After weeks of speculation, Laurent Courtois was finally named head coach of CF Montreal on Monday.
The 45-year-old coach from Lyon, France, to parents born on Reunion Island, has been head coach of the Columbus Crew reserve team since January 28, 2022.
“I am honored to join the club and begin this new adventure in Montreal,” Courtois said in a press release. I want to continue the development work started with our young players, while offering a dynamic style of play and emotions to the fans. »
In his first season in Columbus, Courtois led Crew 2 to the regular season championship with a record of 16 wins, three losses and five draws, then to the MLS Next Pro Series title after a 4-1 victory in the final against St. Louis City 2.
“Over the past few years, Laurent has accumulated coaching experience which demonstrates his ability to deploy our sports project with young players in MLS. We are convinced that he will be able to reproduce his successes with the core of the team and our young talents,” declared the vice-president and chief sporting director of CF Montreal, Olivier Renard.
Courtois therefore becomes the 10th head coach in the history of the Montreal club since its move to Major League Soccer in 2012.
He succeeds the Argentinian Hernan Losada, who was dismissed by CF Montreal at the beginning of last November. The Montreal eleven was excluded from the playoff picture on the last day of the season, ultimately finishing in 10th place in the Eastern Association.
A press conference confirming his appointment will take place Tuesday morning at the Nutrilait Center.
CF Montreal indicated that the rest of the team’s coaching staff will be named at a later date.