brings to the table for the Reds, Dike simply pointed to his body.
“If you haven’t seen me play, you can look at me and just tell I’m big, strong, athletic, fast,” he said. “(I’m an) aerial threat as well. You can look for me to play a No. 9 role and help this team out. Hopefully I’m another weapon (Nelsen) can use.”
Nelsen, of course, could use all the help he can get.
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TFC is poised to miss the playoffs for a seventh straight Major League Soccer season, currently sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a porous 4-13-10 record and a meagre 22 points. The Reds are also riding a five game winless skid, and boasts the second-worst offensive record in the 19-team league with just 23 goals in 27 matches.
But Nelsen might not rush Dike into action just yet due to the young striker’s recent injury problems.
Dike was a first-round draft pick of the Columbus Crew in 2010. He didn’t catch on with the team and was quickly released. He signed with Portland later that same year when the Timbers were still competing in the second-tier USL before joining MLS in 2011.
Dike scored six goals in 23 MLS appearances over 2011 (the year he ruptured his Achilles tendon) and 2012, but hasn’t played at all this campaign after suffering a torn ACL in a pre-season game back in February.
He was an unused substitute twice for Portland this season, and his only playing time came in an 80-minute appearance in a reserve game prior to being traded.
“We want to protect him. He’s here for the long-term,” Nelsen said.
For his part, Dike deemed himself fully fit and ready to play.
“The injuries have been tough but I’ve always seemed to bounce back. Hopefully it’s a new start and a new beginning here,” Dike said.
Dike found out about the trade on Saturday following TFC’s 4-0 loss in Portland. A product of Notre Dame University, he already had a connection to Nelsen – his former Fighting Irish coach, Bobby Clark, used to coach Nelsen when he played at Stamford University.
“They told me after the game and my immediate thoughts were (about) Nelsen. He’s a really good coach. I went to Notre Dame and Bobby Clark coached him so I’ve known him and followed him throughout the years. I’m pretty happy and excited about that,” Dike said.
He’s also not put off about joining one of the worst teams in the league in TFC.
“Last year at Portland we we’re in the same boat. We didn’t have a good season at all and if you look at how they’re doing this year, I know how things can quickly change. There’s a fine line between good and great,” Dike said.
What’s in a name?
Although born in Oklahoma, Dike made his international debut for Nigeria in a friendly against Venezuela last November. He is eligible to play for the African nation because both of his parents were born in Nigeria.
His Nigerian first name is Chinedu, which means “God guides us.” His surname, Dike, means “strength.” Although he admitted his parents call him Chinedu, he goes by his English middle name, Bright.
NOTES: Dutch forward Danny Koevermans, who has battled injury problems all season, returned to training Tuesday but will likely need more time before he returns to the game-day roster. Other than that, though, Nelsen said his team has no other injury issues ahead of the Chicago game… Toronto’s four Canadian internationals (Ashtone Morgan, Kyle Bekker, Jonathan Osorio and Doneil Henry) were back at training and will be available to play against Chicago. The foursome was in Spain with Canada’s national team, but the Canadian Soccer Association allowed them to return home early…
