We can’t say that Valentin Castellanos was a hit during his career in MLS against the Impact and CF Montreal. That doesn’t mean that Wilfried Nancy is unhappy to know that the Argentinian won’t be at the Saputo stadium on Saturday night when New York City FC plays.
Posted at 5:52 p.m.
“Personally, I won’t miss him because he’s a pure player,” said the head coach of CF Montreal after an exceptional training session at Stade Saputo, Thursday noon, under a blazing sun.
After just over four seasons with the New York side, during which the 23-year-old striker developed to become one of the most prolific scorers on the Garber circuit, Castellanos played his last game in MLS Saturday in a 2-0 win over Inter Miami CF.
He will now play with Girona FC, in the Spanish Championship, under a loan between the two clubs which belong to the City Football Group holding company.
In six games in MLS against Montreal teams, Castellanos has never found the back of the net. He still scored 50 goals in 109 games during the season.
On that, he got 19 in 32 games in 2021, which earned him the Golden Boot for the top scorer in the league. He was destined to do even better in 2022, having already amassed 13 goals in 17 games, a high tied with Sebastián Driussi of Austin FC.
In the 2021 playoffs, ‘Taty’ added three goals in three games, and he helped his team win the MLS Cup for the first time ever.
“Already, at the beginning of the year, when we played against them in the preparatory matches, we talked a bit and I said to him: “But what are you doing here? You have nothing more to do here, you have earned everything. Go see Europe,’” said Nancy.
The head coach of CF Montreal immediately hinted that the departure of Castellanos did not make the next visitors to Stade Saputo a bad team.
NYCFC (12-4-5-41 points) will arrive in Montreal second in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Philadelphia Union, but with a game in hand.
The squad temporarily led by Nick Cushing after Ronny Deila left for Belgium last June has won its last four games and hasn’t lost in its last six outings.
His 12 wins and +20 goals scored/goals conceded differential are Eastern Conference highs.
In addition, the New York team has not conceded a goal to its rivals since July 9, in a victory against the New England Revolution, and has just registered three shutouts in a row.
“It’s always a good team, New York City. We know that they invest a lot, they do their job well,” said Nancy.
“There is Heber [Araujo dos Santos] [qui était déjà là] Last year. [L’attaquant brésilien] had minor physical problems, but he’s a very good player,” added Nancy.
“It doesn’t change anything for us. We know that we are going to face a good team, ”he repeated.
If Nancy does not believe that facing the defending champions gives more spice to the duel, the fact remains that this match can allow CF Montreal (11-8-2 -35 points) to enhance their status in the rest of the league, believes Canadian defender Joel Waterman.
“A win would mean a lot. They’re a great team, they’re the defending champions,” noted Waterman who, like Nancy, feels NYCFC remains very strong.
“For sure they lost a great player, but for us things remain the same. We will prepare in the same way. It is a formation which has talented players. We’re going to have to be ready. […] We want to beat the best,” he added.
For his part, striker Kei Kamara believes that Saturday’s game is important for the simple reason that CF Montreal must stay the course.
“We want to stay on the right track, not to find ourselves in difficulty [cet automne] Kamara said.
“Our task right now is to keep our focus and take it one game at a time. New York City FC is a tough team, a good team. Remember what happened when we went there. »
Kamara was referring to the March 12 game, where CF Montreal suffered a 4-1 correction at Yankee Stadium.
“I think it’s not for nothing that we face these teams on two occasions,” said Waterman.
“The first time, it didn’t go well. We want to make sure we fix everything. »