Major League Soccer: Toronto FC show promises under John Herdman
Written by Bolarinwa Olajide
Toronto FC head coach, John Herdman is staying positive and hopeful for the future after a decent season in the MLS, so far.
It has been a tale of two halves for Toronto FC this season, with most of their sojourns coming in either halves of matches.
TFC have reached the halfway point of the season with seven wins, seven defeats and three draws from 17 games, which has been a better run from what they endured last season. Fans of the club have expected the results of matches to come good, and they cannot be disappointed with the team’s showing this season, especially at home.
Herdman believes the team will show more as the season progresses with the potential for growth and key players returning from injuries.
“I think over this last phase, you’ve seen the growth in areas of our performances, whether it’s the clean sheet at Philly or being able to deny [Christian] Benteke and pretty much nullify the threat of D.C. United, who had scored in 13 games prior to this,” he said after the draw with D.C. United.
Federico Bernardeschi has been phenomenal this year, and has already proved to be an important player for TFC. Before moving to the MLS, he had won many titles with Juventus and featured regularly in the UEFA Champions League. He has been able to play out of position and deliver for the team. His title-winning mentality has pushed the team to another level, and he has been beneficial to the younger players in the squad.
“We have to demand that next level,” added Herdman. “I think where we started with the players that we had and inherited, they’ve taken big steps together. I think they can see the steps they have taken, but they want more. We all want more from this club, in the dressing room, behind the scenes, and we are going to keep pushing for it.”
Most TFC supporters are impressed with the progress the team has made this season. They want to see the team fight for every point and compete with the best teams. They can be impressed with what Herdman has done to get the team to the expected level.
Herman added, “I think the fans have seen what we said we would do. We said we would fight every game, we would bring the work ethic every game, give them a team that would entertain them, and that they could be proud of. So that’s as far as we’ve come.”
“The level is still to be reached when we see Lorenzo [Insigne] and Richie Laryea consistently with Kevin Long, [Jonathan] Osorio, Prince Owusu back, etc., Fingers crossed, one game I would like to see the group playing together. Hopefully, when the lads get back from international duty we’ll see that.” Herdman concluded.
TFC will return to the BMO Field against Chicago Fire on Saturday, June 15. They would be without Bernardeschi and Gomis who would both be serving one-match suspensions. Osorio, Laryea, Sean Johnson, Deybi Flores may also miss out of the clash.
