Major League Soccer

Toronto FC Hand Coaching Reins To Preki

The 2007 MLS Coach of the Year is headed to Toronto as TFC introduced Preki as head coach on Thursday.

Nov 19, 2009 4:42:55 PM

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Preki (ISI)

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Toronto FC

Less than two weeks after parting ways with Chivas USA, Preki has landed on his feet once more.

Preki was named coach of Toronto FC on Thursday and took over the Canadian club following their disappointing third season.

"Preki has everything we were looking for," Director of Soccer Mo Johnston said in a statement. "We feel he will be a perfect fit with our club. His resume with Chivas is impressive, having made it to the playoffs in every season he was there."

Major League Soccer's only two-time Most Valuable Player and two-time scoring champion, Preki joined Bob Bradley's coaching staff in 2006 when Bradley took over the then-second year club. Under Bradley, Preki gained experience on the sidelines and stepped into the head-coaching position after Bradley left Chivas for the U.S. national team.

Instead of taking a step back, though, Chivas were the best Western Conference team during the 2007 regular season as the club finished 15-7-8 and were two points out of winning the Supporters Shield.

Chivas reached the playoffs again in 2008 and 2009, despite the club's numerous challenges brought on by injuries and international absences. Perhaps the only black mark against Preki would be the team's inability to win a playoff series. Preki's Chivas teams finished with a combined playoff record of 0-3-3 as the team failed to advance past the Western Conference Semifinals in each of his three seasons with the club.

Still, reaching the postseason would be a step up for Toronto FC. In their first three seasons, Toronto FC have failed to qualify for the playoffs. The closest the club has been to reaching the postseason was in 2009, when Toronto FC needed a win in New York on the final weekend of the season to secure a postseason berth only to lose 5-0.

Toronto officials are pegging their hopes on Preki to turn the club around.

"His experience is what we need to take this club to the next level," Johnston said. "We can't wait to get started."

Perhaps Preki's first order of business will be to deal with star player Amado Guevara. Chivas had traded for Guevara immediately after the 2006 regular season, dealing away their Designated Player slot for the then-New York midfielder. But Bradley had made the move, and when Preki took over at the club he was soon disgruntled with Guevara. Four games into the '07 season, Chivas traded Guevara to Toronto FC for a package that included Paulo Nagamura.

Despite that early-season distraction, Chivas went on to finish first atop the Western Conference, an accomplishment that yielded Preki the MLS Coach of the Year Award.

In Johnston, Preki is reunited with a figure he spent a considerable amount of time with before. Preki and Johnston played together with Everton of the English Premier League for two seasons, in the early 1990s. Preki and Johnston reunited in MLS with the Kansas City Wizards and helped the club win MLS Cup 2000.

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