Random thoughts on TFC: Could Theo Corbeanu give Reds a big boost?
Amidst an unprecedented injury crisis, Toronto FC had some good news with the recent return of the Canadian winger.
Some random thoughts I had on Toronto FC while MLS is on hiatus for this summer's FIFA World Cup.
Alonso Coello quietly having a good season for TFC
Alonso Coello became the newest member of Toronto FC's "century club" when he earned his 100th appearance in all competition for the Reds in last week's 2-1 road loss to the Chicago Fire.
Coello, 26, marked the occasion with a man-of-the-match effort in which he played a major role in setting up Josh Sargent's equalizer in the 34th minute.
John Molinaro
With Toronto down a goal, Coello forced a Chicago turnover inside its half with his pressing and then went on a great probing run down the middle after taking a short pass from Dániel Sallói. The Spanish midfielder looked composed on the ball as he brought it forward before playing a perfect defence-splitting pass for Sargent to hammer home and level the score.
Coello was a consistent threat on set pieces as his dangerous deliveries into the box routinely caused problems for the Fire. He was also TFC's chief creator in Chicago with a game-high six key passes (a pass that directly leads to a teammate's shot on goal) and ranked second for his team in total touches with 71 while completing 84.6 per cent of his passes.
The assist on Sargent's goal was Coello's fourth of the MLS campaign, a new career-high for him in a single season – it's also a career-best four goal contributions by the Spaniard.
It's been far from perfect this year from Coello, who is still prone to making the odd error and who won't win many foot races. You'd also like to see some goals from him – he's yet to score this year and only has two goals in 91 MLS appearances since making his first team debut in 2023.
But he's been a stabilizing presence with his solid two-play for the Reds at a time when they've badly missed both DP Djordje Mihailovic and fellow central midfielder José Cifuentes.
"What I saw in him last year was a player who has a pretty unique ability to hit basically every kind of pass. And when he is sharp, I feel like he is as good as anyone in the league at starting attacks. ... He's an extremely intelligent player defensively and offensively and someone who has certainly been a valuable piece in the time I've been here," coach Robin Fraser said.
John Molinaro
Theo Corbeanu could give Reds big boost after the break
Amidst an unprecedented injury crisis, Toronto FC had some good news with the recent return of Theo Corbeanu.
Corbeanu, 24, featured for the last 16 minutes of the road loss in Chicago when he was subbed on for Derrick Etienne Jr. It was his first action of the year after undergoing off-season knee surgery – his previous appearance for the Reds was on Oct. 18, 2025, when he collected an assist.
It was a brief cameo by the Canadian international, but he looked fairly lively and offered TFC something different than he normally does when his side was only down a goal and still in the game.
"He's a very dangerous player; a good one-on-one player. I thought he actually worked himself into the game quite well, being that he was simple early on, protected the ball, did a lot of things that an attacking player needs to do, even if he didn't get to the things that he likes to do," Robin Fraser said.
Corbeanu was Toronto's top scorer last season with six goals, and he also finished with the most goal contributions (eight), tied with two other players. GM Jason Hernandez thought enough of Corbeanu that they signed him to a permanent contract at the conclusion of his loan deal from Spanish club Granada CF.
The Reds have one of the weakest attacking units in the Eastern Conference this year with just 22 goals to their credit (1.57 goals per game). Their minus-seven goal difference is also among the worst in the East.
If TFC are going to climb out of 13th place and fight for a playoff spot, they'll need a lot more offensive production when they return to action after this extended break. Having Corbeanu back in the fold should see an uptick in goals for the club if he uses his pace to proper use and properly reintegrates with DP forward Josh Sargent.
"We know Theo has a little bit of a maverick to him. We saw glimpses of that [vs. Chicago]; that ability to take guys on last season. I think maybe we saw that his tendency to go alone at times was a little bit too much, so how he finds a way to make the most of his skills and do his thing, but also do it in the interest of what's best for the team is going to be really fascinating to watch in the second half of the season," TFC Republic contributor James Grossi said.
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Gomis-Zimmerman partnership shows promise
Toronto also received a boost with another recent returning player following a lengthy injury spell in Nicksoen Gomis.
The French centre back came off the bench for the last 32 minutes of TFC's 3-1 road loss to Charlotte FC on May 16 and went 45 minutes as a starter in last week's defeat to Chicago.
It was the first time Gomis was back on the pitch for the Reds since suffering a season-ending Achilles injury last May that limited him to just six MLS appearances (481 minutes) last year.
Gomis' substitution at half time vs. the Fire was pre-planned by Robin Fraser, a result of the team's medical staff not wanting to push the player for too much too soon after his lengthy injury absence.
And while it was a relatively short appearance, Gomis looked solid in his first start in over 12 months. The Frenchman ranked as one of TFC's passers on the night with a success rate of 93.8 per cent and had more touches on the ball (41) than attackers Dániel Sallói and Josh Sargent (34 apiece), and Derrick Etienne Jr (29). He also was a defensive stalwart with three tackles, an interception and one defensive clearance.
Toronto has coughed up 29 goals through its first 14 games – that's 66 per cent of the 44 goals they coughed up in 34 games all of last season. A staggering number of injuries to defenders has led to an ever-changing back line featuring different partnerships, underlying the need for consistency in the team's defensive lineup.
It was only a small sample size, but Gomis and Zimmerman formed a pretty good duo in the centre of defence against Chicago, setting aside how easily Chicago ripped through TFC's defence to open the scoring. But overall, their new partnership offers the hope of more stability on the defensive end of things for the second half of the season.
"[Gomis] did great with his 45 minutes; obviously building his way back to full fitness, but you can see he's a centre-back that loves to be aggressive with the ball, loves to drive forward. You saw the play where he won the ball, kept going forward. Him and Josh [Sargent] had a moment there of transition, and he loves being able to step in and do that. And obviously he has a great left foot to make some line breaking passes," said Zimmerman, a two-time MLS defender of the year.
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