Before the Eastern Conference Final, approaching the stadium through the Exhibition Go Train tunnel, I got a flashback to the first time I made that walk to BMO Field back in 2007. As reporters Kristian Jack and John Molinaro so eloquently put in recent essays, looking forward to the MLS Cup Final date inevitably invokes a great deal of reflection.
The Final Countdown... to MLS Cup
This is by no means a definitive list. It is just an exercise in nostalgia, thinking back to 2005/2006, hearing updates from Gerry Dobson on Saturday mornings about the city’s new team. Comment here or tweet me your favourite moments of Toronto FC fun or failure that I didn’t jot down below.
2005
• In October, MLSE (well, I believe they went by MLSEL back then) paid a $10 million expansion fee to Major League Soccer. 10 years on, the expansion fee for Minnesota cost $100 million.
2006
• May 11, the club is officially named Toronto FC. Then the league’s 13th team, there are now 20 and with a few expansion clubs on the way.
Inter Toronto FC and Toronto Northmen were touted as other possible options for the official club moniker. Wow.
• Mo Johnston was announced as the coach in August, Jim Brennan as the first player in September.
• In November was the Expansion Draft. Most players picked by the club would never see MLS football in a TFC jersey, instead used as trade bait.
Adrian Serioux was shipped to FC Dallas merely hours after selection, only to be signed again by Toronto FC a couple years later.
• Tim Regan (called Tom by some major Canadian sports media outlets) was traded to the New York Red Bulls for Edson Buddle (who was tame in Toronto but lethal when playing against us). Down the road Regan actually signed a 10-day contract with TFC, playing in a single match to bolster a Toronto FC roster depleted by international football obligations. He also became head of scouting at TFC in 2008.
• The inaugural season players took a gamble on this new club. Torontonian and former Toronto Lynx player Marco Reda wasn’t shy to acknowledge that it wasn’t a glorious, wallet-packing move, but a case of following his heart to play in front of family/friends.
2007
And so it begins.
• How classy were those 2007 kits? They should seriously bring back that design as an alternate kit worn in a select game or two.
• Beyond Brennan and Dichio, personal favourites of the inaugural squad included Carl Robinson, Greg Sutton and Marvel Wynne.
• April 7, the very first match. Remember Chivas USA? The first opponent no longer exists.
• April 28, the first match at BMO Field, back when Sporting KC was called the Wizards.
• May 12, Danny Dichio, 24th minute, the club’s first goal, seat cushions flying, and 20 minutes later the club’s first red card! Dichio’s 6 goals in 2007 were a team high.
• May 26, Jim Brennan scores the first TFC goal by a Canadian, with a belter of a free kick against Columbus.
• Also in May the team parted ways with Paulo Nagamura, the final remaining Expansion Draft pick. Follow this trade though: Nagamura to Chivas for a 1st Round MLS Superdraft pick. Toronto selects Trinidadian Julius James 9th overall, then eventually trade him (after only a handful appearances) to Houston along with Allocation money for Dwayne DeRosario.
• In August, David Beckham’s LA Galaxy came to BMO for the first time, though he was injured and didn’t suit up on the day. Fun fact: the Barenaked Ladies sang the anthems before kick off.
• Come the end of the season, TFC had a 6-17-7 record and -24 goal difference. Predictably finishing last overall.
• After the season ended, open tryouts were held in December. With over 1000 participants paying $115 each, perhaps the club needed money to buy kits.
2008
• John Carver took over as head coach, because frequently changing coaching personnel is what TFC did best.
• The team managed 9 wins compared to the previous season’s 6, but still finished last in the Eastern Conference and with a -9 goals difference.
The club’s golden boot winner was Rohan Ricketts, signed after being released by Barnsley in England, with 6 goals in all competitions.
• Remember Laurent Robert? A free kick specialist from France, how fancy. You can find his only MLS goal on YouTube, with confetti cannons in full glory. Remember when BMO Field had those?
• Those were the days when fans would bury opposition players in streamers (and sometimes toilet paper) when they’d try to set up to deliver a corner kick.
• Speaking of set pieces, Amado Guevara! He was tons of fun to watch.
By the end of the season, around 20 players had left the club. Granted, it was a club starting from scratch, but the turnover rate was already high.
One player sold was Maurice Edu, who was sent to Rangers so the club could scrounge up some cash to swap the BMO Field AstroTurf for real grass. Honestly.
2009
• Finishing 5th in east rather than last with a 10-11-9 record, 2009 was another modest improvement.
• Scarborough’s Dwayne DeRosario had joined in the offseason and went on to score 14 goals in all competitions.
• Another eventual fan favourite was added in Stefan Frei, selected 13th overall in the Superdraft.
• This season also featured ‘that’ Columbus road trip, police taser, etc.
Some TFC also tossed a beer at a pre-weight loss Drew Carey, when Seattle first visited BMO Field.
• Sam Cronin scored his only goal for the club, and a Haitian fellow named Lesly Fellinga, played a few times.
• John Carver resigned in April with Chris Cummins taking the interim role. Carver later in the year took up the assistant coach position at Plymouth Argyle, working under future TFC coach Paul Mariner. We’ll come back to him after a few more coaching changes though.
• June 18 was the unforgettable Miracle in Montreal. Toronto FC having never scored five in a single match conceded early and needed to do just that. They ended up scoring 6. This was probably the first game that sparked responses of visceral passion rather than simply excitement from the novelty of having a local side to cheer for. It really felt like a turning point.
• The exact opposite feeling resulted from the final match of that season though. A must-win game with the playoffs in sight against the last placed New York Red Bulls. The NFL lines at Giants Stadium are burned into the brain. The 5-0 loss set a franchise record for the worst defeat. If the Miracle in Montreal felt like a turning point, this was a sign of things to come.
• Toronto FC’s -14 goal difference in the final 15 minutes of games would also be a club signature for season after season.
2010
• In the club’s fourth season, Preki was appointed the club’s fourth Head Coach. Though he would be forced out by September with Nick Dasovic given interim responsibility.
• While DeRosario managed 17 goals in all competitions, the team’s record was much the same as the previous three seasons.
• Jon Conway made a few appearances in goal; he is now the team’s Goalkeeper Coach.
• Maicon Santos became the first non-Canadian permanent team captain.
In a big step forward for the club, Doneil Henry became the first academy graduate to play for the senior team.
• In a big step backward for the club…Mista.
• DeRosario’s flying bird (or whatever you call it) celebration became a thing to look forward to, but behind-the-scenes politics were put under a spotlight after the infamous cheque-signing celebration in September. To state the obvious, it was a joke that he was making less than half of what Mista and DeGuzman each earned, regardless of league salary rules.
2011
• In the offseason, Jürgen Klinsmann was brought in to reorganize the structure of Toronto FC.
• Aron Winter was hired as Head Coach along with Bob De Klerk, both leaving the AFC Ajax system in hopes of bringing “Total Football” to MLS.
Total Football meant a shift to 4-3-3. One of the wingers brought to accommodate that transition was Joao Plata, a nimble and creative attacker who stood 5’ 2”, 2 inches shorter than Sebastian Giovinco is. I still remember Plata suffering on the sidelines in winter coats that went down to his knees.
• Javier Martina was brought in from Ajax. The only TFC player to ever be capped by the Curacao National Team. I haven’t fact checked this, but it seems a safe guess.
• Ashtone Morgan joined the senior team; Terry Dunfield was also brought in. It was a full “rebuild” with about 30 players brought in over the course of the year.
• As the season progressed, out went DeRosario and in came the big international signings of Danny Koevermans and Torsten Frings.
While Koevermans managed an impressive 10 goals in the final few months of the season, the team finished with a tragic 6 wins and -23 goals difference, pretty well back to the record from the inaugural season.
• Excitement lay with the CONCACAF Champions League group stage as the team travelled to Mexico and Panama, setting up a knockout stage berth for 2012.
2012
• It was the spring of two extremes. The CCL became the priority, with the historic quarterfinals against David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and the rest of the LA Galaxy. Marching through the downtown streets, 47,000 fans in attendance at the Rogers Center for the first leg, massive banners adorning the makeshift supporters’ sections. Without a doubt, the biggest night in club history at the time.
• Even considering the 2016 playoff run, there was something special about watching TFC in the semifinal second leg of that competition. Bringing a 1-1 score to Mexico, taking the lead twice in the first half against Santos Laguna. While the second half collapse left us gutted, to have gone that far was something to be proud of.
• Of course, the league campaign was pretty well sacrificed to bring us those Champions League nights. 9 losses in a row to start the season, and Koevermans publicly suggesting Toronto FC could be the worst team ever.
• Aron Winter was sacked in June and replaced by Paul Mariner.
• The ship continued sinking a few weeks later as Miguel Aceval, Luis Silva and Nick Soolsma were sent home from a road trip in Houston, having been arrested for public intoxication.
• In the summer, as if to prove how little the city of Toronto cared for it’s team, a marketing video was released of Torsten Frings at Union Station with a ball. Of the 350 commuters who walked past the club captain, only 2 recognized him and stopped.
• There didn’t even seem to be a logical direction for player acquisition. Eric Hassli joined the list of Reds with less than 10 appearances, seemingly scouted solely on his goal two months earlier against TFC that saw him nominated by FIFA for the “Puskas” Goal of the Year Award.
• Darren O’Dea took over as captain near the end of the season. The natural passion he brought to the side was a much-needed characteristic.
• Unfortunately an expanded league meant an expanded schedule. In this context, there were more games to lose and TFC losses in 2012 amounted to 21 matches. 5 wins, -26 goals difference. It was the worst MLS season in club history.
• That said the Champions League run represented a massive achievement, as did the fourth consecutive Canadian Championship crown.
2013
• In the off-season Mariner vacated the Head Coach position, and Kevin Payne came in to fill the GM role. Yet another shakeup.
• Ryan Nelsen, while still playing Premier League football at QPR, was hired as the next Head Coach.
• There was barely more than a month between his official appointment and the “Dome Opener” at Rogers Centre to kick off the season.
• Robert Earnshaw was one of few bright sparks in 2013, with a team high 8 goals in all competitions and that wacky front flip and peculiar dance as his signature celebration.
• I will forever remember the Darel Russell equalizer in stoppage time against FC Dallas. For one, it was an outstanding bit of skill. It was also the absolute coldest I’ve been at BMO, but I was definitely not dressed warm enough. Lastly, Richard Eckersley actually injured himself celebrating that goal and was out of the squad until July.
• Countless players were brought it throughout the campaign, including some signed days before the opening match, with all new additions immediately fair game for squad selection.
• Kevin Payne opted to loan in some players before committing to buying them. Tottenham youth player John Bostock as one example. He showed fast feet in the opening fixture but was gone by the mid-point of the season. Player acquisition in 2013 was all over the place.
• TFC literally won an MLS lottery and got Gale Agbossoumonde.
Sideburn model and e-cigarette safety spokesman Danny Callif brought some personality to the side.
• The club stalked Maximiliano Urruti for nearly a year before his signing was confirmed. 37 minutes of playing time later, he was gone.
• Arguably, there were 3 distinctly different squads over the course of the season: the opening day group, the 10-ish-games-in group, and then the final period of the campaign.
• It’s not hard to admit, July 2013 through the end of the season I was not bothered at all by poor results. It seemed as if the powers that be had written off any importance to the 2013 season. This would later be confirmed as the details of the Defoe saga proved the structuring of the 2014 squad began with trips abroad in the summer of 2013. Yes, teams scout for their future constantly, but 2014 was designed as a rebuild.
• The final third of the 2013 season was simply a club going through the motions.
2014
• With Tim Leiweke already in charge, Tim Bezbatchenko became the new General Manager and Greg Vanney would be appointed head coach come the summer.
• The (sorry, I have to) “Bloody Big Deal”. It was groundwork was put down, albeit underscored by a massively optimistic marketing campaign that fell apart tragically, yet predictably fitting of the club’s history.
• Do you remember the double-decker bus outside the Air Canada Centre? What about the local newspapers designed to mimic London publications? The teaser commercials of Brits spitting out their tea?
• Jermaine Defoe came in, with Michael Bradley almost an afterthought.
• Justin Morrow settled in at left back.
• Jordan Hamilton signed his first senior contract.
• Julio Cesar had a short stint with the club.
• Who could forget Gilberto! An enigma, and one of my favourites because of it. Driving Defoe mad in a fight to take a free kick, only to lash a screamer in off the bar!
• Don’t forget Gilberto’s commercial for KIA with Andrew Wiedeman that stayed on TV longer than both of them stayed at TFC.
• Moment of the season: Joe Bendik, fed up with the antics of Montreal’s Felipe Martins feigning injury, literally picked him up to place him off the pitch.
As is well documented, another master plan fell apart as the season dragged on. It was never a good sign that Toronto had to put together every VIP experience imaginable to convince Defoe to sign. Perhaps he didn’t know what he was getting himself into.
• Looking back, for Leiweke and Bezbatchenko 2014 was mostly getting rid of dead weight on the payroll, while showing promise of a commitment to genuine success and an eye on a cohesive club vision that lasts beyond a single season.
• The investment in Defoe was a big risk that fell flat. Tickets selling for fractions of face value on the secondary market come the end of the season.
• Another offseason debating if the interim coach is good enough, and debating what moves are next with the marquee signing vanishing, captain Steven Caldwell seemingly ready for retirement, and the majority of the positions on the pitch needing drastic improvements in depth.
2015
• Regardless of how 2014 played out, the financial injection, belief and support from Leiweke and MLSE were of great significance.
• Promises to expand the stadium in phases beginning in 2015, albeit with some gridiron fine print, signaled a big push once again for the club.
• $11 million in annual contract money were invested in Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore. Leiweke and Bezbatchenko were ready to go big once more, but with much more muted player reveals this time.
• It really felt like the last chance. The response to the Defoe flop was to double down.
• With the east stand expansion being completed, the team started the season with an extended road trip, leaving a home-heavy end to the season.
• A win in Vancouver was followed by 4 losses in a row. Altidore managed a pair of goals in his debut, and was famously photographed taunting the Vancouver supporters after his second.
• Giovinco was scoreless through the first 3 games, scoring the scrappiest of goals to open his MLS account. The next match though was the very opposite, on a night in Dallas that stuttered from a lengthy thunderstorm delay. Scoring two with absolute ease as if he were the only TFC player who saw Dallas as beatable.
• At this point, it seems relevant to mention the Band of Allegiance given to Season Ticket Holders. That is all.
• Chris Konopka stole a drink from a fan’s beer after beating Montreal.
4-4 at Yankee Stadium summing up the strengths and weaknesses that held this team in the balance.
• 2015 will forever boil down to the night of October 14. The city of Toronto was transfixed by a “where were you when” moment. The Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista with the three-run blast and iconic bat flip in the ALDS. I was on a streetcar travelling to BMO for the TFC game, passing the Rogers Centre when it happened, the streetcar buzzing with shock.
• In the Toronto FC bubble, it was a chance to clinch the playoffs. As the story will forever go, Giovinco, on the same day of a transatlantic flight returning from National Team duty, comes off the bench in the second half. It were as if everything paused as he danced his way impossibly towards the penalty box and took that shot.
• The playoffs were clinched! After all these years! Dozens of fans poured over the south end rails to be closer to the pitch, and I got a big sweaty hug from Josh Williams.
• The team would lose in the wild card game in Montreal and Giovinco really wanted a piece of a mouthy Impact fan after the match, but this club was finally on to something.
2016
• I haven’t completely fact checked this, but the most recently updated data I found online lists 202 players who have played in a competitive fixture for Toronto FC. Assuming 11 on the pitch and 7 on the bench, the turnover rate since 2007 could account for a complete squad turnover each season. Up until Greg Vanney’s second full term, the same could be said about the coaching staff.
• While it was Leiweke’s vision, Bezbatchenko deserves an enormous amount of credit. As he noted in a recent radio interview, 27 new players signed for Toronto FC in the year before he was hired, very few of whom other MLS GMs were actually interested in considering trades for.
• Offensively ruthless in 2015, this squad needed defensive tweaks to be a genuine contender in 2016. Bezbatchenko brings in Clint Irwin, Steven Beitashour, Drew Moor. Greg Vanney restructures tactically, and goals against are decreased by nearly 40% from the previous season.
• The character in the side was evident from the moment Will Johnson sacrificed his leg to score a stoppage time goal and clinch the club’s fifth Canadian Championship victory.
• Persistent stretches of injury after injury to regular starters tested Vanney’s squad management and the team’s depth. Periods of the summer saw younger players forced to step up, but also saw the best stretch of results in the regular season. Alex Bono took the starting role in net. Marky Delgado, Tsubasa Endoh and Jay Chapman rotated with Jonathan Osorio and Benoit Cheyrou (who had previously in the season been relegated mostly to the bench). Even during Altidore’s injury and Giovinco’s extended goal drought, Jordan Hamilton did plenty of heavy lifting.
• For once, there have even been mid-season additions in Tosaint Ricketts and Armando Cooper that served a tangible purpose and contributed in a specific way to strengthen the team.
• Despite a shaky end to the regular season, the squad returned to full fitness just in time for the playoff push, scrapping their way to home field advantage in the wild card game, and riding the unbelievable momentum to dismiss Philadelphia, dismantle NYCFC, and then…well…what more can be said about those two legs against Montreal.
• We go into Saturday, and while it seems impossible the game on its own will live up to what happened in the Eastern Conference Final, it is still the biggest game in the club’s history. Again.
• The euphoria, when Altidore and Bradley scored to get two back in Montreal. The disbelief when Cooper, and Altidore, and Hagglund, and Cheyrou, and Ricketts just kept clawing this team back.
• We have longed for this MLS Cup Final since 2007, but it could only feel so powerful because of the deprivation and cyclical disappointment that has come before it.
• Win or lose, this should be a turning point for Toronto FC, but it can’t help but feel like a finish line.
|