Marked for Jonathan Osorio
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Toronto FC
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Toronto FC is running low.
Market22 Oct 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Toronto FC can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market22 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Toronto FC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Djordje Mihailović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Toronto FC know it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2029
10 matches without a win for Toronto FC
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Toronto FC are no longer polite ones.
Market24 Sep 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Toronto FC
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Toronto FC is running low.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Djordje Mihailović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Toronto FC are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match22 Sep 2029
Orlando City left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Cifuentes, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Toronto FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Toronto FC may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Walker Zimmerman was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match14 Jul 2029
Whatever happens, Toronto FC do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Toronto FC know it.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Marked 8.85 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Toronto FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market9 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Toronto FC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Jon Bell keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Toronto FC may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Osorio and Toronto FC agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match7 Jul 2029
A 2‑1 win over New England Revolution, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.91, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
A performance of 8.50 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Jul 2029
438 appearances across 16 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Toronto FC
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Toronto FC may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Djordje Mihailović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
A performance of 9.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match30 Jun 2029
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Jun 2029
Every point is an argument now for Toronto FC
Position 14 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Defensive actions: 32. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Toronto FC may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dániel Sallói, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Toronto FC know it.
Loan watch25 Jun 2029
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Toronto FC, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.55 on the card, and the Toronto FC support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Jun 2029
FC Cincinnati go through and Toronto FC go home, 0‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Miguel Perez: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Toronto FC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market11 Jun 2029
Raheem Edwards has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Toronto FC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Marked 9.68 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match9 Jun 2029
Orlando City made Toronto FC work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.50, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.22 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Apr 2029
Pablo Sisniega decides it from twelve yards
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match7 Apr 2029
12 matches without a win for Toronto FC
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Toronto FC are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Marked 9.39 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
A performance of 8.86 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Jonathan Osorio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market9 Apr 2029
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Toronto FC has been clear about where Juan Cruz Cortazzo stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Dec 2028
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
165 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Nov 2028
432 appearances across 15 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Pablo Sisniega: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Toronto FC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Theo Corbeanu and Toronto FC agree another 5 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 42 days on the sidelines for Jonathan Osorio, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Fabio Pereyra knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fabio Pereyra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Toronto FC can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Sep 2028
72 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Sep 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Gnahoua, and the manager let it.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Aug 2028
Djordje Mihailović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Toronto FC are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 9.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match26 Aug 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Dániel Sallói’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Toronto FC.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Another clean sheet for Luka Gavran
11 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Luka Gavran has given nobody the chance.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 May 2028
Djordje Mihailović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jonathan Osorio commits to Toronto FC for another 2 years.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Cruz Cortazzo, and the manager let it.
Squad8 May 2028
Daniel Gnahoua knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Toronto FC, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match6 May 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Chicago Fire came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market8 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Luka Gavran’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Apr 2028
411 appearances across 15 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Toronto FC know what they have.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Toronto FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Cassius Mailula, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Toronto FC are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 Apr 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.