Toronto FC officially made a high-profile addition to the technical side on Wednesday, as the club announced Robin Fraser had joined Greg Vanney's staff as an assistant coach.
Fraser comes to Toronto after spending the last two years with the New York Red Bulls, whose new sporting director Ali Curtisannounced the firing of head coach Mike Petke – and the subsequent hiring of new head coach Jesse Marsch – early Wednesday morning.
Big Apple Soccer first reported the link between TFC and Fraser on Tuesday.
A decorated MLS defender, Fraser was widely credited with having a large influence on the Red Bulls teams that won the Supporters’ Shield in 2013 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014. Prior to joining New York, Fraser served as head coach of Chivas USA in 2011 and 2012 and was an assistant at Real Salt Lake from 2007-10.
Wednesday’s move reunites Fraser with Vanney, who took over as head coach from Ryan Nelsen during the 2014 season. The two were teammates with the LA Galaxy from 1996-2000, both worked in the Real Salt Lake organization from 2008-2011 and Vanney served as an assistant under Fraser in 2011 and 2012 at Chivas USA.
