Jonathan Osorio looking for the right personal balance at TFC
"I didn't do a good job of balancing trying to lead this team ... [and] focusing on myself and making sure that I'm performing," Osorio said.
Jonathan Osorio has been through plenty of highs and lows at Toronto FC since debuting for his hometown club in the second week of the 2013 MLS season.
A then 20-year-old Osorio stepped onto the pitch for the first time for TFC when he subbed on for Terry Dunfield in the 82nd minute of 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City at Rogers Centre. Three weeks later he once again came off the bench in the second half and scored in a 2-2 draw against the LA Galaxy at BMO Field.
The young midfielder showed promise in those two brief substitute appearances, but few at the time could have predicted that he would go on to wear the captain’s armband and become the Reds’ all-time appearances leader as their most decorated player – he’s won an MLS Cup, a Supporters’ Shield, a trio of Eastern Conference titles and three Canadian Championships.
Osorio was full of positivity back then, riding high as a rookie who was hopeful there’d be much better days ahead for both him and TFC. And there were. But 12 years later, Osorio, now 33, finds himself reflecting on his 13th campaign that saw the club's playoff drought extended to five consecutive seasons, and which proved to be one of his most difficult on a personal level.
John Molinaro
“It was a tough season for myself, especially the beginning part. I think I didn't do a good job of balancing trying to lead this team, helping others, helping the ones around me, and then also still focusing on myself and making sure that I'm performing,” Osorio admitted.
Indeed, the veteran midfielder was sidelined by injury issues at times during a campaign that saw him bag four goals and register three assists. Seven goal contributions weren’t bad by his standards and was more than he had in each of the previous two years. But it was well off the pace of the 15 he had in 2022 or the career-best 17 in 2018. It also wasn’t good enough from a captain who needed to provide much more to a team that was still finding its way under first-year coach Robin Fraser.
Osorio ended the campaign in a decent run of form with two goals and two assists in his final eight appearances, and he will be looking to build upon that next year as he tries to better balance the responsibilities of being the captain with producing on the pitch.
“I think as the year went on, I was able to improve. I felt like this season, along with the team, the play got better, and so physically, the numbers are still good for me. I'm able to move around still, the same way that I have been able to in the last few years. So, it's about now just keeping a good balance of just being the leader of the team but making sure that my own performances stay consistent and good,” Osorio offered.
Despite his harsh self-evaluation, Osorio still managed to offer valuable leadership and experience on the pitch as TFC struggled for results throughout 2025. There were also special personal moments. His goal in the season opener away to D.C. United on Feb. 22 set a new franchise record as he became the first TFC player to play and score in 13 MLS seasons – he’s the first active player and the 11th in league history to have played and scored in at least 13 MLS seasons.
His goal in a home loss to Nashville SC on May 24 saw him become just the second homegrown player in MLS history to reach the 50 goal-50 assist milestone, joining the LA Galaxy's Diego Fagúndez.
But at the end of the day, the team failed to qualify for the post-season, and that’s what matters more than personal records. Still, Osorio sees light at the end of the tunnel and is hopeful for 2026, based on how well he felt the Reds performed down the final stretch of this season.
“We didn't reach our goal [the playoffs], and that's disappointing, but I think we can say with the results that we've had in the last few games, we became a hard team to bear, and that's positive. … It gives hope for next season. [I think the club] is now in position to begin a new era, a new project, and get things going in the right direction,” Osorio said.
Osorio is under contract until the end of 2026, at which point the club will have a big decision to make – whether to bring him back or part company. It’s difficult to envision TFC moving forward without a player who has become so embedded in the fabric of the club, but it could very well happen.
Despite Osorio having an “off year” in terms of his offensive production, the Canadian international still managed to provide an invaluable presence both on the pitch and the training ground.
“Him and I are actually quite similar in terms of the emotional conflict that he puts into training and games. And if we can get more players like that with that mentality, it's only gonna help the team. Winning teams, they have four or five players that have this fire mentality, that get on you, and you need that,” new DP Djordje Mihailovic said.
Longtime TFC and Canadian national team teammate Richie Laryea concurs.
“[When] you think of Toronto, you think of Oso. This club means everything to him. He doesn't take any days for granted,” Laryea stated.
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While Fraser became the eighth different coach that Osorio played under at TFC, the two weren’t exactly strangers to each other – Fraser was Greg Vanney’s long-time assistant during the team’s glory years.
But a new coach meant a new system, a new playing style and a new philosophy to adapt to for Osorio, who as captain took on that challenge head-on and without so much as blinking an eye.
“I definitely buy into what Robin preaches to the team and how he wants the team and the mentality to be. Throughout the season, I always look [at how] I can always improve, and I will look to improve the leadership part for myself this off-season,” Osorio said.
When Fraser arrived in Toronto in 2015, he saw a young Osorio who was “talented and petulant and full of emotion” who went on to play a big part in the great success the team enjoyed from 2015 to 2019.
“He's a much better player now than he was at [age] 23 because he can still do everything physically, he did then, and his decisions are so much better now,” Faser offered.
Fraser still sees the same fiery passion from his captain for his hometown side, while at the same carrying himself as the club’s distinguished elder statesman.
“I'm really impressed with the mature leader he has become, and even throughout this year, from the beginning to the end, to watch his progress was really gratifying,” Fraser offered.
“He's so passionate about this club that I think when things aren't in order, he just can't handle it, because he was here and he came up in a time when things were very good and had success, and a certain mindset existed within the club, and certainly since Greg's departure, it hasn't been exactly the same.
(Top photo by Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)
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