MLS Multiplex
Fansided

Toronto FC: 3 reasons why 2017 team is MLS’ best

By Andrew Dowdeswell

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 09: Alex Bono #25 of Toronto FC lifts the Championship Trophy after winning the 2017 MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field on December 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 09: Alex Bono #25 of Toronto FC lifts the Championship Trophy after winning the 2017 MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field on December 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Toronto FC
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 09: Alex Bono #25 of Toronto FC lifts the Championship Trophy after winning the 2017 MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field on December 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

The debate of who the best team in MLS history is will rage and rage. But for me, it is Toronto FC from 2017. Here are three reasons why.

Who is the best in history? In any environment, it is an impossible question to answer. How can you successfully compare eras? You cannot, and with everyone considering different factors, preferring particular statistics or elements of teams and individuals, the debate is entirely subjective.

Nevertheless, it is a fun, interesting, and oftentimes informative debate to have, one that allows fandom to go mad. And so, with very little else to discuss in these quiet times, let’s have the discussion, and it all starts with the following statement: 2017 Toronto FC are the best team in Major League Soccer in history.

Related Story. MLS: 5 teams who could benefit from coronavirus layoff. light

Here are three reasons why.

TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 09: Michael Bradley #4 of Toronto FC lifts the Championship Trophy after winning the 2017 MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field on December 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 09: Michael Bradley #4 of Toronto FC lifts the Championship Trophy after winning the 2017 MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field on December 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

3. They won it all

Sport is about winning, and while defining the ‘best’ can be done in many different ways, it is a little overly nuanced to name a team that has not won the competition(s) that it has been a part of as the best in history. Surely, a prerequisite for being a part of the conversation is that you win, right?

Well, Toronto FC have certainly done that. In fact, the 2017 team is the only MLS team in history to win all three competitions that it was a part of, the Canadian Championship, the Supporters’ Shield, and then MLS Cup, avenging their defeat to the Seattle Sounders from the previous year. It is a rather impressive statistic.

Some quibble that the Canadian Championship is easier to win than the U.S. Open Cup, and that is a fair argument to make, but only six other teams have won the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup in the same season. TFC won it all, which gives them a strong case in their bid to be the best of the best.

Home/Toronto FC