TORONTO – Aron Winter hasn’t lost that old-school charm and sensibility that he routinely displayed during his embatttled tenure as Toronto FC coach.

Reached by phone at his home in the Netherlands by Sportsnet on Friday, the Dutchman offered a very warm hello as though he was hearing from a dear friend he had lost touch with after several years. He then asked for a detailed report on how this correspondent’s family was doing, and insisted on reminiscing about the spirited exchanges we had in the press scrums.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, the direction of the conversation quickly changed and we got down to business.

To answer the obvious question: Yes, he’s fully aware that Toronto FC will host the Seattle Sounders in Saturday’s MLS Cup final at BMO Field. And despite being chased out of town after TFC started the 2012 Major League Soccer season with nine consecutive losses, he couldn’t be happier for the team that was his first coaching assignment at the senior level.

“Honestly, I’m so ecstatic and overjoyed for TFC. I’ve been following them along the playoffs, and it’s great to see them in the final. They really deserve this. The city, MLSE and the fans especially deserve to have a winning team after so many difficult years,” Winter offered.

“I wish I could be here. But please tell everybody back in Toronto that my heart is still with Toronto FC. I love that wonderful city and the team. They can consider me the 12th man for the game on Saturday because I will be cheering them on from here in Holland.

“The fact they are doing it well is great to see because TFC means a lot to me.”

“Doing it well” was a folksy term that Winter often used when speaking to the local media. English was not his first language, so he often relied on unique phrases, such as “doing it well,” that may not have been so eloquent, but always managed to get the message across.

Asked about how much of TFC’s playoff run he’s watched, he again used the inelegant but descriptive phrase.

“They are doing it well, no? I saw the [both legs of the Eastern Conference final] against Montreal—what a series! That was incredible football. When they were losing 3-0, I thought that it was over. But I’ve been very impressed with Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, and they helped TFC fight back. It was wonderful to see,” Winter said.

He’s also been pleased to watch Jonathan Osorio play a major role in TFC’s run to the final. Osorio made his MLS debut the year after Winter was fired, but the Dutchman remembered the Canadian midfielder from his days in the team’s youth system. Even back then, he thought Osorio had potential to become a starter in MLS.

“I remember Jonathan, and Ashtone [Morgan], Jordan [Hamilton] and [Quillan] Roberts. Osorio, I remember, as being very good on the ball. It’s good to see the young Canadians doing it well—I always said player development is so important, and that Toronto had to build for the future. It looks like they have done that,” Winter stated.

He’s been impressed with Toronto’s current crop of designated players in Giovinco, Altidore and Michael Bradley. He admitted he’d have loved to have them when he coached the team—he had Danny Koevermans, Thorsten Frings and Julian de Guzman as DPs.

“Bradley, what a player. So smart, and a general on the pitch. Altidore, so big and athletic, and he can score goals. Giovinco is small, but he is tough, and he can make things happen. Such a magical player,” Winter said.

Hired by TFC in 2011, Winter was fired the following May after the Reds’ horrible start to the regular season. After leaving Toronto, he returned to his native Netherlands where he coached the country’s under-19 team for a two-year spell. He led the side to the 2015 and 2016 UEFA Euro Under-19 Championships, before parting ways with the Dutch FA earlier this year.

Winter currently serves as under-19 team coach for Dutch outfit Ajax, one of many high-profile clubs, along with Lazio and Inter Milan, he played for during his career as a star midfielder.

Despite his troubled reign as TFC coach, Winter has nothing but positive memories about the time he spent at the club, and about his experiences in the city and with the MLSE organization.

“It was a wonderful experience. I cherished my time in Toronto because it’s a great city. I loved living in Canada. Things did not turn out well with TFC in the end, but I am so happy they are doing it well, now. They deserve it. I wish them nothing but luck for the Cup final,” Winter said.

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