(Fort Lauderdale) “Here, it’s like being at Disney. » Matías Cóccaro pronounces these words with the bright eyes and frank smile of a child: we can only believe him.
The Uruguayan CF Montreal striker sits in an armchair in the lobby of an elegant hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A stone’s throw from the club’s base camp are the beach, white sand, ocean.
But that’s not what he’s talking about when he compares his situation to a fairy tale. No, for Cóccaro, his simple presence with CF Montreal is like an unexpected dream.
We have to take advantage of what we have. Montreal is a club where we have everything. We have the right conditions to be professional. When you come from South America, it’s different.
Matías Cóccaro
“I have already been to clubs where we trained in parks with our own clothes,” he explains to The Press. The money we earned was not enough to buy shoes. It was necessary to work [ailleurs]. When you have everything, you should be grateful. »
Matías Cóccaro only speaks Spanish. Despite our aspirations to one day become trilingual, we are not there yet. To conduct this interview in the absence of the usual CFM interpreter, who was busy elsewhere, we therefore wrote beforehand, then stated our questions as best we could in his language to the new Impact striker.
The 26-year-old Uruguayan played the game with kindness and patience. We then requested the help of our colleague in Business, Nathaëlle Morissette, for a translation that we consider faithful to the player’s words. We would also like to publicly thank her for spending part of her Saturday helping us.
PHOTO FROM THE CF MONTRÉAL X ACCOUNT
Matías Cóccaro
“I started learning French,” reveals Cóccaro. We South Americans prefer to learn French, since French and Spanish are similar languages. We have cultures that are similar. »
The smiling mustachioed man says he is “happy to discover the city” and its “customs”. Samuel Piette, “a great captain”, according to him, helped him with his learning of the language of Gilles Vigneault, and vice versa.
“I tasted poutine,” he says. I loved ! But as a professional athlete, I have to be careful, I can’t eat it every day. But if you want to celebrate after a match, there’s definitely poutine! »
” I am not on vacation “
When rumors of Montreal’s acquisition of Matías Cóccaro began to surface in December, videos of his highlights with Argentine club Huracán were one of the only sources of information available to find out a little more. on the player. On YouTube, the sequence where he scores, then climbs the fence overlooked by barbed wire to celebrate as close as possible to the supporters has captured the imagination.
Watch the video clip
Do you always give your 100% like this, Matías?
“Yes,” he answers without hesitation. I train like I play. I’ve come a long way to get here. I had to work to make money and play. I made a lot of sacrifices. I left home young. I come here to work. I want people to identify with me. If I don’t prepare, I won’t succeed. »
He weighs his words, because obviously he believes in them wholeheartedly.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Matías Cóccaro training in Montreal on February 28
“In Montreal, I try to be the best possible. I don’t come here to drag my feet. I am not on vacation. I come to work. It’s my way of living. I left my family. I come here to give everything. »
We felt that he had forged a special bond with Huracán, precisely. When his departure was made official, the video showing a little supporter in tears while saying goodbye to him had moved people all the way to Montreal.
« Quand j’étais à Huracán, c’était différent, raconte-t-il lorsqu’on en fait mention. C’était quelque chose qu’il n’y a pas ailleurs. Ils m’ont bien reçu, je me sentais bien. Je me suis adapté rapidement. C’est un club qui a conquis mon cœur. Les gens de Huracán s’identifiaient à moi parce que j’ai fait preuve d’humilité. »
Devant ses « idoles »
Alors, si Cóccaro foule la pelouse en même temps que son légendaire compatriote Luis Suárez et le mythique Lionel Messi, dimanche, comment se sentira-t-il ?
« Messi, quand on l’affronte, on veut le battre, dit-il du tac au tac. Une façon de le respecter sur le terrain, c’est de tenter d’être à sa hauteur. »
PHOTO CHRIS ARJOON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Lionel Messi et Luis Suárez, à l’échauffement la semaine dernière
S’il estime que la Pulga et Diego Maradona sont, selon lui, « les deux meilleurs joueurs de l’histoire », Suárez a été le meilleur « pour les Uruguayens ».
« C’est mon idole. Me retrouver avec les deux, sur le même terrain, c’est une sensation unique. […] Pride. I remember when I was little, I went to see Luis Suárez, when I was starting to play. »
We know the geographical and sporting rivalry between Uruguay and Argentina. Cóccaro doesn’t forget it though.
“We share the Río de la Plata,” he recalls. When [l’Uruguay] plays against Argentina, we want to win, and they also want to beat us. But when we find ourselves outside our region, it’s different. We are all brothers. »
The one we call the fox, or El Zorro, has yet to find the back of the net after a game and a half in MLS. Despite the “inexplicable sensations” that he will feel if he faces the two former Barcelona players – which is not a foregone conclusion, as explained in a second text – he will want to “surpass himself” in order to “surpass himself”. represent » Montreal and Canada, Sunday.
And he can’t wait to expend all his energy in front of the fans at Saputo stadium next month.
“We want the people of Montreal to identify with the team. We want people to say to themselves: “These guys give it their all, these guys represent us.” It’s a big commitment. »