John Herdman grew up in England, cutting his teeth as a development coach for Sunderland’s youth academy. 

 

But he’s spent the majority of his career as an architect in Canada, building first the women’s national team and then men’s national team into competitive sides on the world stage. 

 

And now, after nearly two decades of success in international soccer, Herdman is turning his attention on a different construction project when it was announced last week he was stepping down as head coach of the Canadian National Team to take the helm at Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. 

 

While the focus for much of his coaching career was to build Canada’s women and men’s national teams from the ground up, his foray into the club game is more of a reclamation project. 

 

“This is a massive club with a huge heritage, and we all believe that it will get there pretty soon,” Herdman said at his introductory press conference. “So, coming into this setting is almost perfect for the experiences that we have, working with the culture here to refocus, to reinvigorate, not only the staff but the players, to get to that next level. And that next level is there for Toronto FC. It's a club that we know can reach it.”

 

Just six years ago, which in some ways feels like a lifetime ago considering the rapid growth of Major League Soccer, Toronto FC were on top of the mountain. They were first-time treble winners, claiming the Canadian Championship, the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup that season in a magical 2017 season. 

 

A year later, they came agonizingly close to becoming the first MLS side to win the Concacaf Champions League, losing to Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara on penalty kicks after memorably beating Tigres UANL and Club América in previous rounds. 

 

Toronto FC reached the MLS Cup final again in 2019, losing to the Seattle Sounders, but a first-round ouster a year later was their last playoff appearance. 

 

The star of that meteoric rise was Sebastian Giovinco, nicknamed the Atomic Ant. The diminutive Italian was a four-time MLS All-Star, three times named to the MLS Best XI and won both the MLS MVP award and Golden Boot honors as the league’s top scorer in 2015. 

 

The club legend was sold to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2019 season. Alejandro Pozuelo was expected to fill the void and when he didn’t, the club splashed the cash on Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi to be the linchpins of the attack. 

 

Through two seasons, the Italian duo have combined for 23 goals and 13 assists, an underwhelming output for two of the league’s highest paid players. 

 

The Reds finished 26th (out of 27 teams) in 2021 and 27th (out of 28 teams) in 2022. This season, Toronto are 28th (out of 29 teams), with only the Colorado Rapids below them in the league table. 

 

Enter John Herdman.

 

“I never thought I’d be leaving that maple leaf behind, but swapping it for a Toronto FC jersey is a huge privilege,” Herdman said. “Moments will come in your career where an opportunity comes up and it seems to hit the bullseye with everything that you align to, what motivates you and drives you, and this was that opportunity. I get the chance now with my staff to get on the grass every single day, work and develop players. That's been a dream of mine and to be able to do it in a club of this stature is nothing but special.”

 

Herdman’s star began its ascent in 2006 when he was named the New Zealand women’s national team coach. He led the U-20 team to the World Championship in 2006 and the U-20 World Cup four years later. Herdman guided the women’s national team to the World Cup in 2007 and again in 2011, as well as the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. 

 

He was hired to take over the Canadian women’s national team in 2011, inheriting a team that finished last in 2011 FIFA World Cup qualifying. 

 

A gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico was followed by a bronze medal at the London Olympic Games in 2012. In 2015, Canada reached the quarterfinals at the World Cup on home soil and a year later, they won another Olympic bronze medal. 

 

Canada reached a high of No. 4 in the FIFA World Rankings under Herdman’s watch. 

 

He sent shockwaves through the country and made world headlines when he stepped down from the women’s national team to take over the men’s team in 2018. 

 

Three years later, Canada jumped from No. 72 to 40 in the FIFA World Rankings and finished atop Concacaf World Cup qualifying in 2022, clinching the country’s first World Cup berth in 36 years. 

 

Herdman became the first coach to guide a women’s national team and a men’s national team to the World Cup. 

 

“I've known John a long time, always had a really good relationship,” Toronto FC president Bill Manning said. “He was different from everyone we came across. He’s more than just a coach, he's someone that wants to build a culture, not only in the locker room, but within the club. We've had a great culture and we don't have that right now.”

 

Although Canada failed to advance out of the group stage, it felt like the appearance was an important hurdle, especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico. 

 

Herdman publicly criticized Canada Soccer for a lack of funding and resources in the aftermath of a 2-0 defeat to the United States in the Concacaf Nations League final in June. 

 

Less than three months later, Herdman stepped aside to take over as Toronto FC head coach. 

 

“I think the organization's undergoing a level of leadership change, and for me, this is the time,” Herdman said of Canada. “You feel that in your gut, you feel in your heart, that there's a moment it's time to step off and go and fulfill another dream. And that dream was to be on the grass with players day in, day out, developing people in the way that you haven't had that opportunity, probably since we were in our residencies with the women's national team.”

 

Herdman is the fourth Toronto FC coach since Greg Vanney, the most successful coach in the club’s history, left to take the same job at the LA Galaxy at the end of the 2020 season. 

 

He replaced Bob Bradley, who was 14-26-19 in his year-and-a-half as head coach. 

 

“John's track record speaks for itself,” Toronto FC general manager Jason Hernandez said. “The teams that have had the best success that I've been on or been around the culture was great, the culture was self driven – it’s driven by the changing room, it's driven by the team. There needs to be certain steps taken to build the foundation and the framework for that culture to thrive on its own and he's shown clearly that he can do that.”

 

Herdman officially takes the helm on Oct. 1 and will largely be evaluating the current squad before what is likely an offseason of change. 

 

“We know the size of this club, we know the potential of this club, we know what it means to the players like Jonathan Osorio to bring it back to the glory of what we experienced. That's the mission, to bring it back to winning,” Herdman said. 

 

“That will take a little bit of time – I'm hoping it doesn't take a great amount of time,” Herdman added. “For me it's 'seek to understand before you're understood' – we've really got to understand what it is going to take to evolve, but it's exciting. Any coach in North America would give an arm to work for this organization.”