TORONTO – Will Johnson has had his fair share of injuries during his Major League Soccer career, but each time the Canadian international has rebounded with aplomb.
When he broke his right leg in September 2014 as a member of the Portland Timbers, he ended up missing the rest of the year and most of the following season before eventually returning. This past June, while scoring a goal for Toronto FC in the final of the Canadian Club Championship, he suffered a bone fracture in his left leg, an injury that sidelined him for seven weeks.
Johnson came back and regained his starting spot, but then missed two games late in the season due to an MCL sprain. The MLS veteran returned yet again—this time as substitute, coming off the bench in the Reds’ regular season finale and in each of their three playoff games. Coach Greg Vanney has used the exact same starting lineup the past four matches, with Panamanian Armando Cooper taking Johnson’s spot in midfield alongside fellow Canadian Jonathan Osorio and captain Michael Bradley.
A mid-season pickup, Cooper has been very effective for Toronto, and has justifiably started the last four contests at the expense of Johnson. Being a substitute has taken some getting used to for Johnson, a player who’s been a regular starter for most of his time in MLS and who was a key member of TFC’s starting 11 before getting injured in June.
“To be honest, it’s been difficult. Obviously, nobody wants to get hurt; the sacrifice I made on the goal in Vancouver cost me many months of this season of high-quality soccer that I was playing before that injury, and then I had a bit of a setback with the MCL in October. That part of it is disappointing,” Johnson told Sportsnet in a one-on-one chat.
“But when you have a championship squad, everybody has to do their part. Armando, Michael and Jonathan have stepped up and done very well, and I’ve been able to come in off the bench and show my quality. Nothing has changed from March to November in terms of the player that I am and the quality that I provide this team and the quality of midfielder I am in this league. None of that has changed.”
While the late-season injury setback forced him to take a back seat, Johnson has still contributed for TFC. After coming on at the start of the second half against New York City last weekend, he forced a turnover and then ended up delivering the final pass in setting up Osorio’s goal that gave the Reds a commanding 4-0 lead at Yankee Stadium.
Even as a substitute, we’re seeing the exact same Will Johnson: intense, fearless and uncompromising. That part of his game hasn’t changed even in his reduced role.
“He comes on just like as he starts—he comes on with an incredible amount of competitive fire. He closes people down fast, he puts you under pressure… Will is one of the first guys to lead that charge and to close guys down. That’s how the goal [against New York] came about—his power, strength and commitment to run forward and create things and get on the end of a ball, keep it alive and then he slipped it across to Oso,” Vanney said.
It’s almost as though Johnson has become Vanney’s secret weapon as a substitute.
“He’s comfortable on the ball and brings a composure into the field, and in these last few games when you can go to your bench and you can bring on guys with that experience into games, it lifts this team. It’s guys who’ve been there and done that, and won championships, in his case, it brings an added composure to the game. Will has done that all year,” Vanney stated.
TFC’s coach described Johnson’s attitude as “excellent,” explaining the veteran hasn’t raised a fuss about losing his starting job and seeing less playing time.
“Like all competitors, he wants to be in more, he wants to have a larger impact. That’s normal. … But he’s been more than professional. He understands that the group that’s out there has done a good job and has earned results,” Vanney said.
For his part, Johnson isn’t bitter about losing his starting job to Cooper, and he’s embraced the unique challenge of helping the Panamanian be the best he can be on the pitch.
“I’m very proud of Jonathan and the way he’s stepped up. I’m very proud of Armando and how he’s integrated into the team. I’ve helped those guys integrate and to help them up their levels that I know they’re capable of. As a teammate that’s what you do,” Johnson said.
“When you see teammates who need a little extra [push], even if it’s guys who you’re competing against for a starting spot, I’m a guy that can help you get to that next level. That’s the only way you win championships.”
JOHNSON’S FUTURE IN TORONTO
Johnson will be out of contract with TFC at end of this season, and he will become an unrestricted free agent. Does he expect to return to Toronto in 2017?
“I have no idea. There’s been no talks, nothing. I don’t know if I’ll be back. It’s a good question. I want to come back, but it’s not a black or white question—it’s grey in our league in terms of the salary cap and how many good quality payers you can have on a squad. The better a team does the harder it is to keep more guys around because salaries go up when results go up, and salaries go down when results go down,” Johnson said.
“We’ve had a very good year, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep this group together. In a perfect world, I stay here, but a lot of those decisions are usually out of the player’s hands. With me being a total free agent, time will tell.”
Johnson is a veteran of ten MLS seasons with over 200 regular season games and two MLS Cup titles under his belt, so he’ll likely have several other suitors this winter.
“There were many options out there for me coming off a broken leg in a year when I hardly played. This year has been much, much better for me that last year, and so I’m sure I’ll have a lot of options, especially in an expansion year,” Johnson offered.
“There’s a lot of places out there that I could go, but I just have to wait and see how the discussions go with Toronto and see what they’re thinking. … This club means something special to me. I’ve put in a lot of work this year, and these things always have a funny way of working themselves out in the right way.”
Sportsnet’s Soccer Central podcast (featuring James Sharman, Thomas Dobby, Brendan Dunlop and John Molinaro) takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues.
Listen now || iTunes || Podcatchers
