The Major League Soccer (MLS) season begins on Wednesday and Toronto Football Club (FC) new coach John Herdman is preparing his team for his first game this weekend when they take on Cincinnati.
Toronto have been going through a few tough seasons as they look to regain a spot on top of the MLS.
In 2017 Toronto clinched a domestic treble. They are the only team in MLS history, across 22 seasons, to accomplish this feat.
Their coach at the time, Greg Vanney, was a fan favourite and had a lot of successes with the team during his six years as coach.
Stefano Commisso is a lifelong Toronto FC fan, he hopes that this season can spark the team back to life.
“Those years truly made me fall in love with this team, I would pay to have that back,” Commisso said.
Greg Vanney left the team in 2020 and since then, Toronto has gone through 4 different coaches and a lot of underperforming seasons.
Their latest coach Terry Dunfield had 14 losses in 15 games before getting sacked. John Herdman will now be looking to turn things around just like he did with the Canadian National team.
In 2022, Herdman made history when he led the men’s national team to their first FIFA World Cup qualification since 1986.
Before coaching the men’s team, Herdman was the head coach of the Canadian women’s national team, where he helped them win historic back-to-back bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics
“I’m so happy to have a coach like John Herdman; his work with Canada in the previous years gives me hope,” Commisso said.
A big aspect that Herdman will be relying on is young homegrown players who will eventually grow into leaders for the team.
Giancarlo Cesario is another passionate Toronto FC fan just like Stefano. He wants to see the team using more young Canadians and producing new talents as well.
“He did very well with Canada and produced a lot of young talents that are now playing in big teams around Europe; I hope we will see the same results in Toronto,” Cesario said.
When it comes to players coming in and going out, not much has happened so far but there is still a lot of time until the transfer window closes on April 23.
Last season Toronto acquired two big players from Europe: Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.
The two experienced Italians didn’t perform to the level that was expected from them when they arrived. After some rumours that they would be going away, they were quickly confirmed for this season and the rumours were shot down.
“The two Italians didn’t respect our last manager; with Herdman coming in, it seems as though he might be the right person to help the two settle into the team and start producing,” La Rosa-Rodriguez said.
Andre La Rosa-Rodriguez is a Toronto FC fan and the owner of Toronto FC News Outlet, a news account for all things Toronto FC and Canada Soccer.
When it comes to this season, many fans have mixed feelings, some are going in with low expectations and some are hoping for a turnaround.
“After last season, a lot of fans will just be hoping we don’t come last. I think that if they are fighting for the playoffs that will be good enough for me this season,” La Rosa-Rodriguez said.
Toronto will play their first game of the season this Sunday against Cincinnati but fans will be looking at the bigger picture going forward.
“It really is a matter of taking it season by season, but 100 percent, I think we could be challenging for multiple trophies in five years,” said La Rosa-Rodriguez.