TORONTO—When Sportsnet last checked in with Mark Bloom he was waxing philosophical about being displaced by midfielder Warren Creavalle as Toronto FC’s starting right fullback.
“To me, you can either destroy yourself and doubt yourself or you can take the approach that ‘Hey, I know I can play in this league and I know that I’m a starter.’ Ultimately, that’s what gets you back on the field,” Bloom told this correspondent back in April.
Bloom has yet to play a single minute this season as he’s dealt with a lingering quad problem and other injury issues. There were also times when he was healthy, but he was either an unused substitute or didn’t dress.
Bloom, 27, is now fully fit and returned to full training last week, and is now focused on winning back his starting position. But there’s a problem—his path is blocked by Justin Morrow, who’s done a solid job since being shifted from the left to the right side to accommodate Ashtone Morgan while Bloom has been out injured.
A lot has changed since our previous chat with Bloom, but he remains as philosophical as ever and knows he isn’t owed anything by TFC, especially his previous role as the club’s unquestioned starting right fullback.
“I could be starting next weekend, but our form is so good right now and defensively we’ve been doing well, so I can’t expect just for someone to get taken out just to put me back in. I definitely have to earn my spot,” Bloom told Sportsnet in a one-on-one chat earlier this week.
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“That’s what I’m going to have to do and I look forward to actually being healthy enough to do that. I realized when I was hurt how much I just loved being out there competing. Now, I’m reinvigorated to earn my spot back and to work hard, and to make it a tough decision for (coach Greg) Vanney.”
Bloom explained he used his lengthy injury layoff as a chance to grow and “learn the virtue of patience.”
“It was very frustrating, especially the aspect of not feeling a part of the team because when everyone else is going out for training you’re on the treatment table day in and day out. Others are competing, playing and traveling, and you’re doing the same thing over and over each day. It’s very monotonous and it gets boring. But you have to work through that in order to come out of the other side a strong person,” Bloom explained.
Still, it was a bit of a shocker when Vanney didn’t tab Bloom as a starter in pre-season after he was one of TFC’s most consistent players in 2014—even more so when the club signed him to an extension and gave him a raise in the off-season, even though his previous contract hadn’t expired. And when Vanney decided to convert Creavalle from a midfielder into a fullback in order to push Bloom for the starting role, well, that was another surprise.
Looking back on it, though, Bloom understands where Vanney, who took over from Ryan Nelsen last August, was coming from.
“When a new coach comes in he can’t really change much. Coming into this season, it’s his team now, and he gets to choose his players. He wants to try someone new out or he has certain preferences, and he wanted to change things up a bit with our style of play. That’s totally understandable,” Bloom said.
“Just because I’m not starting doesn’t mean I’m not a good player or not playing well or anything like that. Maybe it’s just that I don’t fit in as well into the formation or his tactics, or maybe someone is playing better. There’s a lot that goes into a coach’s decision, and I get that. I’m not going to just look at it like I’m not starting and be mad about it.”
That’s a very mature attitude to take. Other pro athletes aren’t always so professional when dealing a similar demotion. Some make a big stink about it, and take veiled—and not-so veiled—shots at their coach in the media. That’s not Bloom, though.
“You control what you can control and release what you can’t control, and everything else will work out,” Bloom said philosophically.
As for TFC, who are riding a three-game winning streak and currently sit third in the Eastern Conference, Bloom believes the team has found its rhythm and cohesion after a bit of a rough start to the season.
“We’re totally different now compared to the beginning of the season. We were trying to figure out our identity at first. Greg went with a diamond-midfield and we were getting exposed on counter-attacks. So we had to go back to a 4-4-2 and figure out what’s our identity defensively,” Bloom said.
“Once we figured that out we went back to the diamond, so its really been figuring out who we are. We always knew we had the talent. I think we can take a lot of positives away from the first part of the season.”
Like many fans and reporters who cover the team, Bloom has enjoyed watching the exploits of Sebastian Giovinco during his injury layoff. The Italian leads Toronto in goals (seven) and assists (six) and has quickly established himself as one of the best players—if not the best player—in MLS.
“You saw it on the day when he arrived that he was a special talent. Now he’s gotten a little bit more comfortable with the league, with the team, with the players, with playing up top as opposed to playing in the midfield,” Bloom offered.
“When he’s on, he’s really on—you can’t stop him.”
