Pair full of Eastern wisdom
New Reds Ciman and DeLeon know their way around the conference
Laurent Ciman and Nick DeLeon arrived ready for a change with Toronto FC.
Now, the Major League Soccer veterans plan to help their new club make the changes needed to return to the top.
Ciman, who left France’s Dijon FCO for family reasons, spent three seasons with the Montreal Impact before splitting 2018 between Los Angeles FC and Ligue1. The 33-year-old centre back started his MLS career in Montreal in 2015 because the city offered excellent services for his daughter Nina, who is on the autism spectrum.
DeLeon, a 28-year-old winger, had a feeling his days with DC United were numbered — following his seventh year with the club — after appearing in a career-low 15 games, 12 of them starts. He felt complacency creeping into his game and welcomed a change of scenery.
“Revitalize, just kind of get the juices going again,” DeLeon said of joining TFC.
That is exactly what the club is hoping the injection of two league veterans will accomplish.
The Reds’ front office went into this off-season looking to add players with MLS experience, after finishing a distant ninth in the Eastern Conference on the heels of a historic MLS Cup win in 2017. It’s worked before. The additions of goalkeeper Clint Irwin, defenders Drew Moor and Steven Beitashour, and midfielder Will Johnson before the 2016 season helped them reach back-to-back finals. Moor is the only one left from that foursome.
The roster has experience —13 of 23 returnees from last year have played in MLS for at least four years — but the addition of a pair of reliable starters with Eastern Conference experience is “one of the most important things that you can bring into a locker room like (TFC’s),” Moor said of a club with some big personalities.
“Every league is different in the world, and there’s no easy transition going from one league to the other. As somebody who is now starting season number (16) in MLS, I understand it’s not easy to step into this league with the travel, the different rivalries, the different playing conditions, the different field surfaces, the different atmospheres. It’s differ- ent, so to have guys like Nick DeLeon and Laurent Ciman come in, who have great experience in this league, is huge.”
Both are set to play important roles. Ciman will shoulder much of the load when it comes to cleaning up a defence that conceded a franchise-worst 64 goals last year. DeLeon will be employed as a winger, his natural position, with an eye to giving TFC’s attack more width — crucial in the wake of this week’s transfer of creative midfielder Victor Vazquez to a club in Qatar.
DeLeon said he was surprised by TFC’s fall from grace last season.
“They’re a very talented squad, and you always expect teams with that kind of talent to take it to the end,” he said.
Ciman pointed to the club’s long list of injuries as the culprit. On Wednesday, the Reds shored up their depth by inking Canadian striker Jordan Hamilton and Japanese midfielder Tsubasa Endoh, who counts as an international player but is applying for permanent residency. The loss of Vazquez could mean at least one more significant signing this off-season, though, with the first-team roster now at 27.
For now, it’s up to Ciman and DeLeon to share the load.