“I don’t think even Steven Spielberg could have written something like that. »
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
For two days, Marc Dos Santos has been daydreaming. Not least because he hasn’t slept since LAFC won the MLS Cup final on Saturday.
“I learned something in professional sport,” he begins in a telephone interview with The Press. It’s 10 a.m. Monday morning in Los Angeles. The Black & Gold assistant coach’s voice is hoarse after days and nights of celebrating.
“It took me years to understand that,” continues the former Montreal Impact driver. […] With experience, I’ve learned that when you win, you have to celebrate with everything you have, while it’s time. You know if you turn the corner, you may have another bad time. When you can celebrate, celebrate to the fullest. That’s what we’re doing right now. »
There was the parade with “unforgettable scenes” on Sunday, barely 24 hours after the match. And he says he still has “two days here in LA” before leaving.
Because this “dream”, it lasts since the ball hit by the head of Gareth Bale, in the 128e minute of an epic MLS final with endless adventures, entered the cage of the Philadelphia Union. LAFC tied the game 3-3 in overtime minutes after Philly took the lead.
PHOTO ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVE
Gareth Bale (11) scored the equalizer for LAFC in the 128e minute of the final.
“I fell to my knees, says Dos Santos, the image of the goal still vivid in his head. It was finished. »
He recalls that Bale hadn’t played in the knockout stage yet. That Philly is a team that “defends well”. That she was playing with an extra man after the tragic injury and the expulsion of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau (we will come back to this).
But what really struck him, he said, was the mental chasm that had formed between the two sides after the Welsh international’s “so big” goal.
“When the teams came to the bench before the shootout, I saw in the faces of the Philadelphia players that they were scared. Their balloon was completely deflated. And we had grown up. We had a moment of ‘hey, if we got this far, it’s because it’s written that we’re the ones who are going to win’. »
The Hollywood script was actually written. Philadelphia missed all three penalties, thanks in part to the brilliance of substitute goaltender Jack McCarthy. And LAFC, by scoring on three of their four chances, put an end to this story that no, not even Spielberg would have dared to write. Dos Santos and Crépeau thus became the very first Quebecers to win the MLS championship.
PHOTO FROM MARC DOS SANTOS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Marc Dos Santos (second from right) with the MLS Cup
“Dark Moment”
This story, many Quebecers and Canadians would have liked to see it unfold differently, however.
“Losing Max is the price we had to pay,” said his compatriot.
Crépeau fractured his leg coming out of his box to block a Union shot attempt, in the 110e minute. Yes, in doing so he prevented an almost certain scoring opportunity in Philadelphia. But by sacrificing himself thus for the cause of his club, it is his dream of the World Cup to him with his selection which has been destroyed. The Quebecer would be Canada’s second goalkeeper in Qatar. On Sunday, LAFC announced that he had successfully undergone leg surgery.
What he did, “it’s legendary”, believes Dos Santos, who however regrets “this dark moment” of the final.
He notes the “warrior side” of his goalkeeper, who even in his stretcher, continued to encourage his teammates and supporters. Dos Santos has known him since his career with the Montreal Impact. He had been the coach of the Montreal eleven during his last years in the NASL, from 2009 to 2011.
PHOTO JAYNE KAMIN-ONCEA, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau left the final on a stretcher.
“We brought him to training with the professional team when he was 15. Max was a member of the Montreal Ultras. He has always been a warrior. He was in Ottawa, he was when he was given his first chance in MLS with Vancouver. »
Crépeau arrived in LA around the same time as Dos Santos, between the 2021 season and the 2022 season. Both were with the Whitecaps the previous season. If you ask the Quebec coach if he was a factor in the arrival of his compatriot in the city of Angels, he will answer you that “strict regulations” mean that he cannot confirm the thing. “But you don’t have to be Einstein to really understand how Max and I are here.” I will say it like this. »
The Quebec coach spoke with his goalkeeper in the last hours. He recognizes that the player is “sad, happy, frustrated”, that he experiences “all the feelings at the same time”.
Crépeau was in a hospital bed when the LAFC invited his parents and family to the stage where the championship parade ended. He witnessed this deeply bittersweet moment on FaceTime.
“He was with us. His jersey was in front. Fans shouted his name. His wife Cristina made a speech, it was moving. »
Dos Santos suggests his keeper to ‘take it one day at a time’, ‘not think about tomorrow’, alluding to his ‘super strong mentality’.
It’s a small consolation today. But the Quebec technician believes that “Max will be there in 2026”.
“Canada is going to be there, and Max is going to be there. »