Sébastien Le Toux

Sébastien Le Toux (French pronunciation: [sebastjɛ̃ lə tu]; born 10 January 1984) is a French retired professional footballer who spent the majority of his career in Major League Soccer, including six seasons at Philadelphia Union.

Sébastien Le Toux
Le Toux playing against Seattle
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-01-10) 10 January 1984
Place of birth Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Youth career
2001–2004 Rennes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Lorient 15 (1)
2007–2008 Seattle Sounders 47 (24)
2009 Seattle Sounders FC 28 (1)
2010–2011 Philadelphia Union 62 (25)
2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 19 (4)
2012 New York Red Bulls 14 (1)
2013–2016 Philadelphia Union 113 (25)
2016 Colorado Rapids 11 (1)
2017 D.C. United 16 (2)
Total 325 (84)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:45, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

A versatile attacker, who in 2010 became Philadelphia's first All-Star representative, was widely regarded as one of the hardest workers in the league, winning the MLS Individual Fair Play Award in both 2010 and 2011. Le Toux racked up over 263 career MLS appearances with 59 goals and 57 assists in nine years.[1]

Playing career

Club

Le Toux was part of the youth setup at Rennes, and briefly played for Lorient in Ligue 2, prior to moving to the United States.

Seattle Sounders FC

Le Toux unsuccessfully tried out for MLS side FC Dallas, before eventually signing with the Seattle Sounders of the USL First Division in early 2007. Le Toux netted 10 goals for the Sounders in 2007, tying him with Charles Gbeke of the Montreal Impact as the division's top goal-scorer; he went on to score 24 goals in 54 league appearances for the team. On 28 September 2007, Le Toux became Seattle's fourth USL First Division Most Valuable Player.[2]

On 8 May 2008, Le Toux was the first player signed by the Seattle Sounders FC following their expansion into Major League Soccer.[3][4]

He scored the first goal in a 1–1 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy, but saw more success in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on the run to the 2009 Open Cup Final and had an assist on the winning goal to Roger Levesque in the 2–1 victory at RFK Stadium against D.C. United.

Philadelphia Union

Le Toux was not among Seattle's protected 11 players for the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft and was selected by Philadelphia Union.[5][6] He scored a hat trick in the Philadelphia Union's first official home match in Major League Soccer as the Union defeated D.C. United 3–2.[7] He scored his 10th goal of the season in the 33rd minute for the Union, taking a pass from rookie Danny Mwanga and sending a clean shot past Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen.[8][9] Le Toux scored on a penalty deep into stoppage time to give the Philadelphia Union a 2–1 win over Toronto FC. He scored once again against his former club Seattle Sounders, trailing 1–0 entering the second half, Le Toux got the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 54th minute.[10] He finished the 2010 MLS season with 14 league goals. On 8 June, Le Toux was named a nominee for the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.[11]

On 18 January 2012, he wrote "on a jet plane to England"[12] the day after Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle confirmed that the striker was having a trial with the Premier League side.[13] The trial, however, did not lead to a contract offer.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Le Toux at Burnaby Sports Complex West

On 31 January 2012, Philadelphia traded Le Toux to Vancouver Whitecaps FC for allocation money.[14] Le Toux scored four minutes into his MLS debut for the Whitecaps on 10 March, a 2–0 home victory over new side Montreal Impact.[15]

New York Red Bulls

Le Toux was traded to New York Red Bulls on 13 July 2012 in exchange for Dane Richards and allocation money.[16] He scored 24 minutes into his first game with the Red Bulls vs. Seattle Sounders on 15 July 2012 in a match that ended in a 2–2 draw. In his second game, the 1–0 home win against Chicago Fire, Le Toux got the assist for a goal from Thierry Henry with a cross-field ball to the striker.

Return to Philadelphia

On 6 December 2012 Le Toux was traded back to Philadelphia Union in a sign-and-trade from New York Red Bulls. Philadelphia sent allocation money along with Josué Martínez to New York.[17] He scored in the 17th minute of his debut back with the Philadelphia Union and the 2013 Major League Soccer season opener, doing so two years in a row.[18]

Colorado Rapids

On 3 August 2016, Le Toux was traded to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for General Allocation Money.[19]

D.C. United

On 24 January 2017, Le Toux was signed to D.C. United as a free agent.[20] He scored his first goal for DC against the New England Revolution on 22 April 2017. In the next game, he would score his second and last goal for DC against Atlanta United FC on 30 April 2017.[1] Le Toux and United mutually agreed to terminate his contract on 17 August 2017.[21]

Retirement

In May 2018, Le Toux announced his retirement from professional soccer. Making a name for himself as a top player for the Philadelphia Union, Le Toux signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire as a Philadelphia player.[22] His retirement ceremony was held on 23 June 2018 during a home match against Vancouver Whitecaps, where he was the first inductee into the Union's Ring of Honor.[22][23]

Post playing career

After his retirement from professional soccer, Le Toux founded Le Toux Soccer Development in 2018, a private soccer coaching service he owns and operates.[24][25]

During the 2019 season, Le Toux made his broadcast debut providing pregame, halftime, and postgame commentary during Philadelphia Union matches.[26]

Currently, Le Toux is the Head Coach for the Shipley School Girls' Varsity Soccer team.[27]

Personal

Le Toux was born and raised in Rennes, France. He has two brothers and one sister.

On 5 August 2010, it was announced that Le Toux has received a United States green card, making him a permanent resident of the country and qualifying him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[28]

Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
ClubSeasonLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
FC Lorient 2004–05 Ligue 2 1200010130
2005–06 Ligue 2 31300061
Total 1513010191
Seattle Sounders 2007 USL First Division 241055503415
2008 USL First Division 231455203019
Total 47241010706434
Seattle Sounders FC 2009 Major League Soccer 2814120342
Philadelphia Union 2010 Major League Soccer 281400002814
2011 Major League Soccer 341100213612
Total 622500216426
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2012 Major League Soccer 1942200216
New York Red Bulls 2012 Major League Soccer 1411000151
Philadelphia Union 2013 Major League Soccer 3232000343
2014 Major League Soccer 291253003415
2015 Major League Soccer 31852003610
2016 Major League Soccer 2123000242
Total 113251550012830
Colorado Rapids 2016 Major League Soccer 1410000141
D.C. United 2017 Major League Soccer 82000000
Career total 327833818131365101

Source: Soccerway Stats

Honors

Club

Stade Rennes Youth

Seattle Sounders (USL)

Seattle Sounders FC

Individual

References
  1. "Sebastien Le Toux | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. "Final USL-1 Awards announced: Q & A Session with goalkeepers McIntosh & Eylander". usl1.uslsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  3. "Sounders FC signs first player". Seattle Times. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  4. "MLS Salaries" (PDF). MLS Players Union. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  5. Romero, Jose (23 November 2009). "The Protected 11 from Sounders FC". The Seattle Times.
  6. Union select 10 players in expansion draft Archived 28 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "VIDEO: Le Toux Nets Hat Trick In Home Debut of the Union". The Offside. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  8. "Major League Soccer". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  9. "Revs Rally For Philly Draw". soccer365.com. 365 Corporation. 1 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010.
  10. "MLS: Philadelphia 3, Seattle 1". upi.com. United Press International. 27 June 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  11. "2011". Philadelphia Union. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  12. Sébastien Le Toux [@SebastienLeToux] (17 January 2012). "On a jet plane to England" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 January 2012 – via Twitter.
  13. "Coyle confirms Le Toux arrival". Sky Sports. British Sky Broadcasting. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  14. "Union trade Le Toux to Whitecaps FC". philadelphiaunion.com. Philadelphia Union. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  15. "Report: Vancouver Whitecaps v Montreal Impact - Major League Soccer". soccernet.espn.go.com. ESPN Soccernet. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  16. "'Caps acquire Jamaican international Richards and allocation money from Red Bulls for Le Toux". whitecapsfc.com. Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  17. "Union reacquires forward Sebastien Le Toux". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  18. Dave Zeitlin (2 March 2013). "MLS Match Recap: Philadelphia Union 1, Sporting Kansas City 3". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  19. "Colorado Rapids acquire Sebastien Le Toux, trade Luis Solignac to Chicago". MLSsoccer.com. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  20. "United sign MLS veteran Sébastien Le Toux". D.C. United. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  21. "United and Sébastien Le Toux mutually terminate contract". 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  22. Charles Boehm (7 May 2018). "Sebastien Le Toux to retire with Philadelphia Union, join new Ring of Honor". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  23. Ryan Bright (23 June 2018). "Sebastien Le Toux Immoralized Union Ring of Honor". nbsports.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  24. "Le Toux Soccer Development". Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  25. Jonathan Tannenwald (8 May 2018). "'My heart is here,' Sébastien Le Toux says of retirement with the Union". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  26. Pete Schlenker (27 March 2019). "Union legend Sebastian Le Toux to make his broadcast debut this weekend". Brotherly Game. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  27. "Team Detail - US Shipley School". www.shipleyschool.org. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  28. "Le Toux Receives Green Card". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  29. "Columbus Crew SC's Federico Higuain joins MLS 50-50 club | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
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