Toronto FC star Benoit Cheyrou has heaped praise on his new head coach Greg Vanney.

Reds boss Vanney made a largely unprecedented move to France in 2002 to join Bastia where he remained until 2005, making over 60 appearances.

Cheyrou, who spent 15 years in France with Lille, Auxerre and Marseille, lauded Vanney for what he achieved in Ligue 1 as somewhat of a pioneer for US soccer.

"It was weird for French people to see American people come to France, so everybody knows him there," Cheyrou said.

"For French players, it's not every weekend you have an American teammate or opponent. But he showed that he had the level to play there, and he did great things there too."