New head coach of Toronto FC John Herdman says this is the right time for him to take up a new challenge after steering the technical affairs of both the senior men’s and women’s national teams of Canada since 2011.
Herdman was announced as the new coach of Major League Soccer (MLS) side Toronto FC and is expected to start work on October 1. This is the first time that the Englishman is going to coach a club side after his successful stints with Canada’s women’s and men’s programs.
After leading New Zealand’s women’s national team between 2006 and 2011, he took over as the head coach of Canada’s women’s national team between 2011 and 2018 and later helped qualify Canada’s men’s national team to its first World Cup since 1986.
Herdman, 48, says he is motivated to work with his new employers and understands what it will take to make a difference in the club.
“I am keen to start this new opportunity with Toronto FC. Personally, it’s the right time for me to step into a new challenge in my career, and the structure of a club environment is a context I’ve aspired to operate in.
“To continue my coaching journey in a Canadian city that I know well, playing at BMO Field – a stadium where I’ve experienced some of my favorite sporting moments, with incredible fans, is quite amazing”, Herdman noted.
Toronto FC, who won the MLS Cup in 2017, have struggled to make the playoffs in recent times but are hopeful that their new coach will change the fortunes of the club.
