The first thing you noticed about Gilberto was his smile.
The handsome Brazilian always seemed to have a broad smile etched on his face regardless of the situation during his brief tenure at Toronto FC. He may have squandered scoring chances during a game, but there he was in the locker-room afterwards, surrounded by a horde of reporters eager to talk to him, flashing that trademark smile.
The smiling Brazilian liked Toronto and was well-liked by fans and teammates. But Gilberto fell victim to the numbers game, and that’s why TFC on Friday announced that it was sending him on a year’s loan with Vasco Da Gama back in his native Brazil.
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With the Reds already bolstering their back line, bringing in a creative playmaker in Sebastian Giovinco and swapping Jermain Defoe for Jozy Altidore, the Gilberto situation was the last major issue to be dealt with by TFC management this off-season. With four Designated Players on the books, one more over the league limit, Toronto had to move the Brazilian—Altidore and Giovinco arrived in January, and getting rid of Michael Bradley wasn’t an option. So axing Gilberto was a no-brainer.
Time was also of the essence, as MLS clubs have to be roster complaint by March 1. For those holding out hope that a new collective bargaining agreement will include a fourth DP slot, you shouldn’t. Multiple league insiders have told Sportsnet that’s not on the table in the ongoing labour talks. And as far as buying down Gilberto’s contract to a non-DP level, that was never going to happen, as it would take roughly $800,000 in allocation.
So, Gilberto is gone, and although he’s only been sent out on loan, chances are very good he won’t be back at TFC.
Toronto was actively shopping Gilberto around this winter, and several MLS clubs were interested in trading for the Brazilian, sources told Sportsnet. TFC listened to those offers, but they were far more interested in selling him on. Team management realizes they have a valuable asset in Gilberto, and instead of trading him away and making a league rival that much stronger, TFC were committed to recouping the money they invested in the Brazilian since buying him from Internacional.
Don’t be fooled by this loan deal with Vasco—that TFC has parked him there for the time being and will bring him back after a year. TFC’s intention is to sell him at a profit.
Could they sell Gilberto to Vasco? It’s certainly possible. When contacted by Sportsnet, Toronto general manager Tim Bezbatchenko declined to confirm if the deal with Vasco includes an option for the Brazilian club to buy Gilberto at the end of the loan deal.
Bezbatchenko did, however, tell Sportsnet that TFC “will always entertain an offer if (Vasco has) one at that time regardless of what is in the agreement” between the two clubs. What if Altidore goes down injured? Can TFC recall Gilberto early from his loan at Vasco? Bezbatchenko wouldn’t say.
Regardless, Gilberto won’t be back in Toronto, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, so long as TFC recoups its original expense and then reinvests it in the club.
How will history record Gilberto’s time with Toronto FC? You can’t call him a bust, nor a success—Gilberto was simply here. He scored seven goals in 2014 (good enough for second in team scoring) and added five assists in 28 league games. Not bad numbers, but not great either. He didn’t find the back of the net until the 10th game of the season, and it took another three matches to notch his second goal.
He was a tireless worker, held up the ball well, played teammates into dangerous spaces and had a good touch on the ball, leading the Toronto Sun’s Kurt Larson to repeatedly claim the Brazilian was the “most complete striker in MLS.”
Maybe if he wasn’t a DP we could look back at his TFC tenure as a smashing success. But based on his offensive output—and let’s face it, for all the great linkup play Gilberto provided, strikers are judged on goals—the Brazilian wasn’t worth a DP slot, nor did he provide value for his salary cap hit.
Gilberto’s time was up, essentially, when the club began courting Giovinco. The Italian’s arrival, and that of Altidore, not only meant Gilberto found himself the odd man out, but it also marked a shift in a new way forward for TFC—one with Giovinco pulling the creative strings and Altidore (hopefully) banging in the goals.
Gilberto was well-thought of by TFC management, but in the end, he had to moved. Maybe he won’t end up at Vasco full-time, but he won’t back in Toronto.
John Molinaro is Sportsnet’s chief soccer reporter. Follow him on Twitter