Who will captain Toronto FC after Torsten Frings' retirement?

On the day that Toronto FC said goodbye to captain Torsten Frings, Reds supporters are left both wondering about what might have been, and what’s next for the team with just four days before its season-opener in Vancouver.

Frings, who announced his retirement after 18 seasons, never really had the impact Toronto had hoped when he joined the club. When he was on the pitch, he showed flashes of pure class and was an anchor in the 46 appearances he made with Toronto. However, injuries hampered the 36-year-old, limiting him more often than not. His offseason hip surgery was the main reason for his retirement. He came off the bench in one preseason game, but realized soon after that he wasn’t fit. “During preseason we discovered that my recovery would take longer than expected,” Frings told reporters Tuesday. “I always want to do what’s best for the team and that is why I have decided to step away.”

Without Frings in the fold, Toronto is now in search of a captain to help lead a club that is coming off a disastrous 5-21-8 season. The Reds have a lot of new faces in the room this year and the new players will need to come together quickly to avoid another debacle. As of Tuesday afternoon, Toronto had yet to name a captain, but early speculation is centre back Darren O’Dea might be handed the armband. Even if that’s the case, Toronto general manager and president Kevin Payne expects the team’s leadership duties to be handled by a committee.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any one player that will assume the role that Torsten has had with our team, but my hope is that we’ll see several individuals step up and start to assume more responsibility,” Payne said. That’s likely the best-case scenario. New coach Ryan Nelsen has his work cut out for him. Toronto’s defending was positively terrible most of last year and the attacking wasn’t much better. The good news about Frings’ retirement is Toronto now has two Designated Player spots open to fill.

Outside of that, Toronto FC is a complete mystery as the club gets ready to open the year Saturday in Vancouver. The Reds hope striker Danny Koevermans can return to form following his ACL injury and rookie Canadian Kyle Bekker gives TFC fans something to cheer about. The Reds hope Luis Silva can build upon a strong year and continue to create offensive chances while Nelsen figures out how to get the club to defend. When it comes right down to it, there is a lot of hoping and speculating going around the Toronto FC camp right now, but the first step is to at least be competitive. This side needs to put last season in the rear-view mirror and begin a new chapter. Maybe Frings moving on is just the next step in that process.