TORONTO—An old friend of Toronto FC’s is going to stop by BMO Field this weekend to pay a no-so-friendly visit.
Former TFC forward and designated player Gilberto is expected to be in the starting lineup for the Chicago Fire when they take on the Reds on Saturday afternoon.
These teams have met before this season, on April 4 in Illinois when the Fire earned a 3-2 win. But that was before Chicago claimed the Brazilian off waivers from TFC in July. Saturday’s contest marks Gilberto’s return to BMO Field and the first time he will face his former club since joining the Fire.
“It’s nice to be back. I enjoyed my time here, but it just didn’t work out for me here,” Gilberto told reporters through a translator before the team’s Friday afternoon practice in Toronto.
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Gilberto, 26, scored seven goals and added five assists for Toronto in 28 MLS games in 2014, but he became surplus to requirements after TFC inked Jozy Altidore in the off-season. Altidore’s arrival gave the Reds one more than the maximum three DPs, so they sent Gilberto on loan to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama.
A popular player during his time in Toronto, Gilberto took some time finding the back of the net—he didn’t score until the 12th game of the regular season in his 11th appearance.
“He’s a good guy, (he) worked hard. (He was) a little bit unlucky at times, especially early in the year in terms of some of the chances he had. He was a guy who stepped on the field always ready to do what he could to help us,” TFC captain Michael Bradley said.
Defender Justin Morrow was impressed with his former teammate’s work ethic.
“He worked really hard; I think that was the main thing that sticks out for me. No matter where we were at in the season, whether we were up or down, he was always there to work,” Morrow offered.
Gilberto scored nine goals in 13 matches for Vasco in the Rio de Janeiro state championship. When his loan spell with Vasco was prematurely terminated it meant the forward immediately went back on TFC’s books and thus Toronto was no longer roster compliant under Major League Soccer’s rules, so they were forced to put him on waivers.
“I understand soccer is a business. Toronto wanted to move on and so did I,” Gilberto said.
He later added: “I wanted to stay (in Brazil) but the league down there isn’t very organized. They would have had to pay an amount of money to MLS for me to stay. Obviously that didn’t happen but it worked out because I’m very happy in Chicago.”
In a perfect world, coach Greg Vanney would have liked to have kept him, but the Brazilian was a victim of the numbers game after TFC signed Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco.
“What it comes down to in this league (is) we’re only allowed so many designated players, and what are the best designated players that combine with each other. It just so happened that we had the opportunity to do what we did (in bringing in Giovinco and Altidore,” Vanney explained.
Gilberto has one goal in six games (four as a starter) for Chicago. He was subbed out in 78th minute of Chicago’s 2-1 loss in Montreal on Wednesday with an injury, but is expected to start on Saturday.
“He’s very athletic, very powerful. He’s good in the air so for us it’s important that we (don’t let) free crosses into the box because he can attack it. … He’s not necessarily huge in stature but he can get up and attack the ball in the air as well as earn (penalty kicks),” Vanney warned.
Vanney said his players have to step to Gilberto’s right foot when marking him and not let him “get shots off because he hits ball with a lot of power.”
Saturday is an important game for Toronto, who currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference, and enjoys a five-point lead on seventh-place Orlando City. The top six teams in the East qualify for the playoffs. The third- and fourth-place sides will host a first-round playoff game. TFC is five points off the pace of D.C. United for fourth, so a win against Chicago (dead last in the conference) is a must.
