Jiménez achieving goals in new home
Spanish striker Jesús Jiménez worked his way up through the lower levels of Spanish soccer before earning his chance with a storied club in Poland. Now he is turning heads in Major League Soccer, tied for the scoring lead with seven goals in 11 games in his first season with Toronto FC.
“I’ve tried to help the team. Maybe I’m lucky, I don’t know,” a smiling Jiménez said in his rapidly improving English. “But I’m happy. Seven goals right now is very good. I try to get more.”
In a season in which Toronto, revamped under new coach and sporting director Bob Bradley, has looked to incorporate young Canadian talent while dealing with a lengthy injury list, Jiménez has been a bright spot, helping boost the offence along with Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo.
It has been a journey getting here. Now 28, Jiménez says he was 18 or 19 when he started believing he could make soccer his career.
“I was improving,” he said. “OK, I was in the lower divisions in Spain but I believed that it could be possible … I’m here. So I think everything is possible.”
Jiménez signed with Toronto in early February after four seasons with Gornik Zabrze in Poland, where he scored 43 goals in 134 appearances in all competitions.
Toronto captain Michael Bradley, Bob’s son, said he checked out Jiménez highlights after the Spaniard signed.
“You can see right away how good a player he is,” he said. “You can see how smart he is, you can see how he’s not just a striker who waits around for chances. His ability to come underneath and play football and combine with guys. He makes guys around him better. And he can score goals.
“The part that you don’t know is what type of person he is. And he has come into the group in an incredible way. He has a great way … with every single guy.”
Born in Leganés, Jiménez grew up in nearby Fuenlabrada, close to Madrid.
After a stint with a local club, Jiménez joined the youth system of CD Leganés when he was 16 or 17. He spent two seasons with the reserve team, played for a handful of lower-level Spanish teams, and helped CF Talavera de la Reina win promotion to Spain’s second tier with 26 goals in 33 matches in 201617. That drew the attention of Górnik Zabrze, a storied club that won the Polish title 14 times between 1957 and 1988.
Gornik was involved in Europa League play, which gave Jiménez a bigger stage to show his skills. A Spanish teammate helped him adjust to life in Zabrze, an industrial city in southern Poland near Katowice. He says he enjoyed his time there, although — like everywhere else — things changed after his second season when the pandemic struck.
“After that life was different,” he said.
The six-foot Jiménez is listed at 186 pounds but looks more solid with a thick undercarriage. He has the power and technique to ride challenges, can work in close quarters, is good with his head and has a good eye for a run into the penalty box at the right time.
It’s fun to watch when he gets oneon-one with a goalkeeper, albeit not much fun for the keeper. Jiménez knows how to finish. His seven goals have come from just 10 shots on target
“Jesús is a very good player. He’s smart. He’s skilful,” said Bob Bradley. “He’s got a really good presence in the group. We keep saying that there’s more there, too. I think we can even push him physically and see even more power and more explosiveness to go with the football part.
“But look, he’s smart. He knows how to position himself in certain kinds of finishes. He knows exactly how he wants to beat the keeper. So you see all those things every day and it’s going to continue to get better.”
The Spaniard can also play provider, with a backheel pass in his arsenal when needed. At Gornik, he also took penalties and spent some time on the left flank.
When Jiménez’s contract with Gornik expired, he looked around for his next challenge.
“For me when I was in Poland, my goal was to go to other leagues, other countries, to improve my career. MLS was one of my top options,” Jimenez said. “When Toronto called, it was very easy to decide.”