MLSsoccer.com polled 22 of our editors, writers, videographers, statistics specialists and social media masters to bring you the Stories of the Year, our annual look at the biggest storylines in Major League Soccer. Contributing editor Charles Boehm continues our countdown with a look at Toronto FC's tumultuous, headline-filled season.
Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Toronto FC's owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, probably summed it up most succinctly.
“I'd say some of our partners think we've lost our minds,” acknowledged the veteran MLS executive when unveiling TFC's twin Designated Player signings Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley in January.
Led by Leiweke, the chief architect of David Beckham's stunning stateside move in 2007, Toronto had just splashed out stratospheric amounts of cash to lure the accomplished duo away from their high-profile clubs across the Atlantic and anchor a dramatic roster renovation project the likes of which MLS had perhaps never seen in its two decades of existence.
This was on top of the previous month's capture of Brazilian striker Gilberto, another highly rated overseas acquisition who also arrived on a DP deal, and intra-league trades for proven starters Justin Morrow and Jackson. And the homecoming of local boy Dwayne De Rosario. And Canadian youth international Jordan Hamilton, the latest Homegrown signing from the club's promising academy system.
It was sumptuously branded as “A Bloody Big Deal,” and it wasn't done, either. Leiweke's newly, supremely ambitious Reds secured the services of Brazilian national team goalkeeper Julio Cesar on loan from Queens Park Rangers ahead of his duties for the host nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as English Premier League veteran Bradley Orr on loan from Blackburn Rovers.
- 2014 in Review:A mixed bag for TFC, but ultimately no playoffs (again)
“To do one DP is a smart move, to do two DPs is not the smartest thing we've ever done, and to do three is financial suicide,” Leiweke added on that winter day on the shores of Lake Ontario. “We don't have enough seats to make economic sense out of this.”
He had a plan for that too, of course: a massive, two-phase, $120-million renovation of BMO Field that will transform the stadium into one of North America's biggest, poshest soccer-specific venues. Hired in 2013 to turn around TFC's flagging fortunes, Leiweke was wasting no time – and he saw no reason why head coach Ryan Nelsen's new-look 2014 squad couldn't push into the postseason for the first time in club history.
A 3-1-0 start to the year highlighted by a 2-1 opening-day away win over the Seattle Sounders in which Defoe struck both TFC goals got everyone's attention. And despite a subsequent dip, the Reds appeared to be on course for a playoff spot up through the World Cup break in June. They sat in fourth place in the Eastern Conference at 6-4-1, those six wins already matching the total from their 2013 campaign. Bradley's work rate and passing vision shone brightly, Defoe was the league's most merciless finisher in front of goal, Gilberto's upside looked enormous, and the supporting cast was coming into focus.
But then it all unraveled. As the Canadian summer faded, TFC began to struggle, monumentally, going on a six-game winless streak in August and September that saw start to drop in the standings. Injuries -- particularly to Defoe -- exposed TFC's lack of depth, too many points were dropped and Leiweke announced his plans to leave MLSE by next summer.
Meanwhile Nelsen's catenaccio-like tactics rankled many – including his superiors. The New Zealander was dismissed following a 3-0 home loss to New England on August 30 that the front office, but not Nelsen, apparently considered a defining occasion.
“We are in a results-oriented business, and over the past 13 matches, we've won three games,” said general manager Tim Bezbatchenko. “More important for our fans in Toronto, we've won one game in the past six matches. I know we can get more out of this group of guys.”
- Find more Reds news at TorontoFC.ca
Academy director Greg Vanney was named as TFC's ninth coach in the club's eight years of existence. But his tweaks could not stop the skid, and Toronto slid out of the playoff places and stayed out, capping another year of frustration with a season-ending five-game winless slide.
After recording a single-season club-best number of wins (11) and points (41) in 2014, the Reds once again prepared for a long, cold winter of uncertainty and a million little questions:
Did the World Cup suck the life out of Bradley? Was Defoe disgruntled and determined to leave as quickly as he arrived? Is Vanney the right man for the future?
And, finally, is this passionately supported club cursed somehow?
