MLS Training Camp Preview: Biggest questions facing Canada's teams

Hope springs eternal for the 29 teams across Major League Soccer after training camps officially kicked off in January and with the start of the regular season slated for late February.

Pre-season is a chance for the clubs to reset and regroup, which is good news for Toronto FC and CF Montreal, who are both coming off another year in which they failed to make the playoffs.

For the Vancouver Whitecaps, it’s an opportunity to prepare for the Concacaf Champions Cup in early February and to build upon the momentum they gathered from a solid 2023 season that saw them qualify for the playoffs for only the second time in six years. 

Here are the big questions facing the three Canadian teams in MLS after they began their respective training camps earlier this month. 

How will CF Montreal rally around new coach Laurent Courtois?  

The coaching carousel at CF Montreal continued in November, when Hernán Losada was relieved of his duties. The decision to part company with the Argentine tactician came after Montreal closed out the 2023 regular season with a nine-game run that saw it claim just six out of a possible 27 points and finish two points out of a playoff spot.  

Earlier this month, Montreal hired Laurent Courtois as Losada’s replacement after he spent the past two years with Columbus Crew 2 in the MLS reserve league, where he won a league championship and was named coach of the year in 2022. Courtois, a 45-year-old from France, is Montreal’s 10th head coach since it entered MLS in 2012, and the team’s fifth bench boss in the last five years. 

The merry-go-round of coaches has led to great instability within the team and is just one reason CF Montreal has qualified for the post-season only once since 2018. This will be Courtois’s first head coaching job at the senior level. He previously oversaw youth academy teams in the U.S. and France and took charge of Columbus’ and L.A.’s teams in the MLS reserve league.  

Midfielder Mathieu Choinière, a 24-year-old from Quebec, had a breakout season in 2023 and was one of the few CF Montreal players who gave a decent account for himself. He’s looking forward to continuing his progress under his new coach who he expects to bring a new identity to the club. 

“He did great things [at Columbus] and I can’t wait to start the pre-season to see how he’s going to work,” Choinière said. 

He later added: “I don’t think it’s a challenge [playing for a new coach]. It’s just how we are going to adapt and what he’s going to bring.” 

Will Insigne, Bernardeschi finish out the year with Toronto FC?  

The futures of designated players Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi were hot topics of discussion all of last year and continued to be this off-season, when they’ve been linked with moves to Serie A clubs.  

Insigne and Bernardeschi failed to live up to their status as two of the highest-paid players in the league by combining for a meagre 10 goals and 10 assists in league play in 2023.  

While Insigne battled through injuries that sidelined him for spells last season, Bernardeschi’s commitment was called into question on several occasions, and he caused quite a stir when he questioned former coach Bob Bradley’s tactics after a heartbreaking loss. More recently, Bernardeschi made public comments suggesting he wanted to return to former outfit Juventus in January.  

Even though the Italian stars are tied to TFC until 2026, many league insiders question whether they’ll see out their contracts to the very end.  

But new coach John Herdman is talking like someone who expects both Italians to be part of his long-term plans for this coming MLS campaign. He revealed this week that Insigne and Bernardeschi are part of the team's player leadership group, which also includes Canadian Jonathan Osorio (the club’s all-time appearances leader), goalkeeper Sean Johnson and defender Shane O'Neill.  

"Their behaviour, their communication, their posture, everything is showing they're committed, fully committed. ... They're showing a passion and commitment to these guys, and they've really taken on the leadership responsibility. ... They're leading," Herdman said.  

Toronto finished dead last in the MLS league standings last year and set club records for the fewest wins (four) and points (22) in a single season. If the Reds are going to turn things around in 2024, they need the Italians to not only be fully onboard but also produce.  

“For sure, I expect more [from myself] too, honestly,” Bernardeschi said at the end of last season. “But when you are in a tough situation, when you are in a difficult situation, it’s not easy to be your best, to do your best. When you are inside a difficult situation … you suffer with the team.” 

Is this Ryan Gauld’s last season with the Vancouver Whitecaps? 

Ryan Gauld has been one of the best midfielders in MLS ever since he joined the Whitecaps from Portuguese club Sporting Clube Farense midway through the 2021 season. 

In 2022, the Scottish star scored eight goals and tallied nine assists and then followed that up last year by putting up MVP-like numbers (11 goals and 12 assists), playing a starring role in helping Vancouver qualify for the playoffs. Gauld, 28, has captivated audiences in Vancouver with his dynamic and stylish play, helping the Whitecaps draw big crowds to BC Place and making the club relevant again in the city. 

To truly be relevant, though, the Whitecaps have to go on a serious run in the playoffs and establish themselves as legitimate MLS Cup contenders. 

“If we want the attention and we want to make [Vancouver] a sports city, that’s down to us,” Gauld said. “It’s nice to see the Canucks are doing well in the NHL this year. I think we have done a good job in the last couple of years of making a positive impact in the city, and we’re trying to do that every year, to grow the club in the city and make everyone proud to be a Whitecaps’ fan.” 

Whether Gauld will be along for the ride in the long term in Vancouver remains to be seen, as the Scottish midfield wizard is out of contact at the end of this season. The Whitecaps previously came to terms on an extension with Andres Cubas, one their other DPs, well before his contract expired. But Gauld could leave if the Whitecaps don’t sign him to a new deal. 

While he hasn’t ruled out returning to Europe, Gauld has also talked about wanting to stay in Vancouver.  

“There’s been conversations” with the Whitecaps, Gauld told journalist Har Johal before the team flew to Spain last week for pre-season camp. 

“Ideally, me and the club would like to get something sorted sooner rather than later. We’re talking, the conversations are going on. Hopefully, we’ll have some good news at some point.” 

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.