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MLS Season Preview: Toronto FC

Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star / Getty

With the MLS season set to begin on Friday, theScore runs down everything you need to know about each team heading into the league's 20th campaign. Here, we take a look at Toronto FC.

The club spent big on Jermain Defoe, Gilberto and Michael Bradley prior to last season, only to watch the former grow disinterested with MLS, the Brazilian leave his scoring touch at home and the latter be burdened with an entire team on his back. It was a bloody big mess.

The Canadian side heads into the new campaign with renewed vigour following another winter of lavish spending. But unlike a year ago, this recruiting spree has created a legitimately balanced squad, much better-equipped to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

“We want to act with intent from a managerial perspective but also from a player perspective," general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told John Molinaro of Sportsnet in early February. "So the way this off-season has transpired wasn’t by accident. We knew we had to have our core group of guys in place well before the start of the season."

Mission accomplished.

2014 season: 7th in Eastern Conference

Record GF GA
11-15-8 (41 points) 44 54

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Head coach: Greg Vanney

Stadium: BMO Field

Season Opener: Saturday, March 7: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto FC (BC Place) - 6 PM EST

Key Arrivals

Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Benoit Cheyrou (free transfer), Damien Perquis (Real Betis), Eriq Zavaleta (Seattle Sounders), Alex Bono (SuperDraft)

Key Departures

Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Gilberto (Vasco da Gama), Dominic Oduro (Montreal Impact), Doneil Henry (West Ham), Dwayne De Rosario (free agent)

Player to Watch: Sebastian Giovinco

The "Atomic Ant" arrives with much fanfare from Italian side Juventus, where he was never able to quite live up to his (admittedly unfair) billing as heir to club legend Alessandro Del Piero.

His size has been questioned - Giovinco stands only 5-foot-4 - leading some to believe he'll struggle with the physicality MLS defenders will undoubtedly use against him. However, his skill on the ball, ability to find pockets of space and quickness with his first move will combat that just fine. Not to mention that Serie A has its fair share of cynical defending - Giovinco shouldn't have a problem adjusting to the new league, particularly given the impressive talent that has been imported around him.

"I'm very pleased," head coach Greg Vanney said of Giovinco after overseeing one of the club's first preseason training sessions. "It's what I had seen of him when we were doing all our scouting.

"He's very quick and nifty in the pockets, in those little tight spaces. He gets himself facing forward and he's shifty. He can unbalance defenders and create little fractions of time in areas where a lot of guys can't. His vision around the field to bring other people into the game is special."

Signed to a five-year contract with a reported annual salary of $7 million, Bezbatchenko and the club have much riding on the success of the pint-sized Italian attacker this season. Playing as a second striker just behind fellow signing Jozy Altidore, expect him to deliver in a big way, and make the club's frustrated, yet loyal, fan base forget all about the Bloody Big Deal of a season ago.

Keep an eye on: Benoit Cheyrou

Projected Starting XI

(4-4-2) Joe Bendik; Justin Morrow, Steven Caldwell, Damien Perquis, Mark Bloom; Benoit Cheyrou, Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio, Sebastian Giovinco; Robbie Findley, Jozy Altidore

Season in a Sentence

Their marquee signing wants to be there, the squad is significantly more balanced than last season and Bradley won't have to do it all by himself anymore: if Toronto FC doesn't make the playoffs in 2015, they should consider demolishing BMO Field and starting from scratch.

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