Posted at 5:00 a.m.
It’s “personal” for Kamal Miller. The CF Montreal defender wants to beat Orlando. “It would make me very happy to see them come home. »
Why so much hate?
For several reasons. One, because these are the same Lions that killed any hopes the CFM had of making the playoffs a year ago, in the final game of the 2021 MLS season. “It’s a big rematch for all of us,” says Miller.
Two, because the Florida team left the defender unprotected in the 2020 expansion draft. Selected by Austin, he was then traded to the Impact.
“I didn’t leave Orlando in the best way. When I arrived here, I found myself, in a way. I am all in for Montreal. »
PHOTO ERIC BOLTE, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Kamal Miller, CF Montreal defender
According to his co-captain Samuel Piette, the Canadian international defender will have the desire to “show that he is on another level today”.
“And it is perhaps thanks to the fact that he came to Montreal and that he left Orlando”, adds the Quebecer.
He too feels this duty of “revenge”. But not only.
“But on the other hand, we are a different team. The motivation is different, the objectives too. What we are going through at the moment is special at the group level. We simply want to win to continue living it. »
“A 35e match ”
Is that why Friday’s practice at Stade Saputo seemed more intense than the previous ones?
“You’re not always with us, that’s why, replies Wilfried Nancy with a smile. [L’intensité] is there all the time. That’s what we’re here for. They like to train. They take pleasure. »
Samuel Piette will experience his very first playoff game on Sunday evening. But he too did not notice any increased pressure in his preparation.
It’s a match like any other, in quotes. I know it’s a playoff game, do or die, if we lose it’s over. But honestly, I haven’t changed anything in my week to prepare for this match. The other players and the staff either.
Wilfried Nancy, head coach of CF Montreal
“Honestly, we see it as the 35e game of the season. »
“Yes, we have a chance”
Orlando, 7e in the East, qualified for the post-season tournament with a victory in extremis on the deciding day of MLS. Montreal, at 2e rank, has just completed the best season in its history on the Garber circuit.
Obviously, the CFM is the favorite. He got four wins in five games at the end of the schedule. And has suffered defeat only once since mid-July.
But unlike the locals, Floridians are used to playoff games. They won the US Open Cup in September, the equivalent of the Canadian Championship in the United States.
PHOTO JOHN RAOUX, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Facundo Torres, Orlando City attacking midfielder
And watch out for young attacking midfielder Facundo Torres (9 goals, 10 assists), who scored two goals in the final against Sacramento. The Uruguayan finished the MLS season with three goals in four games…despite four losses in six games.
It’s a good and dangerous team. They know how to win. They know how to handle a game when they take the lead.
Kamal Miller
It is still not known if Romell Quioto will be in the game. The team’s leading scorer and MVP was injured with Honduras during the international break in September.
Despite everything, Wilfried Nancy believes that his team can afford to dream.
“Yes, we have a chance” of winning the MLS Cup, he explains.
“Over the last 10 games […] we had put the small cup in lowercase. The coach is talking here about an illustration affixed to what is assumed to be his goal board.
” Every time [qu’un objectif était atteint]i.e. the qualification, the top 4 where the top 2, we put on the small cup. This time, the cut, we enlarged it. It is the objective. »