Toronto FC: 4 takeaways from Carlos Salcedo’s introductory media call

4) Bob Bradley is well aware of Salcedo

Bradley’s familiarity with Salcedo comes via a painful and relatively recent experience. The 63-year-old was in charge of Los Angeles FC, when they lost the 2020 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League final 2-1 to Tigres UANL.

Bradley was well aware of Salcedo’s importance to that Tigres team. He described the defender as a winner and raved about his competitiveness, attributes which TFC hope are prevalent moving forward.

TFC’s head coach saw further proof of what Salcedo can bring, during his first training session with his new club. As per Ari Liljenwall of Mlssoccer.com, Bradley said:

"“You see right away his presence on the field. We talked about his ability to help us play from the back, he’s a very good passer. And I think so far he’s just done a great job of coming into a group, getting to know guys, being down to earth, being real. Young guys, veterans, different players, he’s just made a point of reaching out to everyone in a really good way.”"

While Salcedo was not particularly familiar with his new head coach, he made sure to do his homework when the move to Toronto FC was becoming apparent. He spoke to Carlos Vela, who played for Bradley at LAFC and, as per Sportsnet, the Mexican international only had great things to say about Bradley.

Another interesting tie between Salcedo and his new club comes from his time with Real Salt Lake, where he signed a homegrown player contract. At the time president Bill Manning held the same position in Real Salt Lake, meaning he will also have some familiarity with TFC’s seventh signing of the off-season.

What is your opinion of Salcedo? How much success do you predict he will have with Toronto FC? Let us know in the comments section below.