Mathieu Choinière is of a rather reserved nature and yet he expresses himself with ease as soon as he finds himself on a soccer field and he has done so eloquently since the start of the season.
Aged just 24, the midfielder is already in his sixth season with CF Montreal and recently became the club-trained player with the most minutes played with the team in MLS.
“Coming from the academy, the goal was to play with the first team. It’s a record that means a lot to me, he admits without the slightest appearance of pretension.
“When I thought about it after the match, I saw my journey go by, I said to myself that I was there, but I am far from having finished my career.”
Privilege
There was often this perception that young people from the Academy had to do more to stand out within the big club.
When you listen to Mathieu Choinière speak, this impression is somewhat reinforced, but he brings a nuance that puts things in the right context.
“For me it was a privilege to play those minutes and I still see it that way. I can play in Montreal, I’m in my city, I went through the Academy, it’s my dream so I’m privileged to live it like that.
“Every time I go on the field, it’s to give my best and give pleasure to the fans.”
And as he knows that this privilege can be taken away from him at any time, there is no question of being satisfied with a good start to the season.
“I’m not satisfied, but I’m happy because I have high demands. I want to improve on certain aspects like being more decisive in the last third.
The right chair
CF Montreal will play its 14e game of the season on Saturday night, but Choinière already has statistics that show he is having the best season of his young career.
He already has two goals, the same total as at the end of the last two seasons. He also has two assists, one more than his career best season.
It doesn’t stop there. He is also the team player with the most shots (23) and shots on target (10). He is obviously progressing, but that is also explained by the fact that he is in the right chair.
After being often used as a handyman, especially as a side defender, he finally finds himself in midfield, his natural position.
“I always knew my position was in midfield. box to box. I always want to help the team by playing on the left or on the right, but I feel that I can help the team better in the middle.
“I play a style where I can contribute offensively, I wanted to build the game a bit more. Being in my natural position allows me to contribute better in that way.”
And yet…
Thanks to his game intelligence, his finesse and his aggressiveness, Choinière became an essential element of the starting XI of Hernan Losada even if he found himself on the bench in the first match of the season. That’s the only time it happened.
“I know the season is long, there are a lot of games and above all I knew that the coaching staff had faith in me. I didn’t ask myself too many questions, I was ready to play”, he explains, returning to this first match started on the bench.
He also assures that he did not want Losada with whom he has a relationship that seems very healthy.
“We have a really good relationship. He is very close to his players on a human level, he manages to communicate well with us. I perceive that people have a lot of confidence in me.
“When you feel good on the pitch, when you are confident, it frees up your game and you have even more fun to play.”