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TORONTO, Canada—With news on Thursday that LAFC and head coach Bob Bradley have mutually agreed to part ways, rumblings of Bradley joining Toronto FC continue to heat up.
According to Sam Stejskal of The Athletic, there’s a general expectation among those he has spoken to that Bradley will indeed head to Toronto FC.
In an update that will surprise literally no one, the general expectation among sources around MLS that I've spoken to about the topic in recent weeks is that Bob Bradley will indeed head to Toronto FC.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) November 18, 2021
Josh Gross of Inside SoCal Sports offered the same sentiment.
Breaking News:
— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) November 18, 2021
LAFC and Bob Bradley have parted ways after four years together. The announcement should be made official today. Bradley is expected to take the Toronto job, where he will join his son, Michael, and brother, Jeff, who is the team's director of communications.
Toronto FC, who called the original report by AS USA on Nov. 8 ‘premature’ and denied having reached out to Bradley refused to address the rumours again on Thursday.
“We have a final to play on Sunday and that’s the club’s sole focus,” the message to the Toronto Sun read.
Bradley, the father of Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley, is the second-winningest active coach in Major League Soccer history, leading the Black & Gold to a 58-34-32 record and 206 points in his four years with the club. Under Bradley, LAFC set the record for most points in an expansion season in 2018, won the 2019 Supporter’s Shield with an MLS record 85 goals and a then-MLS record of 72 points, and advanced to the 2020 Concacaf Champions League Final, becoming the first MLS team to defeat three Liga MX Clubs in a single tournament.
Bradley, 63, is a three-time winner of the MLS Coach of the Year award, most recently in 2019. The former U.S. National Team manager owns a career MLS record of 182-127-86 (W-L-T) and ranks third in MLS victories all-time.
As mentioned in the past, the timing of the report is anything but ideal for Toronto FC, who still have a Canadian Championship Final to play for on Sunday against CF Montreal — under the leadership of current head coach Javier Perez. On August 9, Perez was appointed head coach of the club for the rest of the 2021 season after taking over from Chris Armas, who was let go in July.
When asked about his future with the club two weeks ago, Perez said that he’s only concerned about the next game and that those discussions will take place at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.