When Toronto FC entered MLS in 2007, Toronto was not a city that needed soccer introduced to it.
Toronto is Canada’s biggest city, made up of many immigrant populations from places like Italy, Portugal, Latin America, and more – all cultures where soccer – or football – was a national obsession. These communities already followed the sport, supporting clubs from their native countries, with allegiances passed down by their parents. They understood what it meant to be a real fan.
So when the chance came along to support a local club, people flocked to it. Toronto FC offered people something different: a hometown club that could bring all of those scattered football fans together under one project.
Not only that, but Toronto FC was Canada’s first ever MLS team. Remember, this was at a time when Major League Soccer was in the ascendancy. Beckham had just arrived and the world was watching. Joining the league was a big deal.
What’s more, Toronto were joining with a home of their own. BMO Field was a brand new purpose built soccer specific stadium. This was something many established clubs did not yet have, and combined with their unique and ready made supporter base, the club quickly became one of MLS’s most atmospheric places to visit. Supporter groups like the Red Patch Boys and U-Sector made the South End of BMO Field one of the most instantly recognisable supporter sections in North American soccer.
That immediate passion showed other clubs what soccer clubs could aspire to be to their fans, and actually, it helped drive the league towards a more supporter driven culture. Toronto FC showed that expansion clubs could be much more than new markets to be exploited. They didn’t have to wait for supporters to find them and start to care. They could be emotional institutions from day one.
Club Statistics and Key Info
- Date Founded: 2005
- First Game: April 7, 2007 vs Chivas USA (2–0 loss)
- Stadium: BMO Field
- Capacity: 30,000+
- Nicknames: The Reds
- Rivals: CF Montréal, Columbus Crew, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Biggest Win: 6–1 vs CF Montreal (May 17th, 2025)
- Biggest Loss: 1–7 vs D.C. United (July 3rd 2021)
- Player With Most Appearances: Jonathan Osorio (407 and counting)
- Top Goal Scorer: Sebastian Giovinco (83)
Most Notable Players
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Stefan Frei (2009–2013), Alex Bono (2015–2022), Júlio César (loan, 2014) |
| Defenders | Jim Brennan (2007–2010), Ashtone Morgan (2011–2019), Justin Morrow (2014–2021), Drew Moor (2016–2019), Steven Beitashour (2016–2017), Chris Mavinga (2017–2022), Richie Laryea (2019–2021, 2024–Present) |
| Midfielders | Michael Bradley (2014–2023), Jonathan Osorio (2013–Present), Dwayne De Rosario (2009–2011, 2014), Victor Vázquez (2017–2018, 2023), Alejandro Pozuelo (2019–2022), Marky Delgado (2015–2021), Torsten Frings (2011–2012), Julian de Guzman (2009–2012) |
| Forwards | Sebastian Giovinco (2015–2018), Jozy Altidore (2015–2021), Jermain Defoe (2014), Danny Dichio (2007–2009), Danny Koevermans (2011–2013), Lorenzo Insigne (2022–2025), Federico Bernardeschi (2022–2025) |
Trophies Won
| Trophy | Years Won |
|---|---|
| MLS Cup | 2017 |
| Supporters’ Shield | 2017 |
| Canadian Championship | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 |
Early Years: Chaos and Failure
If Toronto FC was teaching the league a thing or two about fan culture, they were teaching them absolutely nothing about winning football matches.
Between the inaugural 2007 season and 2014, the club failed to reach the playoffs every single time. In those seven years, Toronto also burned through eight head coaches, including two interims, one of which was actually in charge longer than two of the permanent appointments. Player turnover was massive.
It was chaos.
There was no consistency, no footballing identity – how could there be?
Yet despite this, the fans stuck by them, refused to accept their team as a laughingstock. There was a kind of stubborn romance about it. Even after the new club novelty had worn off, Toronto FC fans remained elite – even though their team was anything but.
2014: The Greg Vanney Era Begins
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Without being disrespectful, you could argue that Greg Vanney is the only head coach who has worked out in Toronto so far. He didn’t turn things around immediately, but he ran the team during its most successful era, cementing himself as one of the best MLS head coaches ever.
He joined in August 2014, so there was little he could do in the remaining two months of that season. Indeed, the results actually got worse after he took charge. Despite huge amounts of spending ahead of 2014, and having international stars like Jermain Defoe on the roster, things just weren’t clicking.
However, the following season he took Toronto to their best finish since 2010 and their second highest finish ever. The team even qualified for their first playoffs, although they were eliminated in the first round.
Then things began to get exciting.
Vanney was gradually building a squad of his own, bringing in the likes of Alex Bono who would later become first choice in goal, Marky Delgado and Benoît Cheyrou bringing stability in the middle of the pitch, and Jozy Altidore to more or less replace Jermain Defoe, who went back to England.
And then of course, there was Giovinco.
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Brought in on a free transfer, Sebastian Giovinco was the signing of the season if not the deal of the decade. He was devastating. In his first season at Toronto FC, Giovinco won the 2015 MLS MVP award, the Golden Boot, Newcomer of the Year and earned MLS Best XI recognition too. Fans nicknamed him the ‘Atomic Ant’ because he was small but impossible to contain.
It’s difficult to put across just how important the Italian was to Toronto. Vanney was able to bring the team together around Giovinco, who gave them legitimacy, and the squad finally started to gel. As a head coach, Vanney brought stability to a club that had been buying attention rather than a team, and going from one failed reinvention to another.
The bar was raised again for the 2016 season.
With a few important defensive additions in Drew Moor and Steven Beitashour, the squad felt more robust, and that showed during the regular season, but especially during the playoffs. It was a wild run, including a 5-0 hammering of New York City FC in the Conference Semi-Finals, then a match for the ages against Canadian rivals Montréal Impact, who they eventually beat 7-5 on aggregate after extra time in the second leg.
Then came the MLS Cup final against Seattle Sounders FC.
It was at BMO Field, Toronto registered 19 shots, 7 on target, controlled most of the game, but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Seattle’s keeper, Stefan Frei, was on excellent form that night.
After not registering a single shot on target for 120 minutes of open play, Seattle Sounders won the game on penalties. It was a crushing blow for Toronto FC, who had finally proved their worth, but gone home empty handed.
2017: The Famous Domestic Treble
You might say it was meant to be.
After the deep disappointment of 2016, the 2017 season turned into something the whole league would never forget.
The squad was an experienced unit now. Victor Vázquez had joined to bring some elegance and intelligence to the final third, Giovinco and Altidore remained in blistering form in front of goal, Bradley captained the team and controlled the tempo – there weren’t many weak areas.
The regular season started with just one win and four ties from the first 6 games, but after that Toronto found their feet and they were almost unstoppable.
At the end of June, they picked up their first trophy of the season, the Canadian Championship. They had won this in 2016 too, and four more times before that, but it gave them an injection of energy.
They ended the season twelve points clear of the overall standings, winning the Supporter’s Shield as their second trophy of the season.
Now, it was back to the playoffs. They were more timid this time around, only progressing from the Conference Semi Finals on the away goals rule, drawing the first leg of the Conference Finals 0-0, and winning the second leg by just one goal to nil. Nevertheless, they were in the MLS Cup Final for the second season in a row.
Once again, it was played at BMO Field. Once again, it was a cold afternoon. And once again, their opponents were the Seattle Sounders. The weight of history hung in the air – the Toronto FC squad was barely changed from the previous year, and they wanted revenge.
They got it.
Second half goals from Altidore and Vázquez sealed the deal, and Toronto FC were MLS Cup champions. Not only that, they had completed the first domestic treble in the history of Major League Soccer.
The club had, arguably, one of the best MLS squads ever assembled, and their patient loyal fans had been rewarded and then some.
The Gradual Decline
It was always going to be hard, if not impossible, to match the success of 2017.
The 2018 season saw another Canadian Championship, and the club finished runners up in both the Campeones Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League, but their league form suffered due to injuries and a more punishing schedule due to the Champions League run.
The team reached the MLS Cup Finals once more in 2019, incredibly meeting Seattle Sounders again. This time they lost 3-1.
The squad was changing, ageing, and Greg Vanney resigned from his role as head coach at the end of the 2020 season after an early round playoff exit.
Even though big money was spent in the years that followed, and moments of brilliance occurred, Toronto FC never regained that same coherence or identity. The ambition was still there, but the club fell back into the trap of cycling through too many head coaches.
The chaotic hiring and firing behaviour of old was repeating itself, and as a result, Toronto have been absent from the playoffs since Vanney departed.
Impact on Canadian Soccer
Toronto FC might be one of the most unpredictable clubs in MLS – their fans often describe supporting the club as being emotionally exhausting – but their impact has been significant. On Major League Soccer for sure, but also for Canadian soccer more broadly.
When they joined MLS, Toronto FC were the only Canadian club in the league. And they sucked. They were a punchline. And it didn’t reflect well on Canada as a footballing nation.
So when they went on to become the best team in North America, they completely changed that narrative. But even before that, they proved there was an appetite for top flight soccer in Canada, and they showed it could work as a business model even without winning trophies.
Now, there are three Canadian MLS teams, almost twice as many Canadian players signed to MLS rosters, and more professional pathways for future Canadian soccer stars.
Toronto FC is a club of extremes. They went from the worst team in the league to the best, and then back down again. Their supporters are fanatical. They have never lacked culture, that existed from day one, but they have often lacked structure.
The club is still in search of its next distinct chapter, but in some ways, expectation is what the club’s identity is built on. So don’t for a minute doubt that The Reds will once again field a team to match the strength of the belief around it. They will. It’s just a matter of when.