MLS
MARCO D’ONOFRIO EXPLAINS TORONTO FC'S COACHING CHANGE AND WHY JAVIER PEREZ HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY.
COACHING STA
I
t has been a rather wild season for Toronto FC, who started off with just eight out of a possible 36 points. After finishing the campaign last season with the second most points in all of Major League Soccer, a supposedly improved TFC squad found themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference by the beginning of July. The Reds had just suffered their worst defeat in franchise history, a humiliating 7-1 loss to D.C. United at Audi Field, when the club's front office finally acknowledged that something needed to change. They decided it was time to let go of head coach Chris Armas, just six months after he had originally been given the job. While it was never going to be easy for anyone to take over from Greg Vanney after everything he had accomplished in Toronto, nobody expected the disastrous results that would occur under Armas. The tactician had taken a legitimate MLS Cup contender and turned them into a side with little confidence and a plethora of internal issues. Jozy Altidore was sent to train alone after a disagreement with Armas, forcing the team to play without a club legend and Designated Player. It just wasn't very good business to have a player earning $3.6m a season be excluded from the team entirely. In came Javier Perez, who was named the team's interim head coach once Armas was relieved of his duties. One of the first objectives he was able to accomplish was to welcome Altidore back into the squad and get the American striker involved again. Having his star forward back in the line-up and believing in the project again paid off immediately for the new coach. TFC managed to beat the New England Revolution 3-2 in Perez's first game at the helm, before Altidore made his triumphant return during the tactician's second game in charge. The 31-year-old came off the bench in the 64th minute to replace Dom Dwyer with his team down 1-0 to Orlando City. It took Altidore less than 10 minutes to equalise for the Reds, finding the back of the net in the 72nd minute. The team decided to remove the interim tag from Perez's title after he went 2-1-4 in his first seven games with the club. Although the team had taken just 10 out of a possible 21 points under Perez, they were playing a better brand of soccer that was much more reminiscent of what fans had been used to seeing from their club. More importantly, it was a sign that the organisation was behind Perez and that the players no longer had to worry about more potential changes. "It's not about me, it's about the team," Perez said when he had the interim tag removed from his coaching title. "I think it gives a little bit more stability to the team, if anything. I know that we have to go out there and still get the three points. But the team was very tense every time that we were going out on the field. And I think it's very difficult to
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SOCCER360 SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2021
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE Marco D'Onofrio discusses the league's hottest team and the trophies that have always eluded them.
"WHEN YOU YELL, YOU LOOK FOR A REACTION FROM THE TEAM, THE PLAYERS… THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IS JUST TO STAY CALM, ESPECIALLY WHEN HARD TIME COMES”
While fans of most Major League Soccer teams can complain about their club in one way or another, no supporters have had it harder than those of the New England Revolution. As one of the league's 10 charter clubs that were around since the inaugural season, Revolution fans have seen it all - except for an MLS Cup triumph. The Revolution have just two trophies in their cabinet, winning the 2007 U.S. Open Cup and 2008 North American SuperLiga. They have reached the MLS Cup final on five separate occasions, including a span of three years in a row between 2005 and 2007, but they have never won the league's most prestigious prize. That could all change this year though, with the Revolution proving to be a legitimate MLS Cup contender under Bruce Arena's leadership. New England not only find themselves fighting for a potential MLS Cup, but also their first ever Supporters' Shield. They have been the best team in the league by far throughout the regular season and this could finally be the year they put their past disappointments behind them. Gustavo Bou arrived as a Designated Player in July, 2019, but it wasn't until this season that the Argentine really captivated the league. He has been clutch for his team when called upon, scoring countless late winners and terrifying opponents. No coach has ever won more MLS Cups than the aforementioned Arena who has two with D.C. United and three with the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, if he manages to get the Revolution over the hump and help them lift their first ever MLS Cup and/ or Supporters' Shield, it would easily be his greatest accomplishment yet.
