Captain key to righting the ship
Osorio praised by coach for character and work ethic
Toronto FC’s 1-0 win over Charlotte FC in Saturday’s home opener was filled with milestones for captain Jonathan Osorio.
The game was his 300th in Major League Soccer (regular season and playoffs) and came 11 years to the day after his debut with his hometown club. He replaced Terry Dunfield, now an assistant coach under John Herdman, in the 82nd minute of a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City at the Rogers Centre.
Osorio wasn’t dwelling on the past, however.
“That’s all great, but honestly all that I really care about is that we won our home opener and we keep in a good way,” he said.
At 2-0-1 after three straight shutouts, TFC sits sixth overall in the MLS standings, after finishing dead last in 2023 (4-20-10).
Herdman, who also coached Osorio on Canada’s national team, said the midfielder was key to his decision to take over TFC on Oct. 1.
“I’ve worked with (Christine) Sinclair, I’ve worked with Atiba Hutchinson — just some great people, some great humans, and they’re right in the core of your leadership group,” Herdman said. “And if you’ve got a player with that character ... you want to work with these people.
“So for me, the conversation (with Osorio before) coming to TFC (was): ‘Are you going to be there? Are you committed? Will you wear the arm band? Are you committed to taking this club back — and beyond where it was at?’ And he was.”
Herdman called Osorio, who took over the captaincy after the retirement of Michael Bradley, “the hardest-working player on the team. You see his quality as well. He’s going to do all that selfless running. But he can bring the quality in those moments as well.”
The coach also approvingly repeated Osorio’s words from Saturday.
“What he said at the end of this (game) sort of summarizes him: It’s just another step, guys. Just one more step to bringing this club to where it needs to be.
“And that’s his mentality. He’s always on — next step, next step, next step. He’s never thinking about the last step, and he’s never willing to stand and wait to be pushed. He’s pushing everyone.”
Osorio ranks third on the franchise list in goals at 62 (behind Sebastian Giovinco’s 83 and Jozy Altidore’s 79) and second in assists with 50 (trailing Giovinco’s 52). Credit former coach Ryan Nelsen with identifying Osorio as a player to watch prior to the 2013 season, and then giving him the chance to show what he could do.
“Nothing fazes him, not even bad moments in games,” Nelsen said in August 2013. “He always tries to do things positively. Instead of going into his shell, he tries to keep doing stuff.”