TORONTO – Toronto FC have a bold vision for their academy.
“To be internationally recognized as a leader in player development,” stated general manager Tim Bezbatchenko last October. “We believe that we have the talent pool to compete with the best academies around the world.”
It's certainly a bold claim, but the numbers don't lie: the Greater Toronto Area is home to some 6.4 million people, a good portion of which fall under TFC's exclusive domain.
“The talent is extraordinary,” said TFC head coach Greg Vanney last September. “Toronto has one of the top one-to-three player pools in all of MLS.”
Bezbatchenko shares that enthusiasm: “We're sitting on a gold mine. There are few markets that are like Toronto worldwide.”
“The sheer diversity of the different populations, from Brampton to Scarborough, from London and Windsor to Ottawa,” continued Bezbatchenko, “we have an incredible strength in this province, country, in our diversity. We talk about it as a community at large, but in soccer is where you can see how diversity in people and thought translates to something that you can touch and feel.”
With the club playing its 11th season in MLS, Vanney admits there's a long way to go in making their vision a reality. “We're very young, in the world standard, when it comes to the academy, [but] we're making progress.”
In addition to the seven in-house academy teams, TFC has sought and forged partnerships with both the Ontario Soccer Association and several youth clubs around the province, including FC London and the Windsor Stars.
Graduates have already graced the first team, currently represented by Ashtone Morgan, Jay Chapman, Jordan Hamilton, Raheem Edwards, and Sergio Camargo, but further fruits of these early efforts are in the pipeline.
"We went from one '96 [graduate, Hamilton] and one '97 [Luca Uccello, with TFC II in USL] to six-to-eight '98s, a block of '99s, and a whole bunch of 2000s,” detailed Vanney. “We're starting to see groups versus the one-offs. You need generations who are used to working together, playing together, [that] grow together to really have a strong bond.”
“The one-off player here and there is great, but it doesn't give the academy feel that Barcelona have when they have 24 guys out of a 28-man roster who have all grown up through the same system.”
That is why Vanney stressed: “It's important to identity players at as young an age as possible, create an environment where they can learn and grow together.
“It's not about one player, but about being able to find four who can work effectively together on the field. They will then be stronger as a group of four than they would ever be as one.”
Laurent Guyot, the TFC academy director, formerly a coach and coaching instructor at the French Football Federation, who was involved in the Elite Formation Coaching License, a program that through a partnership with MLS has instructed academy coaches from each of the MLS clubs, describes his role as “to be the coach of the coaches” in Toronto.
Guyot too emphasizes that ensemble approach to development: “Sometimes we think too much about the development of the [individual] player. If you have players who train together for two, three, four years, you are going to create players from the academy and the philosophy of the game. It is this idea we need to develop.”
Testing on the international stage is ongoing.
TFC III, the club's U-20 side, who recently returned from the prestigious Viareggio Cup in Italy, turning heads with a 1-1 draw against Juventus FC, are participating in the Dallas Cup's famous Gordon Jago Super Group this month, going toe-to-toe with Red Bull Brazil and Eintracht Frankfurt.
And a further two TFC academy sides, U-12 and U-17, are playing in the Generation adidas Cup, which is being held concurrently in Dallas.
Of the U-12 side, who are grouped with Orlando City, Portland, Colorado, and D.C. United, on Thursday Vanney said: “It's towards the bottom of our pyramid, [so] it's a great [initial] test and experience for these kids, young Canadians, to assess where they are amongst other top players, whether from the United States or the international teams.”
“The earlier players in Canada realize they're as good, the better our task is to continue to develop them; build that belief that they can beat anybody, if they keep working hard and on the right things,” continued Vanney, echoing some recent comments from new Canadian national team boss Octavio Zambrano.
TFC's U-17 Generation adidas Cup side is squaring off against Club Tijuana, Argentina's Estudiantes de la Plata, and the New York Red Bulls.
“It's a really interesting opportunity for guys on the verge of becoming pros to measure their talent against the other players that are going to be in MLS and top teams from around the world.” said Vanney. “It's a special event; something we take seriously and take a lot of pride in.”
“I really like the group of kids we have going down there,” added Vanney. “It's the 2000 age group, supplemented by some younger [players]. Highly-talented; many of them are on the U-17 Canadian national team. It's a good opportunity to assess where they're at; for them to play in a meaningful event.”
