Jim Brennan, Toronto FC’s first signing and captain, likes what he sees

On holiday with his family in Jamaica, the first player to pull on Toronto FC’s jersey has noticed people wearing some familiar gear.

Jim Brennan, the MLS franchise’s first signing and captain, likes what he sees in the Caribbean and in his former team back home.

“They’re great to watch at the moment. They’re playing good attacking football,” he said by phone on the eve of Game 1 of Toronto’s Eastern Conference final showdown with Montreal. “I’ve gone down and watched the playoff games and been absolutely amazed at the sea of fans and how involved they are. The stadium looks awesome and the team’s playing fantastic. Rightly so, they deserved to be in the position they are in.

“Absolutely, of course, I’m really proud to have been involved with the club. And I still support the club, my kids do, my family does. I’m down in Jamaica right now and you see a lot of people walking around with TFC hats and T-shirts and jerseys. They’re talking about the game in Jamaica right now. It’s pretty cool.”

Brennan, who signed with Toronto in September 2006, retired in April 2010 after logging 84 games and 7,460 minutes. TFC’s first MLS all-star, the native of Newmarket, Ont., won fans for his gritty play, ignoring a broken wrist and ribs to take the field.

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He went on serve as assistant general manager, academy coach and first-team assistant coach before leaving when Toronto cleaned house in August 2014, firing manager Ryan Nelsen and all but one of his staff.

Brennan has no regrets.

“I understand the business completely. No hard feelings whatsoever.”

As an expansion team, Toronto endured a rocky start in 2007. The team lost its first four games, outscored 10-0 in three outings on the road and one at home.

But the team rebounded to defeat visiting Chicago 3-1 on May 12 with Danny Dichio notching the franchise’s first ever goal in the 24th minute.

“For all of us, it was a huge relief,” Brennan recalled. “We were dying to get that first goal. When it came, it was a feeling you can never describe … That was one of the best moments of my career.”

Commemorative seat cushions flew out of the stands at BMO Field like rice at a wedding as a raucous sellout crowd of 20,041 discovered the freebies had Frisbee-like properties. Dichio, now a senior coach at the Toronto FC academy, was sent off 20 minutes later. 

”I don’t think anyone’s ever been killed by a seat cover but it’s certainly not pleasant getting hit by them,” then Chicago coach Dave Sarachan said at the time. ”I think they’re going to have to rethink their marketing strategy a little bit.”

Brennan has fonder memories.

“I remember everything,” Brennan said. “Walking out and seeing the crowd, realizing that professional soccer was back in the city. I think we all had a gut feeling that this time it was here to stay and it was going to be massive.”

Still it was an uphill battle on the pitch. Toronto went 6-17-7 on the season.

“It was hard work trying to get the right team to play, trying to get things going,” Brennan said. “But it’s amazing to see how far the club and the team have come from when we started.” 

The 39-year-old Brennan, honoured by the club before a game in July, remains front and centre at TFC.

He was the first to go up on the franchise’s Wall of Honour at BMO Field (Dichio is the only other member) which is currently being revamped by the club. At the team’s training centre, he is among the team’s MLS all-stars honoured with portraits on the wall.

Brennan went over to England as a 17-year-old, playing for Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield, Norwich City and Southampton. Forest paid 1.5 million pounds (C$2.5 million) for him in October 1999, a record for a Canadian at the time.

A combative fullback-midfielder who usually had plenty to say and wasn’t shy about sharing, the energetic Brennan added sandpaper wherever he went. He won 49 caps and scored six goals for Canada, starting every game in the historic 2000 Gold Cup triumph.

Then Canadian manager Holger Osieck dubbed him The Move.

”He kept on telling me ‘Go at the player, do the move and then go around him,”’ Brennan told The Canadian Press in a 2002 interview. ”These guys started calling me The Move after that.”

Brennan, who has mellowed in recent years, is in the Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame both as an individual and a member of the Gold Cup-winning team.

Today he is executive director for the Aurora Youth Soccer Club, enjoying both the job and the time it allows with his family.

“When you’re in the pros, you’re non-stop,” he said. “You’re gone for the pre-season, you’re gone for a month, It was just nice to be able to take the kids to school in the morning, pick them up and have the weekends to just enjoy a good Canadian summer. I never got to do that during my career, as a player or coach.

“It’s nice. I’m enjoying the other side of life now.”

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press