TFC's Derrick Etienne Jr's game 'based on what's needed of me'
In a 1-on-1 interview, the MLS veteran discusses his evolution and how his role with Toronto FC changed this season.
Things didn’t go quite to plan for Derrick Etienne Jr in 2025 as he was often the odd man out at Toronto FC, even as the team’s attack struggled over the course of the entire season.
Etienne earned 25 MLS appearances, two more than last year, but he only made 10 starts (down from 19) and logged a very modest 983 minutes (down from 1,654). Limited to minutes off the bench through the first four games, the veteran winger didn’t make his first start until March 29 and then was largely overlooked for most of the summer, before being given a run of starts late in the campaign.
It was a far cry from Etienne’s best days in MLS with the Columbus Crew where he scored 12 goals and tallied 14 assists in 90 games across three campaigns – one of his goals came against the Seattle Sounders in the Crew's 2021 MLS Cup victory.
Yet, the Haitian international remained philosophical about his relative lack of opportunities this year.
