The 'worst team in the world' are champions of Canada. Seems Toronto FC aren't quite as hopeless as their own striker would have us believe.

That's not so say all is rich and rosy for the boys of BMO Field. They're still seeking an end to the worst start in Major League Soccer history, a nine-game run of losses that has left their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

But at least by beating Vancouver 1-0 on Wednesday night, Toronto has secured cross-country bragging rights for the fourth year in a row. And this time, they didn't even need an act of God to help them win, a welcome change from last's year's championship crowning aided by a powerful thunderstorm that wiped out a Whitecaps lead and forced a replay.

Still, a return run through the Champions League, rather than an MLS playoff push, will be a poor substitute for the long-suffering souls who pay money from their own pockets to watch TFC play, a declining group whose Saturday afternoons this spring have brought nothing but a streak of dire defeats, each more demoralizing than the last. 

No, not until his team ceases to spend 30-plus weeks wandering in the MLS wilderness can Aron Winter's reign as Toronto coach be considered anything close to a success. But even if they lose again this Saturday, or fail to even tie fellow strugglers Philadelphia, the TFC brain trust (such as it is) should resist calls to fire Winter and find a replacement. With six years of revolving doors to the coach's office still spinning behind them, the club can't afford another change right now, no matter how wretched the won-loss record looks.

It's been a strange season so far for Toronto, with the heights of Champions League success right out of the gate soon tempered by an injury to captain Torsten Frings in the first league game. Even when he returned, Frings couldn't find a way out of the morass; his gaffe led to an opening-minute goal in a 3-2 home loss to Chicago in late April, the only game so far in which TFC has actually held a lead (a feat they managed for less than five minutes).

But midweek success against Montreal in the Canadian semifinals, a 1-1 draw away to Vancouver in the opening leg of the finals, even a rejig of the coaching pyramid prompted by a clear-the-air team meeting, made no difference to Toronto's terrible league form, with old foe Dwayne DeRosario potting in the opening minute of a 3-1 loss to DC United last weekend.

That was the result that got Dutch striker and designated player Danny Koevermans wagging his tongue about TFC being 'the worst team in the world,' a fractious comment he felt the need to back up when asked about it at practice two days later. Koevermans was conspicuously absent from the starting lineup against Vancouver, later denied the chance to come on as a substitute after a red card to Julian deGuzman forced Winter into a tactical rethink.

Not just by hiring him after employing five coaches in four seasons, but also by implementing his style and system throughout every level of the organization, from the top of first team all the way down to the lowest level of its academy, Toronto FC has gone all in on Winter. He's already the longest-serving boss in the team's mostly empty existence, but he needs more time to make his mark. Something has to stick here, even if it means waiting a bit longer for a winner, because all the bouncing around between coaches that came before was no help to anyone in the end.

With league losses piling up, and Eastern Conference opponents pulling away in the playoff race, retaining Winter might not be the most popular position right now. But sometimes you've got to have faith, hope for the best and see how it all plays out, rather than making a rash move you end up regretting. Or, look at it in the terms of those fans who've stuck with TFC through more years of thin than thick, the ones who hung a banner from the stands behind the south goal at Wednesday's game. "Loyal we began,” it read, “Loyal we remain." 

There's promise and potential in Aron Winter's team. Record notwithstanding, he deserves that loyalty be extended at least a little longer.