Toronto FC rewarded goalkeeper Quentin Westberg with a new contract Friday, seemingly consolidating his role as the MLS club's No. 1.
Westberg, 33, originally signed with Toronto last February after arriving from French club AJ Auxerre.
He started last season behind Alex Bono but took over the starting job early in the season. Reliable in goal, a good communicator and an excellent distributor of the ball, he has worn the captain's armband at times when Michael Bradley was not available.
Born in France to an American father and French mother, Westberg made 32 starts in the regular season and playoff last year — compiling a record of 12-10-9 with four shutouts.
"Q had a great first season with us and was integral in helping us win the Eastern Conference and advance to MLS Cup," Toronto GM Ali Curtis said in a statement.
Westberg made US$115,250 last season, according to the MLS Players Association. Bono, given a new contract in July 2018, earned $382,000.
Westberg's new deal covers two years plus an option year.
"Grateful to be part of this club and this city," he tweeted.
The 25-year-old Bono played six of the first nine games of the 2019 MLS campaign. Westberg started the last 25 and all four playoff outings. Bono, 4-1-2 in MLS action, did play throughout the Canadian Championship, however.
Toronto was 3-0-1 to start the season with Bono in goal. But after a 2-2 tie with visiting Chicago that saw Bono stranded in no-man's land on a C.J. Sapong goal (after a Toronto giveaway farther up the field), Westberg was given the start in Seattle.
Bono started the next game against Minnesota, giving way to Westberg for games against Portland and Orlando. Coach Greg Vanney went back to Bono for a 2-0 loss in Atlanta then handed the reins to Westberg.
TFC's history in handling goalkeepers has been uneven. Bono joins a list that includes Milos Kocic, Stefan Frei, Joe Bendik, Chris Konopka and Clint Irwin as 'keepers who could make a case for being hard done by here.
Vanney, however, has managed to avoid controversy, at least publicly, in handling his goalkeepers. He engineered a smooth change in 2017 from Irwin to Bono. And the transition from Bono to Westberg was equally slick, although Bono clearly had his own thoughts on the matter.
Bono appeared in 72 regular-season games for Toronto from 2015 to 2018. He had 10 shutouts during Toronto's 2017 championship year but that slipped to three in 2018 when TFC's goals against ballooned to 64, compared to 37 in 2017.
Bono, speaking at the start of this training camp, said the past has no bearing on how he feels now.
"I've put all the speculation and that sort of thing behind me," he said. "That inevitably happens in the off-season. People tend to talk. People tend to create rumours or spread rumours. You never know what your future's going to be like. It's possible that I could have been moved.
"I'm here. I'm happy to be here. And until this team has no more use for me, I'll continue to come in every day, put the work in, be a team player and do what's best for myself and for the team. For me that's base level of how every professional should be."
Bono spent part of the recent off-season training with Barnsley, an English second-tier side.
In other TFC news, midfielder Marky Delgado turned some heads with a tweet saying "Final year let's enjoy it," above a photo of him at training camp. He did not elaborate.
The 24-year-old Californian, entering his sixth season with Toronto, is on the last year of his current contract.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2020.
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press