How will Toronto FC follow-up the shiniest offseason in Major League Soccer since David Beckham signed with Los Angeles?
That’s the major question ahead of the Reds as their now-star-studded roster prepares for a playoff push in 2014 with their sights higher, at within reason, than ever before.
If you missed what went down this winter -- there’s a solid documentary on the web -- the club managed to add arguably the United States national team’s most important player (Michael Bradley), a prolific Premier League striker (Jermain Defoe) and a former UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year (Julio Cesar).
And yes, we’ve made it this far without mentioning the return of franchise leading scorer and Canada’s most famous player, Dwayne De Rosario.
Wow.
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Players in: Bradley (signed from AS Roma), Defoe (signed from Tottenham Hotspur), Cesar (loan from QPR), De Rosario (re-entry draft), Bradley Orr (loan from Blackburn Rovers), Gilberto (signed from Internacional), Jackson (trade with FC Dallas), Justin Morrow (trade with San Jose).
Players out: Stefan Frei (rights traded to Seattle), Matias Laba (loan to Vancouver), Danny Koeverman (out of contract), Robert Earnshaw (option declined), Jonas Elmer (released), Richard Eckersley (traded to NYRB), Bobby Convey (traded to NYRB), Darel Russell (option declined), Michael Thomas (option declined), Justin Braun (out of contract)
Key player: Michael Bradley
I’d like to apologize to all the other writers on staff who had a more difficult task in choosing a key player, as TFC’s massive money man will unquestionably be the key to its success in 2014. Frankly, it would be shocking if the bulldog of a midfielder isn’t immediately a Top Five player in the league, regardless of any perceived adjustment period.
He’ll have weapons at his disposal and Bradley won’t even turn 27 until after this summer’s World Cup in Brazil (By the way, TFC is reasonably equipped to deal with his absence for the Earth’s biggest tournament).
Manager: Ryan Nelsen enters his second year in charge of the Reds after a tough 7W-11D-18L campaign, and the roster turnover isn’t shocking for anyone paying attention to the way he ran his ship in 2013. There were plenty of whispers that Nelsen had to rearrange the club’s entire on-field ethos and training habits, almost like a college coach taking over and needing to “get back to basics.” This will be a year to actually judge the New Zealand legend and he certainly shouldn’t mind that the massive influx of talent will shift the expectations to his managerial skill.
Outlook: Bright, even with the season-ending injury to depth forward Dike. As TFC prepares to take BMO Field to the next level, their team should be there in plenty of time for the enhanced facility’s completion. In terms of team selection, the Reds have plenty of choices and the addition of Orr shores up one of their biggest holes. They’ll have Cesar and Joe Bendik battling it out for net time and Steven Caldwell anchoring the back line while Bradley orchestrates the attacking, spraying the ball to any number of options.
Keep in mind the Miami Heat corollary -- it could take some time for so many stars from so many backgrounds to find their role -- but by the time TFC is rolling along, a playoff spot will be certain... and CN Tower beware, because the sky is the limit.