CF Montreal fans suspected that it would be difficult for the team to repeat its exploits of 2022, but they probably expected much better in 2023.
In the space of a few months, the euphoria of a record season turned into a succession of disappointments. Eliminated on the last day of the regular calendar, the Bleu-blanc-noir took a step backwards which left many questions about its future.
To rub salt in the wound a little more, the Montreal team watched some of its former members lift the MLS Cup with panache earlier in December.
Here is the autopsy of a season during which the cake never seemed to rise for CF Montreal.
The machine does not start
The start of the season is often complicated for CF Montreal, whether due to the camp divided into two locations, injuries or numerous trips abroad.
As in 2022, Montrealers took time to get going in 2023. It took a spectacular comeback at the Olympic Stadium, in the fourth match, for them to obtain a first victory. Despite this, they still equaled the worst points haul in their history after seven outings (three).
In the meantime, the infirmary was full and the sports therapists were busy from the beginning to the end of the season.
Goalkeeper James Pantemis, forwards Romell Quioto and Mason Toye as well as midfielder Samuel Piette were all injured for several months.
Midfielders Mathieu Choinière and Lassi Lappalainen, as well as defender Aaron Herrera, were also sidelined due to injury, forcing head coach Hernan Losada to juggle his lineup on several occasions.
Poor attack
One of CF Montreal’s big problems this season has been its difficulty in generating attack. Some talked about the lack of talent or chemistry, others brought up an unstructured game system.
The Bleu-blanc-noir was shut out 15 times in 2023 and boasted the fourth-worst offense in MLS with 36 goals in 34 games. Choinière eventually finished atop the scorers with five goals, but his total would have given him the lead over only one other MLS club, Toronto FC – the worst.
These problems filling the net forced the vice-president and chief sporting director, Olivier Renard, to react.
During the season, Renard added striker Ariel Lassiter and midfielder Bryce Duke from Inter Miami CF, as well as striker Kwadwo Opoku from Los Angeles FC.
The Duke experiment as a creative and attacking midfielder was successful in the first weeks, but it turned sour at the end of the season. The 22-year-old has made just three starts in his last nine games, while being held off the scoresheet.
Opoku showed more promise, hitting the target four times in 12 games. His speed and technical qualities were highlighted and he showed that he was also capable of distributing the ball.
Opoku seemed to have good chemistry with young forwards Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Sunusi Ibrahim, who also had some eyes widening at the end of the season. The trio was able to generate offense, but did they show enough to give fans hope for 2024?
A tale of two seasons
Beyond injuries, CF Montreal was affected by its inconsistency abroad and its inability to bring its successes at the Saputo stadium to opposing fields.
At a certain point during the season, very few teams wanted to come face the Montreal squad in front of their fans. Goalie Jonathan Sirois and his teammates posted six consecutive shutout victories at Saputo Stadium, from April 22 to June 21, which is a team record.
Things took a slight turn for the worse down the stretch, as the club went 1-1-3 in its last five home games, including dropped points against the Chicago Fire and FC Cincinnati.
However, CF Montreal would not have been in such a precarious position if it had been able to amass more points abroad. The 2-13-2 record was largely insufficient and the team was shut out 12 times on opposing teams.
Needing points from Columbus in the final game of the season, the Bleu-blanc-noir was once again dominated and lost 2-1 to eventually be excluded from the playoffs by two points.
The coaching carousel
Last December, after losing the services of Wilfried Nancy to the Crew, Renard handed over control to Losada, mentioning that he wanted to enter into continuity.
What was seen on the field didn’t quite resemble what fans had enjoyed as a spectacle in 2022, to Renard’s surprise.
The attack certainly lacked finishing, but it also lacked creativity. Veterans like Rudy Camacho and Kamal Miller, traded during the season, also suggested that the way of playing did not quite suit the style advocated by the players. Herrera added that the team didn’t seem well prepared.
Things especially got worse during the last weeks of the season. Losada gave veteran Victor Wanyama very few minutes and the 32-year-old midfielder spoke of a big lack of communication between the two men during the end-of-season review.
Not to mention Piette’s exit following an embarrassing setback in Atlanta at the end of September. The captain highlighted the lack of consistency in the team’s ideas and the failures on the tactical level.
CF Montreal finished 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the playoffs, and Losada was fired about two weeks after going 12-17-5 in his only season at the club’s helm.
The next head coach of CF Montreal will be its 10th since entering MLS in 2012.
Of progression
There has not been only negative in Montreal this season and several Quebecers have progressed in 2023.
Left out as a starter in the first game of the campaign, Choinière showed his offensive and defensive qualities on the field and his hard work. He was rewarded by being named to the MLS All-Star Game and earning a first cap with Canada.
When he arrived at camp, Sirois was considered the Bleu-blanc-noir’s number two goalie behind Pantemis. The latter’s injury, however, opened the door for Sirois, who established himself as the undisputed starter. He recorded 11 shutouts in 2023 and was named the club’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Young midfielder Nathan Saliba also gained ground in 2023. Used as a starter at the start of the season, Saliba took a step back and acted as a substitute for a few months before finally taking the position from Wanyama.
Losada has often spoken about the pride of using local players and he took that to another level on Aug. 26 in a home duel against the New England Revolution. For the first time in MLS history, there were six Quebecers starting a match, namely Piette, Choinière, Saliba, Sirois, Vilsaint and Zachary Brault-Guillard.
While waiting for Messi, there was Nancy
The arrival in MLS of star player Lionel Messi created a real shock wave in the world of soccer. The Argentinian signed a lucrative contract with Inter Miami CF, and his friends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba followed him to Florida. The results were convincing.
During the League Cup, Messi was sensational and he led the tournament with 10 goals. Above all, he helped Inter Miami CF, one of the worst teams in MLS at the time, defeat Nashville SC on penalties in the final and win the new format of this tournament featuring all the teams in the MLS and Liga MX, in Mexico.
CF Montreal did not welcome Messi to the Saputo stadium, but Nancy returned to the home of his former club.
Presenting an offensive and spectacular style, the Nancy Crew defeated the Bleu-blanc-noir 4-2 before triumphing 2-1 in Columbus in the last match of the season. This setback also sounded the death knell for Montrealers’ season.
Nancy didn’t stop there. His men needed a third and final match to eliminate Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference semi-final and final, the Crew respectively defeated Orlando City SC and FC Cincinnati in overtime to advance to the MLS Cup final.
The Columbus squad then defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1 to be crowned MLS champions for the third time in its history. God only knows if CF Montreal would have had the same successes with Nancy as head coach and a core similar to that of 2022.