In Erickson Gallardo’s case, it was more like: “He came; He saw; And then he sat.”The 23-year-old winger signed with Toronto FC early last July from Venezuelan Premier Division club Zamora amidst substantial fanfare — a young, fast, skillful attacking player who had just made his international debut for his native Venezuela. He seemed to be just what TFC coach Greg Vanney was looking for.But because of some soreness in his quads, Gallardo didn’t see any game action for TFC until Aug. 24 in a Canadian Championship match at Montreal and then sat the last three regular season games of the season and didn’t touch the field in the MLS Cup playoffs — sparking rumours that Vanney wasn’t thrilled with the club’s new acquisition — rumours that the coach brushed aside in speaking with the T
There is no truth to the rumour that Toronto FC will be using an air ambulance on Thursday to fly from Los Angeles to San Jose for the MLS regular-season opener on Saturday. Read More
Renowned Toronto Raptors health and performance guru Alex McKechnie mentioned something last week to Bill Manning that was music to the Toronto FC president’s ears. Read More
Toronto FC has picked up an aging, injury-prone — though supremely talented — attacking player whom it hopes will rebound with a huge 2020 MLS season. Read More
Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association reached an agreement in principle on a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement is subject to the approval of the MLS Board of Governors and the membership of the MLSPA. 480 more words
For the third time in four seasons it’ll be Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto FC for MLS Cup.
After splitting MLS Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 at Toronto’s BMO Field, this time the showdown will take place at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. It’s the first time that the Sounders will host and feature in an MLS Cup final.
These two clubs have set the standard of excellence in MLS in recent years, consistently ranking among the top performers in both the regular season and postseason. They have also collected multiple trophies in domestic cup competitions — Seattle in the U.S. Open Cup and Toronto in the Canadian Championship — and they have regularly represented MLS on the international stage in the Concacaf Champions League.
In the all-time series between these two teams, Seattle has enjoyed the decided advantage, winning nine of their 14 regular season meetings. Toronto have only won in two of their eight all-time trips to Seattle, but both of those have come since 2014. The last? A 1-0 victory decided by Altidore’s penalty on May 6, 2017 that was billed as a small measure of revenge for the Sounders’ 2016 MLS Cup triumph.
MLS Cup History
The Sounders won the first championship bout in their very first trip to the final. Seattle grinded out their first and only MLS Cup win in 2016, taking the title on penalties after a scoreless draw:
Regular season record: 16W-10L-8D (52 goals scored, 49 conceded)
Regular season finish: 2nd place, Western Conference
The Seattle Sounders were the No. 2 seed out West and overcame FC Dallas (4-3) and Real Salt Lake (2-0) in the first two playoff rounds, before knocking off No. 1-seeded LAFC 3-1 in the Western Conference Final at Banc of California Stadium.
The Sounders’ postseason run was marked by solid play, mental toughness and a steady stream of key goals from their star attackers: winger Jordan Morris, forward Raul Ruidiaz and playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro.
Head coach Brian Schmetzer, who took over as an interim head coach in July 2016, has now led his hometown club to three MLS Cup finals in four seasons on the job after the club failed in its quest to make MLS Cup during their first seven years in the league.
Injury Report:
OUT: Will Bruin (F) – right ACL tear
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Toronto FC
Regular season record: 13W-10L-11D (57 goals scored, 52 conceded)
Regular season finish: 4th place, Eastern Conference
Toronto FC started the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and expertly navigated their way past three rounds of difficult opponents to reach the final. And they did it without star forward Jozy Altidore, who has missed the postseason due to a hamstring, and starting center back Omar Gonzalez.
The Reds were taken to extratime by No. 5 D.C. United in Round One, where they prevailed 5-1 with a four-goal outburst in the extra periods. Then they went on the road and took advantage of two massive errors to oust No. 1 seeds NYCFC 2-1.
Toronto were not done with their playoff exploits, shocking defending champions and No. 2-seed Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference Final on a memorable gamewinner from veteran substitute Nick DeLeon.
The view from left field 