Breakout midfielder Alonso Coello central to Toronto FC's playoff push

It’s been a year of special milestones for Toronto FC’s Alonso Coello. 

The stylish and composed midfielder earned his 100th appearance in all competitions for Toronto in May and last month he joined captain Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea as the only active members of TFC to appear in 100 MLS regular-season matches for the club. 

But Coello, a 27-year-old from Madrid, is focused on another milestone at the moment: helping Toronto earn its first playoff berth in six years. 

TFC enters this weekend in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, tied on points with the New York Red Bulls, who hold down the ninth and final playoff berth with four matches remaining. A road win by Toronto on Saturday against the Columbus Crew could push it over the playoff line going into the final two weeks of the season. 

If TFC ends up qualifying for the playoffs, it’s most certain that Coello will have played a major role in helping it get there. The soft-spoken Spaniard is playing the best soccer of his career in 2026, recording a career-best nine assists (second most on the team), which is more than double the four assists he registered across his three previous MLS seasons.  

“This season I’ve felt the most comfortable on the field in the role that has been given to me within the team and the formation and the playing style that we've been trying to showcase. I believe I've taken steps forward in certain aspects of my game, especially as a playmaker in terms of providing more opportunities for our attackers to score goals and get into dangerous areas,” Coello told Sportsnet. 

One reason Coello has felt more comfortable is because he’s been given more of a licence by coach Robin Fraser to take advantage of his playmaking instincts compared to previous manager John Herdman. 

“We used to suffer a lot in games, and in many of those games it was just a physical battle, a lot of 50/50 duels. So, it was hard to showcase what I can bring to the table on the ball under John. It was a certain system that gave you more of a rigid role, and it was very clear what you had to do in each position,” Coello explained. 

“I feel like last year and this year I've found myself with more freedom in terms of making decisions; where to get the ball, identify spaces and areas in which I can be impactful, and also in the decision-making side of it. I feel like that freedom has allowed me to experiment a little bit as a player and find myself in positions and areas that I hadn't found myself in before and find out what kind of player I can be in those situations.”

Coello has earned steady playing time since graduating in 2023 from TFC 2, the MLS team’s reserve team, averaging 25 league games over the previous three campaigns, which included 31 appearances, 24 starts and 2,167 minutes in 2025 (all career highs). Only two outfield players (Sigurd Rosted and Theo Corbeanu) as well as former goalkeeper Sean Johnson saw more minutes for the Reds last year.  

Fraser has continued to heavily rely upon the Spanish midfielder in 2026, as he's logged 2,056 minutes across 30 games (22 starts).  

"The thing about Alonso is he's incredibly intelligent. He's a really, really intelligent player, and one of his superpowers is his ability to start attacks, recognizing where we have an advantage and the ability to hit the pass to get it there," Fraser enthused.  

"And his passing range is really, really wide; meaning he can make short passes, left-footed, right-footed. He can make long diagonal passes. He can make bending, long bending balls, left-footed, right-footed. So, his ability with the ball and his ability to think, those are really superpowers." 

Coello’s teammates have also taken notice of his steady form this season. 

Designated player and fellow midfielder Djordje Mihailovic noted the sense of calm and intelligence that Coello offers TFC in the middle of the park, saying the Spaniard, “seems to always know what he's going to do before he gets the ball.” 

“(He) might not be physically the best in terms of speed and stuff like that. But he makes up for it with how smart he is and how quickly he could think about the decisions he makes,” Mihailovic offered. 

Veteran Niklas Dorsch joined Toronto via transfer from German club FC Heidenheim 1846 in late July, having previously come up through Bayern Munich’s youth system. The former Bundesliga midfielder was impressed with Coello even before he came to MLS. 

“Alonso, for me, is one of the best players I've ever played within the central midfield. His understanding of how to move, his quality on the ball is unbelievable,” Dorsch said. 

He later added: “Even before I arrived here, I watched some games from TFC, and I was like ‘OK, that's the guy I'm fighting for (a starting) position, so it’s not going to be easy.’” 

For his part, Coello has enjoyed partnering with Dorsch in central midfield during the few times they’ve played together.

“I realized very early on within the first few training sessions with him that we spoke the same football language, in terms of the way in which we like to help the team progress the ball up the field. We like to combine with short passes, attract their players, and then exploit the spaces that we've created with those short passes,” Coello said. 

Elsewhere in MLS this weekend…    

• The Vancouver Whitecaps enter this weekend atop the Western Conference with a four-point lead over St. Louis City SC and FC Dallas. A road win on Saturday against the Colorado Rapids would keep the Whitecaps in pole position to win the conference and guarantee home-field advantage throughout the playoffs right up until the MLS Cup final on Dec. 18.  

• This has been a bad week for CF Montreal and it’s about to get worse. Montreal was upset by the Canadian Premier League’s Forge FC in Wednesday’s Canadian Championship final at Stade Saputo. The Black and Blue are last place in the Eastern Conference and can be officially eliminated from playoff contention with a loss or draw at home to first-place Nashville SC on Saturday.   

• Conversely, Nashville can clinch the Supporters' Shield (regular-season championship) with a win or draw in Montreal, which would mean home-field advantage throughout the playoffs including for the MLS Cup final, if it makes it. Nashville currently has 67 points and can set a league record for most points in a season (74 points, Inter Miami in 2024) if it takes eight from its last four matches.  

• Inter Miami will be looking to extend its winning streak to four games and remain second in the East when it visits the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Lionel Messi bagged a brace in last week’s road win over Atlanta United and is destined to win a third-consecutive league MVP award. The Argentine legend leads MLS in goals (25) and assists (15) this season.  

• Antoine Griezmann has been on fire for Orlando City FC ever since coming to MLS in July from Atlético Madrid. The French World Cup winner has 12 goals and seven assists in 14 games to help Orlando turn its season around. Griezmann will attempt to add to his impressive goal tally at home against New York City FC on Saturday.   

• Three teams are on the verge of clinching playoff berths this weekend. Charlotte FC needs a win or draw away to the Portland Timbers to qualify for the post-season for a fourth straight year. Philadelphia can punch its ticket with a home win over the New England Revolution, while a win or draw by LAFC at home vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy would see it secure a spot in the playoffs.