Who we Were (Part 6): Marvell Wynne

In April of 2007, Marvell Wynne II was traded right after his first appearance of the season with New York Red Bulls. RBNY traded him in exchange for a second round 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick, and a partial allocation.

Wynne was known as one of the fastest players in the league at the start of his career, especially with RBNY, and he could really surge down the right flank as a wingback and put the ball in the box.

When Marvell Wynne came to Toronto, he came with great excitement as fans were informed that he was one of the better right-backs in the league, and should provide great quality to Toronto FC’s defence, and to the connection between the defence and offence. Unfortunately for him and Toronto FC, the Reds finished last place in the league (13th) and had the worst attack and defence in the league — times were not the greatest for Wynne in terms of the team’s league positions.

Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

Despite the overall team’s poor performances, though, he started to become a fan favourite among the supporters as he played well whilst the rest of the team did not. By the end of the 2007 season, the first season in TFC history, he recorded 22 appearances for Toronto FC. During that season, he got 3 assists for the Reds.

In 2008 and under a new manager, Marvell Wynne continued to excel in his career with TFC. He recorded 2 assists, and even netted his first goal, on September 27, 2008, and finished the season scoring 2 goals. His first goal was quite a nice one as well:

In 2009, he played his final season with Toronto FC, getting his career-high assists total of 5 in the 2009 MLS season, in just 21 appearances. Keep in mind, his success continued despite playing under multiple coaches. He almost helped bring TFC to their first ever playoffs appearances, but as Toronto FC lost to last-placed New York Red Bulls 5-0, they dropped out of contention for a playoff position. As a bit of a side note, when Toronto FC lost 5-1 to Real Madrid in a friendly in the summer of 2009, Wynne was the only player to score for the Reds!

Unfortunately for Wynne, he fell out of favor with then-TFC manager Preki (who now is the assistant manager of Seattle Sounders) and was then traded on March 25, 2010 to Colorado Rapids in exchange for Nick LaBrocca and 2011 third round draft pick.

He went on to play for Colorado Rapids for the 2010 season through to the 2014 season, playing in 140 MLS games, but scored no goals in his time with the team. He was later traded to San Jose Earthquakes, where he played from 2015 to 2017, and finished his career there at the age of 31 years old. The reason for his retirement was because he had an open-heart surgery for an undisclosed condition, but although he went back to training with ‘Quakes later on, he cited in his retirement video on Twitter that many doctors believe that he should retire because of the condition that he had.

While his club career was playing out, he also made 5 appearances with the U.S. Men’s National Team, playing his first game with them on June 28, 2007 in the Copa America against Argentina.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Overall, I think Marvell Wynne was a great player for Toronto FC, especially in the early years as he was a light in the darkness. He was a very hard-working player who proved why he was the number one right back in the team while he was there. He never really disappointed. Looking at his entire career, he really seems like a player who was great when he played, but was plagued with injuries and other medical problems throughout his career, as he was in MLS for 13 years, but only played 11 of those years.

Wynne is often a forgotten fan favourite among TFC supporters as he was with TFC right at the start, as opposed to others who came in later and have bonded more with the new Reds supporters. Those who do remember his time while at Toronto FC generally remember it in a positive light.