TFC Dispatch: Gilberto Emerging as Potent Striker

Toronto is arguably among the biggest sports cities in North America. The Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and Toronto FC of the MLS sell out every single match, the Toronto Blue Jays of the MLB have seen relatively high levels of attendance in recent times, and the Toronto Raptors of the NBA have also been amongst the most popular sports. You see, Toronto just has a history of winning. Unfortunately, that is the only place where winning exists for Torontonians– history. The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in over 45 years, Toronto FC has not even qualified for the playoffs in the entire history of their franchise. The Blue Jays did win in the early 90s, but they beautifully (somehow) followed that up with around 20 years of playoff-less seasons, while the Raptors finally made their first playoff appearance in over 5 years this season.

This perpetual rhythm of losing has just left Torontonians classically conditioned and accustomed to losing. Every year, every franchise unveils a top player, and every year this top player fails miserably. Examples of these superstars players lie in Torsten Frings, Julian De Guzman, Mista, and Eric Hassli are prime examples for Toronto FC. Blue Jays fans can cry about the costly acquisition of R.A. Dickey, while Leafs fans have clear examples in David Clarkson and Jason Blake. The list is just too long.

So excuse us when we go, “Classic Toronto”, every time a marquee signing is announced. Of course, Toronto crashes and burns soon after. I just went through a bout of this when the Leafs were sitting pretty at the top of the division, only to lose 13 of 14 matches and miss the playoffs.

Enter Gilberto, one of Toronto FC’s marquee signings alongside Michael Bradley and Jermain Defoe. TFC signed Gilberto for $3m from Internacional. Everybody sighed and hopelessly went, “Let’s see what happens.”

The Brazilian striker had made a name for himself scoring goals in his native homeland and turned down lucrative offers from teams in Germany and Mexico in order to sign for TFC. He even raised eyebrows and promised to make an impact when the coaching staff announced that he aims to score over 20 goals in his debut season in MLS.

Toronto fans weren’t surprised when Gilberto started the season absolutely snakebitten. The mantra from the fans continued, as Gilberto hadn’t scored in his first 12 matches.

Then, in a tie game against the New York Red Bulls, TFC won a free kick outside the box. TFC’s celebrated hero, Jermain Defoe, at the time was scoring at a goal a game pace and volunteered to take the free kick. Gilberto disagreed. The two got into an absolutely ridiculous argument on the pitch, with Gilberto winning at the end and getting the rights to the free kick. Why let the striker who hasn’t shown the ability to put a ball in the net take such an important free kick? It just seemed ridiculous. Safe to say, Gilberto stuck up the “proverbial finger” by absolutely hammering in a wicked shot into the top corner, past star ‘keeper Luis Robles. Defoe ate crow, Gilberto told everyone who’s boss, and some of the other clueless TFC midfielders held their heads in their hands at that display of skill.

Fact is, that is the kind of player Gilberto has been for TFC: a tireless worker. Even though he wasn’t scoring goals at the beginning of the season, he has been fantastic at retaining possession, winning balls by utilizing his smooth footwork. The first time I watched TFC live this season, in the AMWAY Canadian Championship game, Gilberto was all over the pitch. Toronto is absolutely woeful at maintaining possession, but Gilberto more than does his part in this department. Winning 50/50 balls, dribbling into space, he made that so-called fancy footwork man Alvaro Rey look amateur. The only thing missing from his game was that final knick in the net. Enter Luke Moore midseason, who scores a couple of (lucky) goals, and Gilberto was relegated to the bench.

Passionate fans, some talented players, and a rich ownership, Toronto is definitely known as the sports town of disappointment. However, as the supremely talented Brazilian wins back a starting striker’s position, Toronto FC may shed the label of perpetual failure and perhaps make their first post-season appearance.

He is a talented striker, arguably the most talented player in the TFC lineup, with great footwork and ability. While he has only scored 4 goals in 17 appearances, Gilberto seems to be peaking at the right time in the season. He will definitely be needed to be sharp against Sporting KC tomorrow. This must-win match, against one of the top teams in MLS, will require Gilberto to be sharp and opportunistic. On a team which cannot seem to retain possession, Gilberto will need to be sharp when called upon.

Hopefully Gilberto won’t be another domino in Toronto’s history of failed superstars. If he is, I guess you can always say, there’s always next year Toronto.

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Photo by Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images