It was under the first snowflakes of the fall that the CF Montreal players began their last week of preparation for the season at the Center Nutrilait on Tuesday morning.
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They will host Toronto FC at Stade Saputo in the final of the Canadian Championship on Sunday, which will conclude their year 2021.
If it was cold on the outside, it was nevertheless hot on the pitch as the players have their eyes riveted on the goal, which is to lift the Voyageurs Cup.
“We want to bring back a trophy and leave with peace of mind for the holidays, so the intensity is very high in training,” insisted Mathieu Choinière, who classifies this meeting among the most important he has played in his career. .
To save the season
Djordje Mihailovic admitted he needed time to digest the elimination of the MLS playoff team just over a week ago.
“I tend to need 72 hours after this kind of game. It helps a bit to know that we have a game left and it’s a final to get over that. “
And, precisely, the midfielder believes that it is a chance next to which the club can not pass, if only to put a little balm on the disappointment of having missed the playoffs.
“It’s a very important week, it’s the most important game of our season now that there is a trophy at stake.
“It was a disappointing end to the season. We played a nice style of football that made us feel like we deserved a playoff spot. “
Two clubs eliminated
Mihailovic is a cerebral and he took the time to point out the irony that surrounds this final between two teams whose campaign has ended in MLS.
“It’s a very ironic game because we started the season in Miami without spectators and we’re going to finish it in front of our fans playing for a trophy. “
Strangely, CF Montreal does not seem stifled by the pressure even if it will play against its biggest rival.
“I don’t think there is additional pressure,” Choinière said. We still have the chance to win a trophy even if we did not manage to qualify for the playoffs.
“Our last two games were finals so we’re used to games where there is pressure and a goal at the end,” added the Quebec back.
Fourth confrontation
The Montreal eleven will not be on new ground against TFC.
“We played Toronto three times, beat them twice and canceled the other game,” Mihailovic recalled. Over the course of the season, I was able to understand the importance of these meetings. “
The 23-year-old American therefore quickly grasped the animosity that exists between the two clubs. But it was perhaps not as palpable in the first meeting of the season in Fort Lauderdale, a duel that Montreal won 4-2.
“The first game, it was difficult to find the tension since we played ” at home ” in Florida. We found this tension during our last clashes against them. “
In the other two games, CF Montreal won 3 to 1 at Stade Saputo in August and drew 1 to 1 at BMO Field in Toronto last month.
To give everything
One thing is certain, Mihailovic intends to give everything on the pitch for his last duel of the year.
“I hope that at the end of the match I will have nothing in the legs and that I will no longer be able to walk”, dropped the number 8, who is not known to spare his efforts.
Mihailovic was second in MLS in assists with 16, two short of Carles Gil of the New England Revolution.
This harvest allowed him to eclipse the team record, which was 13, set by Ignacio “Nacho” Piatti in 2018.