This is the latest installment of We Are TFC. Every week, we’ll sit down with one of the Reds and help you get to know them a little bit better, on and off the field. This week, Devang Desai chats with midfielder Benoit Cheyrou. The former Marseille star has served as a leader on and off the pitch for the Reds. We hope you’ll enjoy this series and let us know which TFC players you’d like to see profiled in the future.
Taking a look at your phone – what picture means the most to you and why?

CHEYROU: It’s a video of my son at soccer. I want to share something with my kids and soccer is one of those things.

Who is your favourite soccer player and why?

CHEYROU: It might be Fernando Redondo. He was an amazing player that could pass, shoot and defend. He was skillful. He was one of my favourite players when I was growing up.

What is your favourite pastime?

CHEYROU: Enjoying time with my family and especially my kids. I don’t want to miss out on spending time with them now and regret it later. Every minute I can spend with them I do because I love them so much and I want to see them grow up.

Is your family enjoying Toronto?

CHEYROU: Yes, they are. My kids are starting to speak really good English. Sometimes they make fun of my French accent [laughs] because they don’t have one anymore. It’s a good sign and I’m really happy about that. They really like the city.

Who is the funniest guy on the team?

CHEYROU: Danny Lovitz. Every day I improve my English thanks to him because sometimes he’ll say a joke but won’t smile so I have to figure out what kind of joke it was.

I've heard Seba is pretty funny…

CHEYROU: He is. Damien Perquis is funny as well and it’s easier to understand him [laughs]. But I think Danny is the funniest.

Who is your best friend?

CHEYROU: My brother, Bruno. He was a professional soccer player as well and he showed me the way. He’s the best person to give me advice because everything I do now in my life he did it before.

Is Bruno why you wanted to become a professional footballer?

CHEYROU: I don’t think so. I really wanted to be a professional as soon as I was 16 when I got to the Academy in Lille. Before that it was just for fun to play with my friends. To share this passion, this hobby and this job with my brother is amazing. I’m very lucky.

What about on the team. I’m assuming it’s Damien..

CHEYROU: Yes of course. We came to Toronto together. Damien is a pretty good singer.

What would you rate his ability on a scale of 1 to 10.

CHEYROU: 9.5. He’s really gifted.

Do you have any quirks or superstitions before matches?

CHEYROU: Not really. My goal is to have fun on the pitch and fun means winning the game.

Favourite Movie?

CHEYROU: I love Gladiator and Life Is Beautiful.

Favourite Music Artist?

CHEYROU: I like Drake.

How do you kill time during the off-season?

CHEYROU: When I have time off I’m spending time with my family and discovering some other sports. We don’t play a lot of Baseball or Hockey back home so it’s interesting.

I know you’re a big Basketball fan. Who is your favourite player?

CHEYROU: Of all-time? I’ll pick Magic Johnson.

If you weren’t a soccer player what would you be doing?

CHEYROU: I don’t know. I’m very lucky to have this choice because it was any easy decision to make. I was not too bad at school but I didn’t want to do something very specific.

Favourite moment with TFC thus far?

CHEYROU: When we qualified for the playoffs last year, because that was an objective for the club and for me when I came here. The work we put in was more than one year, and it was good to share that with my teammates, the staff and the fans.

Let us know who you would like to see featured in the next We Are TFC!