(Orlando) We had not taken two steps on field number 5 of the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, at Disney World in the suburbs of Orlando, when the observation of this preseason at CF Montreal was confirmed: the The atmosphere is positive, the smiles are numerous, the joy of being together is palpable.
Samuel Piette and Josef Martínez are the headliners of the two teams of three members of the CFM who compete in a jovial game of soccer-tennis. The weather is mild at the end of the morning, the sky is gray, the training is light and it is drawing to a close. Only half of the squad is there, the other half having stayed at the hotel to recover after a friendly match against Atlanta United the day before.
It is precisely in the lobby of this chic establishment, about ten minutes by car from the sports complex, that we meet Piette at the start of the afternoon. Before anyone can even ask him about the subject of preseason, he rushes off.
“It’s going well, we’re working on new things,” he said. Of course, for some of us, it’s new, but we assimilate it all quite quickly. »
There are some things that will take a little longer. But we are implementing things that are positive, and that will help us throughout the season.
Samuel Piette
Piette always speaks with verve, and never to say anything. But on this Florida Thursday, we feel relaxed. Without insinuating that he was targeted during a tense assessment last October, the contrast is substantial.
In the fall, despite his criticism of Hernán Losada, he still stressed that starting from scratch, once again, with a new coaching staff was not the solution to seek at all costs. Today, after three weeks under Laurent Courtois, does he have the same opinion?
PHOTO JEAN-FRANÇOIS TEOTONIO, THE PRESS
Some CF Montreal players play soccer-tennis during training in Orlando.
“We’re not starting from scratch,” he adds. We don’t relearn how to walk and pass, or how to defend one-on-one. On the other hand, we learn new things at the collective level. […] When you start again with new things that are good, it doesn’t bother you. When you know it’s a good thing for us players, and for the club too. We are more likely to give ourselves chances. It’s encouraging and positive. But it’s going to take time. »
He himself refers to the lessons learned under Wilfried Nancy.
“It’s not that we necessarily want to go back to that,” underlines the CFM captain. But we can’t erase a record season, so there are obviously positives to be had. I think Laurent and his staff are aware of that. But they add their ingredients, their sauce, their way of working. […] We are trying to adjust things to try to have a similar season, or at least new positive and good bases for the group. »
In search of “good karma”
Piette talks about “ingredients”, “sauce”: we haven’t yet been able to taste the dish. We will have to wait until the start of the season, on February 24, against Orlando. But we were still treated to slight scents emanating from the slow cooker on Thursday. (This will be the last lame culinary metaphor in this text, I promise.)
We spoke to you a few days ago about small directives that Laurent Courtois has imposed on his flock since his arrival. Clean the locker room before leaving it. Place your sports shoes in an orderly manner when entering the training field, instead of throwing them everywhere.
There are others.
“We see each other in the morning, we shake hands,” says Piette. So far, nothing worth mentioning in any news media.
“We arrive at training, he wants us to shake hands. Training is over, we shake hands. I find it good, because training can go really well, it can go badly, but the respect for others, to say: “Hey, thank you for working today”, the coaches towards us, us players [envers les coachs]. It’s not what’s said, but it’s a kind of non-verbal. »
It may seem trivial, says the midfielder, but “these are little things that ensure that we are in a better living environment, that we respect each other even more”.
PHOTO JEAN-FRANÇOIS TEOTONIO, THE PRESS
Josef Martínez in training with his new teammates
For Laurent Courtois, it is a question of “common sense”.
“The most important thing for me,” explains the head coach, who had sat in the same chair as Piette a few minutes earlier, “is that these little things [vont faire en sorte] that you do not concede to the 90e minute, or less often. Or you score the last goal. Let’s put all the chances on our side to have good karma. »
” Patience ”
Samuel Piette feels it, this excitement, on the threshold of the CF Montreal season. He knows that this season, all subscriptions are sold. He is delighted to see the club’s renewed “ambition”, which is evident through its recent acquisitions.
“We feel that people want to love the club, to get behind us,” he says. […] There’s a good buzz at the moment. You should take advantage. You have to ride the wave when it’s there. But we must not hide, there will be difficult times. »
Piette does well to remember this. Laurent Courtois is a rookie coach at the highest level in North America, Josef Martínez wants to get back to his old form, and Matías Cóccaro has never kicked a ball in MLS.
What’s more, Montreal begins its season with six games on the road.
“If you tell me we’re going to get 18 points [sur ces six rencontres], that’s the goal, but let’s face it, it’s going to be very, very, very difficult. We must advocate patience and stay with us. I know we work well, we want to do things well. »
This is also the underlying goal of the culture that Laurent Courtois is trying to establish.
“It means that we can all live better together,” emphasizes Samuel Piette. And that in times that are a little more difficult, we can fall back on that. »
Post card
In the lobby of an Orlando hotel
Death, taxes, Joaquín Sosa walking around with his glass of mate. We saw him in a video clip published by CF Montreal a few weeks ago, and we saw the Uruguayan again on Thursday, typically South American drink in hand, in the lobby of the club’s hotel in Orlando .
We spent a few hours sitting at a table on the ground floor of the establishment, mainly to wait for the representatives of the team with whom we had an appointment.
In the meantime, not two minutes went by without an individual dressed in Montreal blue coming to stroll before our eyes. Earlier, it was Josef Martínez on the phone, accompanied by his bodyguard, crossing the corridor not without glancing at the Avengers frame installed on a display. Earlier, it was Samuel Piette, in conversation with the young defender Fernando Álvarez – in Spanish, please.
A few minutes later, it was Martínez again, crossing the corridor in the other direction, this time accompanied by his new attacking partner Matías Cóccaro.
Disney World, “the most magical place on earth”, which they announce at the entrance, on the highway. We are writing these lines at the start of the evening in Orlando, from the terrace of our hotel overlooked in the distance by tall roller coasters, the cries of its users in the background. The ride disappears into the horizon, then reappears, from our corner, above a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings. No need to wait for the Super Bowl to experience the magic.