‘Unfair’ for fans to boo Bradley
Leiweke expects jeers to fuel TFC star
It turns out former TFC head honcho Tim Leiweke didn’t go far enough in predicting coach Greg Vanney would become the club’s first two- term bench boss.
On Monday, Major League Soccer revealed Vanney as MLS Coach of the Year — an award Leiweke says was well earned given the pressure Vanney faced in 2017.
Leiweke, the patriarch of TFC’s storied rebuild, was en route to Seattle on Monday when Postmedia reached him by phone. The quarterhour chit-chat touched upon everything from Michael Bradley to Columbus relocation to MLS expansion doubts in Miami.
As you can imagine, Leiweke was more than willing to go to bat for Bradley, a player he brought to Toronto back in 2014.
“It’s completely and totally unfair and ridiculous how people don’t realize what this man has done for his country and the teams he has played on,” Leiweke said of the constant jeers Bradley has received. “He’s what you want your son or daughter to be,” Leiweke added.
A swath of Americans see things differently. They’ve made Bradley Public Enemy No. 1 following the United States’ failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“I don’t get this joy that people get out of booing him,” Leiweke continued.
“All the boos just fuel what I anticipate will be a very good performance out of him on Wednesday ( against Columbus). I’d bet on Bradley 100 times out of 100 times.”
And that’s despite having at least a small connection with someone on the visiting bench. During his time as AEG Chief, Leiweke hired current Crew coach Gregg Berhalter to manage Swedish side Hammarby, a club AEG owns a stake in.
“I think the effort TFC put in to host this final game at home is the difference,” Leiweke offered. “That said, I love Gregg Berhalter ... You’re seeing two of the really good, young, bright minds in U.S. coaching.”
They’ll be on display inside a venue Leiweke was bullish about rebuilding.
The conversation pivoted to BMO Field, where the success of a CFL- MLS ground share has silenced naysayers who said it couldn’t work.
“The reality is I don’t think the Argos could have pulled off what they just pulled off without BMO Field,” Leiweke explained. “I think as much pain as we went through, with everyone shooting at us, I think it has worked out extremely well for the Argos and TFC and Toronto. Mayor Tory should be smiling today because of the bet he made at leading the charge to redoing these facilities.”
Leiweke said he expects to attend MLS Cup next month.
“Keep it warm and make sure it’s in Toronto,” he finished.