Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Le Toux honored to be first in Ring
The relationship between the Philadelphia Union and Sebastien Le Toux has long been complex. Yet a club that traded him twice has remained close to his heart, close to where in his postplaying career he calls home.
So it was perhaps surprising that Saturday’s ceremony inducting Le Toux as the inaugural member of the Union’s Ring of Honor proceeded without an emotional hitch, beyond the one that Le Toux felt comfortable broaching in jest.
“I was doing a little joke with my friends saying they traded me once, they traded me twice, but now I’m here forever, and nobody can trade me from that,” he said. “It’s awesome. I’m a part of this team and this club and I can’t be more proud of that.”
The ceremony Saturday before a crowd of 15,250 included video tributes from former teammates Tranquillo Barnetta, Kyle Nakazawa and Conor Casey as well as current Union players Ray Gaddis and Keegan Rosenberry. Retired members of Union teams past Brian Carroll and Zach Pfeffer joined members of the front office and ownership at the halftime dedication.
Le Toux was an icon as the franchise found its feet in the world of MLS. He scored a hat trick in the team’s first game in Philadelphia and remains the team’s leader in just about every relevant offensive category: Games (175), goals (50), assists (50), shots (320) and shots on goal (144). He’s one of 19 players in league history with at least 50 career goals and assists; only eight have reached the milestone with a single team.
He was an All-Star and member of the MLS Best XI in 2010 and helped the Union to two U.S. Open Cup finals, a trophy he won with Seattle and a competition in which he’s the all-time leading scorer of the MLS era. Le Toux spent stints with Vancouver and Red Bulls in 2012, Colorado in 2016 and D.C. United in 2017 to finish with 59 career goals and 57 assists in 263 games.
But all those accolades fail to capture the profound connection between Le Toux and Philadelphia, as the first and most enduring face of a franchise still struggling for relevance in the city and the league.
“I had a great time with all those players and this team,” he said. “I still have a lot of great memories, more than any player in this team, Tranquillo, Conor, all those guys, we had a great time on the field but also of course a lot on the field and I’m still friends with a lot of them.”
The link to the Union’s fanbase is reciprocal. Le Toux was presented with a No. 9 jersey signed by fans. As he has done countless times for anyone who’s asked, he signed autographs as he walked off the field, one of the many ways he cultivated such a deep rapport with fans.
“Extremely grateful to be a part of Sebastien’s celebration today,” Carroll said. “I can’t think of another player that’s been this much of a face of the franchise and had this much of an impact as he’s had. Happy to celebrate this with him on (his) special day, and I think this is the start of many will continue to build the foundation and club going forward.”
“He had an amazing impact on my career,” Pfeffer said. “Obviously he was here my first year, was one of the veterans who took me under his wing and showed me the ropes, showed me how to be a true professional. He’s nothing but first class. We spent some time together out in Denver, too. He had an amazing influence on me and obviously had an amazing influence on everyone here and everyone loves him.”
Le Toux was granted a suite for family and friends to watch, bringing a group of about 30. He signaled during brief remarks that not only were the suite’s occupants the close friends he was here for, but so were so many of the fans who bought tickets.
“It’s awesome. I didn’t know what to expect,” Le Toux said. “They didn’t tell me anything about what it was going to be today. They just told me that BC was coming. But it’s great to have this moment and it was very emotional, but it was amazing.
“I cannot describe it. When you are a player, you cannot dream about that when you are a kid but when you watch movies, it’s always weird. For it to happen to me, it is weird but awesome at the same time.”