“A lot of players come here and don’t know the club has been around for 30 years. »
Posted at 5:50 p.m.
For Patrice Bernier, this is where the new CF Montreal logo achieves its greatest mission. It contains the elements that were part of “the DNA of what the club was”. And we add the date “1993”, the year the club was founded.
“For many, it’s 2012 [lors de l’entrée en MLS], explains Bernier, met on the sidelines of the announcement of the unveiling of the new image of CF Montreal Friday at the Center Nutrilait. For some even, it’s 2015 when Didier Drogba arrived. »
“History is rich. And that makes it possible to understand why, when you arrive at a club, there is the ambition to do much better than simply being present. Because there is a habit of winning. »
Same story for sports director Olivier Renard.
“A lot of players didn’t know that we were a club that had won titles,” he told The Press.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
“It’s not an insult to the new logo. But for the players, the most important thing is the connection with the fans, ”assures sports director Olivier Renard.
“You know, a player will agree to play with any logo,” continues Renard.
He takes the example of defender Robert Thorkelsson, who arrived in the summer of 2021. “He may not even have known that there were frustrations between the supporters and the club. He arrived, we gave him a sweater with a logo and he plays with it. »
The players were able to see the presentation the day before. We explained to them the reasons for the change and the importance of the elements that are coming back to the fore today.
“Our players understand the frustration of the supporters, explains Renard. But their biggest desire is for the link between the supporters and the club to come back as before. »
“It’s not an insult to the new logo. But for the players, the most important thing is the connection with the fans. »
His statement is corroborated by the team’s co-captain, Samuel Piette.
“As players, what we want and what we feel is the presence of fans in Stade Saputo and on the field when we play. »
He notes that indeed, “there is less atmosphere on one side of the field”, the result of the absence of the Ultras who are still protesting against the rebrand of the Montreal Impact.
“In short, what we want is to experience emotions on the pitch. And share them with supporters. »
“We build on the past”
Wilfried Nancy, pragmatic as usual, believes that the logo alone will not be able to ensure that fans will be back in large numbers.
“I hope they will be there with us,” he told the media on Friday. But it’s the way we’re going to play on the pitch that will decide whether the fans will buy in or not. »
“If I lose or win games, it’s not going to be about the logo. »
He notes the “thinking” behind the new proposal.
“The most important thing is that the club was able to take a step back and analyze things. »
“We must not forget that the club has been there since 1993. […] But as I often say, we don’t live with the past. We build on the past. »
Nancy recalls that he won his first title with the current logo: the 2021 Canadian Championship.
“Now there is a new one. Hoping that once again we do things well on the ground. »
Starting with Saturday’s game against FC Cincinnati at Stade Saputo.
“It’s going to be a good game tomorrow,” said Nancy. We are going to present our new logo to them! »
Hilarity followed.