Toronto FC, with only one win in 10 MLS games, announced that Aron Winter has stepped down as head coach and parted ways with the club, whose 0-9-0 start to the season was theworst in MLS history.
Director of player development Paul Mariner will become the club’s seventh head coach in franchise history. Toronto, which joined MLS in 2007, hasnever reached the playoffs.
“It was a difficult decision for both of us but one I believed was necessary given our team’s regular season results,” Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainmentexecutive vice president and COO Tom Anselmi said. “Our team has made some progress this year. … We’ve played well enough in a number of regular-season games this year, but theresults haven’t been there, and that’s where it matters most and ultimately we felt that necessitated a change.”
Winter, a former Dutch star, took the helm for the 2011 season. He leaveswith a 7-22-15 record in league play.
Mariner, a former England international, was an assistant to head coach Steve Nicol for the New England Revolution’s glory days from2004-09, helping the Revs to three straight MLS Cup appearances in 2005-07. The Revolution qualified for the postseason every year Mariner was on the bench during his time on the job before he leftto coach English Championship club Plymouth Argyle in 2009.