Alonso Coello finds freedom and form in Toronto FC's playoff push
The Spanish midfielder is playing the best soccer of his career as TFC fights for its first postseason berth since 2020.
Alonso Coello is playing the best soccer of his career as Toronto FC fights for its first Major League Soccer playoff berth in six years. The 27-year-old midfielder from Madrid has recorded a career-best nine assists this season, more than double his total from his previous three MLS campaigns combined. His playmaking has been central to TFC's push for the postseason, with the club entering the weekend tied on points for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Coello said a new sense of freedom under coach Robin Fraser has unlocked his game.
"This season I’ve felt the most comfortable on the field in the role that has been given to me within the team and the formation and the playing style that we've been trying to showcase," Coello told Sportsnet. "I believe I've taken steps forward in certain aspects of my game, especially as a playmaker in terms of providing more opportunities for our attackers to score goals and get into dangerous areas." He contrasted his current role with the more rigid system under former manager John Herdman, which he said focused on physical battles and limited his ability to show his skills on the ball. "I feel like last year and this year I've found myself with more freedom in terms of making decisions; where to get the ball, identify spaces and areas in which I can be impactful, and also in the decision-making side of it," Coello explained. "I feel like that freedom has allowed me to experiment a little bit as a player and find myself in positions and areas that I hadn't found myself in before and find out what kind of player I can be in those situations." Fraser praised Coello's intelligence and passing range as key assets for the team.
"The thing about Alonso is he's incredibly intelligent. He's a really, really intelligent player, and one of his superpowers is his ability to start attacks, recognizing where we have an advantage and the ability to hit the pass to get it there," Fraser said. "And his passing range is really, really wide; meaning he can make short passes, left-footed, right-footed. He can make long diagonal passes. He can make bending, long bending balls, left-footed, right-footed. So, his ability with the ball and his ability to think, those are really superpowers."
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Coello's teammates have also taken notice of his raised play. Designated player Djordje Mihailovic said the Spaniard "seems to always know what he's going to do before he gets the ball." Mihailovic added, "(He) might not be physically the best in terms of speed and stuff like that. But he makes up for it with how smart he is and how quickly he could think about the decisions he makes." Veteran midfielder Niklas Dorsch, who joined Toronto in July, called Coello one of the best central midfielders he has ever played with.
"Alonso, for me, is one of the best players I've ever played within the central midfield. His understanding of how to move, his quality on the ball is unbelievable," Dorsch said. He noted that even before his transfer, he watched TFC games and identified Coello as a formidable competitor for a starting role. Coello said he has enjoyed a quick connection with Dorsch, stating they "spoke the same football language" in their approach to progressing the ball with short passes and combination play.
The Spanish midfielder's consistent form follows a year of milestones, including his 100th appearance in all competitions for Toronto in May and his 100th MLS regular-season match for the club last month. He has been a fixture in the lineup, logging 2,056 minutes across 30 games this season after playing a career-high 2,167 minutes in 2025. Toronto enters its weekend match against the Columbus Crew in 10th place, tied on points with the ninth-place New York Red Bulls, who hold the final playoff position. Garbutt Disposal reported earlier this month that Toronto faced a defensive crisis in its playoff push.
With files from Sportsnet