Friday, Apr 16, 2021. 8:45 PM
Preview CF Montreal c. Toronto fc
The word novelty rhymes with excitement and curiosity. However, Quebec soccer fans are undoubtedly feverish and curious to see how the first version of CF Montreal will fare in 2021, after all the changes made to the team in recent months.
The novelties go far beyond the name and the logo. We will see them, first, along the sideline with Wilfried Nancy, in the role of head coach, and Laurent Ciman and Jason Di Tullio, who return to the bosom of the Montreal organization as assistants.
We will also see them in a formation that said goodbye to nine players of the 2020 edition, including Bojan, Maximiliano Urruti, Orji Okwonkwo, Jukka Raitala, Rod Fanni and Anthony Jackson-Hamel, and welcomed ten others who evolved elsewhere last year. This is notably the case of midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, defenders Zorhan Bassong, Kamal Miller and Kiki Struna, as well as forwards Erik Hurtado and Bjorn Johnsen.
Several of these players should be at the first official meeting of the 2021 season, Saturday afternoon against Toronto FC at the Inter Miami CF stadium, the home of CF Montreal for at least the first three games of the local calendar.
A challenge
With so much new blood, a question arises: how long will it take for Nancy and her assistants to get the players who have spent just two weeks together during training camp to function in unison? due to international tournaments and mandatory pandemic-related quarantines?
Saturday’s meeting and the one that will follow two weeks later against the Columbus Crew, the defending MLS Cup champions, could provide an early answer.
During an interview with The Canadian Press a few days before the team’s departure for Florida, Nancy seemed fully aware of the magnitude of the task that awaits her. However, we also felt that he was eager to bring together all the elements of his group, old and new, to imbue CF Montreal with his personal touch while maintaining a certain continuity with 2020.
“Last year with Thierry (Henry), good things were put in place. This year, I will continue in the same direction, adding some things. Of course, this year, there are a lot more new players, so the interaction between the players has to take, and that takes time. We will have to find the right tools so that the players are able to perform well together. That is the biggest challenge, ”admitted Nancy.
Depth
In an ideal context, the 44-year-old Frenchman would have replaced Henry and taken charge of a team identical to the one that carved out a place in the MLS playoffs during the last meeting of the regular calendar, on November 8. Thus, a form of familiarity within the group would have been there.
However, sporting director Olivier Renard felt it necessary to make changes to a team which has won just eight of its 23 MLS games in 2020 and which conceded ten more goals than it has scored.
These changes, says the head coach, will add depth to the team and increase their leeway on the sidelines.
“Last year, we realized that we were missing players in positions. This year, whether at the level of defenders, midfielders or attackers, we have two or even three players in each position. Suddenly, that will leave me the choice, according to the matches, to make rotations, to change things on the aspect of the game, on the tactical aspect ”, underlines Nancy.
If this depth can allow CF Montreal to cut the number of goals conceded, Nancy will have achieved one of her goals. With 43 goals allowed, the Montreal team were the most generous in the Eastern Conference in 2020 and ranked 23rd among the 26 clubs on the Garber circuit.
“I like that my team is able to cause a problem for the opponent, that it is able to attack but also to defend. I can’t separate attack and defense, because it works together. I want a team that likes to play, which also likes to defend, which is very aggressive. A team that likes to play is a team that likes to pose problems for the opponent. “
Adversity
Faced with all the uncertainty surrounding CF Montreal in 2021, one thing is certain: the club will still have to play games far from Saputo stadium and train far from Center Nutrilait.
“I’m going to tell the players, and the players are already prepared for this, that for now, even home games are away games. We remain focused on the objective which is to meet the opposition and try to beat that opposition, quite simply, ”Nancy recalled.
Ideally, the team will play a first game in Montreal in June. And if spectators were to be admitted into the stadium, this return will only be more pleasant, notes the head coach.
“We just can’t wait for one thing: to come home and play at home. And even if there won’t be many spectators – I hope there will be some anyway and that the government will open the doors a little – what we want is to come back to our country and play a normal, or almost normal, football match in front of our fans, to have emotions and to give emotions to our fans. “
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