D.C. United haven’t made the MLS playoffs in five years. For Toronto FC, it’s been four years without an appearance in the postseason.
When the teams open a new season Saturday night in Washington, it will be a matchup of rebuilding squads looking to recapture past glory.
To that end, Toronto has turned to Robin Fraser as head coach. He served as an assistant from 2015-19, when the team appeared in three MLS Cup finals and captured their lone title in 2017.
Fraser has inherited a challenging task as Toronto ranks as the only team in MLS history to lose at least 18 matches in four straight seasons.
The year begins with a major distraction as Toronto has yet to solidify the status of disgruntled veteran Lorenzo Insigne, who will not join the Reds in Washington. There are whispers that Fraser has told Insigne his style doesn’t fit with this season’s group — while Insigne has balked at being transferred.
“It’s a situation for which we are seeking some resolution and certainty, that is the guidance of the group,” Fraser said Thursday.
Without the 33-year-old Insigne, who totaled 14 goals and 14 assists in three seasons with the Reds, they will depend heavily on dynamic Federico Bernardeschi, who delivered eight goals and eight assists last season.
The Reds also will search for a boost up top from newcomers Ola Brynhildsen and Theo Corbeanu. Brynhildsen is from the Danish Superliga and Corbeanu is a Canadian national team member.
Toronto, which was winless in four preseason matches, is loaded with returning veterans in the midfield and on its aging defense. The Reds also look for a rebound season from keeper Sean Johnson, who enters his third year with the club.
D.C. United, who finished in 10th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference — one notch ahead of Toronto — are led by Christian Benteke, who scored 23 goals to capture the league’s Golden Boot award last season.
The Black and Red are in transition as Benteke is one of just two players who were on the roster at the start of the 2023 season. In all, there are 13 newcomers.
The most promising transfers are midfielder Randall Leal, a Costa Rican who arrives from Nashville, and defender Kye Rowles, who played for the 2022 Australian World Cup team and most recently for Heart of Midlothian in Scotland.
D.C. United return additional firepower with Jared Stroud (three goals, 10 assists) and Gabriel Pirani (six goals), but the bigger issue is on defense. They surrendered 70 goals last season, the second-most in franchise history.
The Black and Red showed promise in the preseason, going 3-0-1.
“It’s in constant evolution and improvement,” second-year coach Troy Lesesne said. “If you watched us in the preseason, you could see, ‘OK, they’re trying to go for something a little bit different.'”
D.C. went 1-0-1 against Toronto last year and leads the all-time series 18-12-12 in regular season matches.
–Field Level Media
