Rarely has the CF Montreal line-up had so many Quebecers and Canadians. Even less in such important positions. Building on their local talents, the Bleu-blanc-noir is heading to an Eastern semi-final against FC New York on Sunday with unparalleled confidence.
CF Montreal’s well-acknowledged strategy of recruiting and training local talent has paid off. The captain is now from Quebec, the goalkeeper too, and the team has just had its best season ever. On Sunday, she will face the defending champions, FC New York, at Stade Saputo.
“Luck plays in a victory,” relativized before the media Djordje Mihailovic, star attacking midfielder, after Friday’s training session.
The CF Montreal academy also plays in the successes of the Montreal eleven. There are goalkeeper James Pantemis, midfielder Mathieu Choinière (also from Quebec) and coach Wilfrid Nancy. Added to this local sauce are a good number of Canadian players. The chemistry, according to the well-felt encouragement of the players in Friday’s training, creates excitement on the field.
“There is joy as there always has been,” commented coach Nancy, a few hours before one of his biggest career meetings.
The French-born has lived in Montreal for 17 years. His “opposition-friendly” approach focuses on passing and teamwork. Thanks to his vision, FC Montreal finished second in the Eastern standings. And he plays with enthusiasm.
“We know that we have between 50% to 60% possession of the ball. Our three central defenders, Rudy [Kamacho] is prime, Joel [Waterman] is second and Kamal [Miller] is third in progressive passes [soit les passes qui font avancer le ballon d’au moins 10 mètres vers le but adverse]. For us, possession is a tool. It’s not a tool to just keep the ball. It is a tool to move forward,” he explained.
This altruism is felt in the players. “If I complete 100% of my passes without scoring a goal, I’ll probably be happier than if I score a goal, to be honest,” Mihailovic said.
New York ? New York !
The last game between FC Montreal and New York FC ended in a draw. But, only on paper. The Impact had dominated possession of the ball, nearly 59%, and dominated shots on net 13-2.
Wilfrid Nancy intends to wait until the day of the match before working with his players on the tactics to adopt. ” It does not change anything. There is already strong opposition. We focus on ourselves and we want to continue with what we are doing. […] We didn’t talk about New York. We talked about the concepts we want to put in place. »
New York, defending champion of the MLS Cup, will also undoubtedly have changed its approach, also weighs Nancy.
“It will take us a plan B,” warned Djordje Mihailovic. “If what we’re doing doesn’t work, we’ll have to be able to change our plan and adapt during the match. »
The shooting star named “Kone”
A few CF Montreal stars will be on watch on Sunday, starting with forward Ismaël Koné. His rise is neither more nor less than meteoric. Last year, he played with the amateur club CS Saint-Laurent. Last week, at just twenty years old, he scored the winning goal against Orlando and propelled his team to the Eastern semi-finals.
His mother will not be in the stands this Sunday – he confirmed it himself – but his former teammates will probably not miss one of his strides.
“Young people follow me because we come from the same club. It’s nice to play a role like that,” he says, obviously happy to be the center of attention: “I like to attack, create, be decisive and above all score. »
His star is shining and it’s not wind. He could well play important minutes for the Canada team at the World Cup this fall. Rumors are even circulating about offers from top English clubs.
Certainly aware that expectations are high, he exudes confidence. “They are going to have a good time, so are we. Not so good times, so are we. At the end of the day, we will leave everything on the ground. And we want victory more than them. »
The other star to follow is Djordje Mihailovic, who will soon come out of Montreal’s orbit. The prolific striker has already been signed by a Dutch club for next year.
It’s not just the players who wiggle at the thought of entering the stadium on Sunday. Fans bought all 19,619 tickets available in just a few minutes when the ticket offices opened. The atmosphere is likely to make you dizzy.