Note: this article originally appears in a 2020 Waking The Red edition and is syndicated in various world football publications.
The first 8 years of it’s existence being quite fruitless, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment went out and hired Tim Leiweke as President, who immediately sought to right the ship with the soccer club, Toronto FC. While success wasn’t immediate, Leiweke and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko laid the groundwork for a team who would make the MLS Cup in its 10th season, only to lose in the Finals. However, that was the last time the club suffered any loss of significance, and instead used that defeat to blaze through MLS, CONCACAF and eventually the world.