Easy to overlook, Osorio still contributes
TORONTO — After 141 MLS appearances, close to 10,000 minutes played and back- to- back MLS Cup starts, Jonathan Osorio — in his sixth season — is still fighting for, well, everything.
The criminally underrated Canadian remains an afterthought amid a Toronto FC midfield blessed with so many options it’s leaving the rest of MLS in the rearview mirror.
And that was before TFC revealed another expensive signing: 24- year- old Ager Aketxe.
It’s easy to look past what Osorio has done. Entering the final year of his current contract, the 25- yearold has fought through ups and downs, twists and turns, poor coaching, benchings, international disappointment and more as he enters the prime of his career.
Yet , there Osorio was last Tuesday night in Commerce City, Colo., putting in another shift during a CONCACAF Champions League fixture, months after putting in the shift of his life during an MLS Cup performance for the ages.
“Every game is a final to me,” Osorio told Postmedia Network. “It’s easier for me when the game means more. I love those games. I’ve been pretty good at showing up for those.”
A common knock on MLS is that there’s little pressure for playing time, that young Americans and Canadians would be better served slogging and slugging it out for spots in Europe.
Those pundits haven’t been following Osorio’s journey since 2012.
“He’s riding that wave of confidence,” coach Greg Vanney said of Osorio. “He also knows that in our group you have to be on top of your game to stay on the field.”
Salary cap increases have made things even more difficult for North American players — specifically offensive- minded midfielders — to earn consistent minutes.
Victor Vazquez is the league’s best playmaker. Michael Bradley just captained the Reds to the best season in MLS history. Aketxe has real La Liga experience. And Marky Delgado is quietly emerging as one of the most tidy and intelligent young No. 8s in MLS.
“People are starting to understand that Toronto FC is gaining a reputation of always having the best players,” Osorio answered. “I don’t know how it feels to be at big clubs in Europe, but I have to think it feels a little bit like it feels like to be here.
“It’s hard to get minutes,” Osorio added. “And when you’re getting minutes, you have to perform. The next guy will be ready to perform. I like this pressure. I play better with that pressure on me.”
Osorio’s something of an adrenaline junky, competing not just for minutes, but for a new contract come 2019.
He says the pressure, the expectation, the unknown, fuels him.
“When things are on the line it’s like a rush to me,” Osorio responded. “It’s like in the playoffs, when I feel more alive because of everything that’s on the line. I’m motivated.”
Then there’s the other great motivator: An extended stay with Canada’s national team.
Osorio’s somewhat baffled that he’s started just a dozen games for Les Rouges in five years. A misunderstanding, he calls it, with excoach Benito Floro stymied the start of his international career. Former coach Octavio Zambrano “waited” to give him a chance.
“I just started an MLS Cup final — and won,” Osorio said. “Name me another Canadian player who has done that.”
It’s been almost a decade since the last Canadian started — and won — an MLS Cup. Midfielder Will Johnson won a league title with Real Salt Lake back in 2009. Before that, it was Houston’s Pat Onstad and Dwayne De Rosario two years earlier. In other words, it’s rare.
Still, pundits abroad, and locally, would rather talk about young players like Dallas’ Kellyn Acosta and Vancouver’s Alphonso Davies. They’d rather talk about New York’s Tyler Adams and Seattle’s Cristian Roldan. It has Osorio wondering if he’ll ever garner that respect.