Nick DeSantis | “The Impact was my life”

It’s now been five years since Nick De Santis “ripped the bandage off” his 26-year relationship with the Montreal Impact. But at this moment, he said in an interview with The Press“it was better to be outside than inside”.

De Santis is “serene” today. “At peace” with his divorce from the club for which he was player, coach, technical and sporting director as well as vice-president until 2019.

We meet him on a rainy Thursday morning in late September for coffee at the San Simeon. He stops by this Little Italy establishment almost every morning, even since his time with the Bleu-blanc-noir. The conversation will last more than an hour, long enough for the espresso residue to stick to our little cup, and for the downpour outside to stop.

De Santis appears not to have aged, despite having somewhat graying hair. We quickly forget this slight detail when we hear him talk about his Impact, always with the same passion as at the time.

“For me, the Impact was my life,” he says. […] Nobody is going to take away from me the things we have done with this club. These are things that will always remain. It is certain that today, I no longer have a relationship with them. »

We suspected it, but hearing him confirm it to us is still a little surprising. Not even a relationship with Joey Saputo, whose right-hand man he was for all these years?

“I always tell myself that he gave me this opportunity, he always trusted me,” De Santis begins by explaining. Until I saw and felt that he no longer trusted me. That’s when I started to feel like it was time [de partir]. Then it started to hurt me. In the end, for me, it’s easier to sit back and say, “Look, we’re going in a different direction, you’re not part of the project anymore.” But we have to shake hands, because we have done great things together. »

Did it happen?

” No. It didn’t happen. »

Didn’t you shake hands?

” No. Me, the meetingit was with Kevin Gilmore. »

He sees the surprise on our faces. And assures that even if he believes he has “given a lot to the club” and that he would have “preferred it to end in another way”, he does not harbor any resentment.

“I have a lot of respect for the family, for him,” he said, recalling in particular that he had the chance to play and evolve in professional soccer, at home, thanks to Joey and the Saputo family.

“Yes, there were bad things, but I think I did good things too. I don’t think they have anyone to sell the club project like I sold it. »

No interest in wall of fame

De Santis was the one who managed to convince Ignacio Piatti, through numerous trips to Argentina, to join the Impact in 2014. This is undoubtedly our interlocutor’s best move as sports director.

“For me, he is the best player who has played [pour l’Impact]and one of the best in the league,” says the 57-year-old.

“There was the human side. Everyone knew that Nacho was the most respectful and humble guy. But there was the sporting side where Nacho is the guy who will make us win matches. »

It is not for nothing that Piatti was inducted into the club’s wall of fame on September 14.

On the other hand, without taking anything away from the already honored Gabriel Gervais, Nevio Pizzolitto, Greg Sutton, Mauro Biello and Patrice Bernier, many noticed the absence of an important name on this famous wall. Nick De Santis, champion in 1994 as a player, champion in 2004 as head coach, champion in 2009 as technical director, and great builder of the Montreal Impact and Quebec soccer in general, does not appear still not in the heights of the Saputo stadium.

“I don’t think about that,” he answers the same question you ask yourself while reading these lines. If I’m not here today, there’s a reason. »

Read: his relationship with the team’s senior management.

“What I did for the club is within me. Nobody’s going to take that away from me. »

“The CF, there is no attachment to that”

One of the factors that somehow facilitated De Santis’ divorce from the Impact was the rebrand.

“When they changed the name, to me it was, ‘This can’t be.’ How was Gilmore able to convince Joey? »

We pointed out to him that one of the architects of the new brand image of CF Montreal at the time, Justin Kingsley, was sitting a few meters from us at another table in the café. A complete coincidence, it goes without saying, which makes Nick De Santis smile.

“But on the other hand, I said to myself: ‘It’s good for me, because it’s another name. And I am attached to the Montreal Impact. Mental level, for me, CF, there is no attachment to that.” »

Even to this day, De Santis doesn’t watch games on Saturday nights.

“With the family, I spent time where I wasn’t with them, even if they were at the games. Now, on Saturday evenings, we like to go out and experience Montreal. My children too. I want to give them that. »

What is Nick De Santis doing today?

Even before his departure from the Impact, Nick De Santis joined in 2017 as a U8 coach at CS Saint-Laurent. His son was on the team. He followed players born in 2010. He still follows them. They are 14 years old.

“Today, I am a coach and consultant. I started to get attached to the club. He has a place in me. I try to share my experiences. The biggest thing in these clubs is to create healthy environments and supervise them in the best way. »

You often hear about CS Saint-Laurent in these pages. Moïse Bombito and Ismaël Koné, in particular, have been there. You will therefore not be surprised to read that the club is in some way a victim of its success.

“The other day, we did tryouts: there were 180 registrations… just for my 2010 team! But the club works in a way that allows it to have good players. The sports director, Rocco Placentino, does an excellent job. »

According to De Santis, Quebec soccer is ready to move to the next level.

“I’m tired of always hearing that soccer is fun, everyone plays. We arrive at a moment where [il faut être sérieux]. […] We must put the elites in the best conditions to continue to develop and give them a chance in their career. »