Six months ago, Toronto was the poorest team in Major League Soccer, finishing last despite having the league’s most costly roster. Federico Bernardeschi, an Italian midfielder who joined Toronto in 2022 after a successful career with Juventus, was one of the team’s most expensive — and most underperforming — players.
Things had to change for Toronto — and for Bernardeschi, who had a falling out with the team’s coach last season — and they did so dramatically.
Bernardeschi scored three goals in a 5-1 victory over Montréal CF in the Canadian Classic on Saturday. It was Toronto’s largest win of the MLS season and the most lopsided victory in the history of the Toronto-Montréal rivalry.
The win moved Toronto to sixth position in the Eastern Conference, nine points behind first-place Inter Miami.
“We deserve a night like that,” Bernardeschi remarked following the match.
Unlike many of the MLS’s famed European acquisitions, Bernardeschi entered at the age of only 28. As a result, he was expected to not only perform well in Toronto, but also to develop as an athlete.
That did not happen. Bernardeschi battled with Toronto coach Bob Bradley and was open about his dissatisfaction with the media.
“We lose every game,” Bernardeschi said last May, according to MLS.com. “We tie, lose, tie, lose. Sometimes we win. But I can’t really believe this. “This is not good for the young players.”
Bradley, irritated by his star player’s lack of devotion, disciplined Bernardeschi in training and removed him from his leadership position. Bernardeschi, on the other hand, feuded with colleagues and reacted angrily when others obtained promotional opportunities that he felt should have been his.
During the winter break last season, Toronto’s board supported Bernardeschi. The squad sacked Bradley and replaced him with John Herdman, who had led the Canadian national team to the 2022 World Cup. His mission: extract the best from Bernardeschi as soon as feasible.
Herdman offered Bernardeschi the chance to lead again. He also told the Italian that he would not accept excuses in 2024 and that the team will communicate as a unit while dealing with the media.
Bernardeschi bought in, and his performance has improved dramatically. Toronto began the season with a three-game winning streak, led by Bernardeschi and his Italian colleague, Lorenzo Insigne.
“He’s a really caring man,” Herdman told MLS.com of Bernardeschi. “From what I can see, he’s a nice father and husband. And what I’m witnessing now is that he’s an excellent teammate.
When it comes to last-place teams in the MLS, they have an odd habit of breaking the cycle and rising to the top of the league shortly after their failures. In 2023, Cincinnati followed off back-to-back Wooden Spoon seasons with the Supporters’ Shield, which is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in the league.
Bernardeschi’s comeback leads to a similar trend for Toronto, which might be accelerated by Saturday night’s game at home against the worst-to-first Cincinnati squad.
“It will take some time, but you don’t know. “Sometimes it just happens because all the stars align,” Herdman explained of the team’s turnaround. “That could happen this season.” “You never know.”