In the middle of last season, with his team dominating Major League Soccer, Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney wasn’t afraid to put a bigger challenge in front of his team. Toronto FC had reached MLS Cup in 2016 but fallen one win short of lifting the trophy. A year later, doing the double–lifting MLS Cup and winning the Supporters’ Shield—was the ultimate goal for a season that was off to a blistering start.



Lifting those trophies was plenty of motivation, but Vanney didn’t shy away from giving his team something more to achieve during a dominant regular season. As voices around the team speculated about whether Toronto could be the best team in MLS history, Vanney embraced the chase.



Could it potentially distract from the ultimate goal of MLS Cup? Might it tire out a team and its star players to pursue the most points in league history for a “Best Team Ever” label that can only really be bestowed in bar debates and listicles?