On Friday evening, the Montréal Impact invited season ticket holders to their annual season launch event at the MTelus Theatre. About 1,500 of the most fervent fans were on site to participate in a Q&A session with the new president, Kevin Gilmore, head coach, Rémi Garde, and administrative director, Patrick Leduc. They also became the first to see the Impact's 2019 home kit in person, as the entire team (including trialists) were presented to the public.
Due to a nasty case of living in another province, I was unable to attend, but the team was good enough to provide a live stream of the event. All of the team's supporter groups had a strong contingent in attendance, and at several intervals, they could be heard singing and chanting in support of le Bleu-Blanc-Noir.
During the Q&A session, the technical staff tackled questions submitted by fans. It goes without saying that none of the questions were particularly difficult, and none of the responses were particularly revealing, as this is meant to be a feel-good event to get folks excited about the upcoming season.
A question of particular interest was whether it is worth the effort to develop players through our academy if the coach doesn't use them. This question was tackled by both Leduc and Garde, who stated that they have been working together to identify how best to integrate homegrown talent into the squad. Garde's experience at Olympique Lyonnais will prove helpful – but local players simply will not be inserted into the lineup for the sake of playing them.
After a truly disappointing Canadian Championship performance in 2018, Garde promised he is taking the competition (the only way for a Canadian team to access the CONCACAF Champions' League) extremely seriously this year. Garde also feels that this year's squad is more ambitious and more confident than the team with which he entered the 2018 season and that they are much closer to their first MLS Cup this year.
In order to get fans excited, and to get them talking about the team, it was high time to introduce the 2019 Montréal Impact squad and the new kit. Each player was announced individually by match commentator Frédéric Lord, and they walked through the crowd to high-fives and raucous cheers from their adoring public.
The previous home jersey, full blue and black stripes with a blue back was so universally admired by Montréal fans and league rivals alike, it would undoubtedly be hard to top.
The new look continues the beloved stripe motif, but it fades to black at the bottom of the jersey. Additionally, the back is black instead of blue. The quadrant which harkens to the flag of Montréal is at the top of the back, filled in with the IMFC letters in lieu of the symbols of the town. 1642 Montréal's iconic North Star bell, known throughout the league, is also present on the jersey.
It seems as though the Montréal Impact love to keep fans on the edge of their seats. After several tumultuous weeks – mixed with disappointing results and the excitement of a few new signings – Chicago Fire were in town. Chicago had spent several weeks in a losing skid, but Montréal is also the team who helped the Fire break a 2-year winless road game streak back in 2016, so nobody knew how the match would go.
New arrival Bacary Sagna made his début at right back. After nearly constant turnover at this position throughout this season, with moderate success at best, Sagna's Premier League pedigree was a welcome change in the lineup. Of course, there were concerns about his ability to keep up having arrived less than a week before the match, with no games played since May, and at 35 years old. Most, if not all, eyes were on him.
The Impact started the match brightly as they had in their previous home match, a draw against DC United. Saphir Taïder drew a penalty from Bastian Schweinsteiger after some very attractive passing play. Ignacio Piatti subsequently hit the back of the net, putting the Impact in the lead. Much as had been the case in the DC match, having scored early, the home side seemed to take their foot off the gas. Chicago had more possession of the ball and spent a good portion of the first half buzzing around the Impact's 18-yard box.
Worse yet, the Fire dug deep and shifted into high gear after returning from the half-time break. The Impact remained lethargic and conceded the game-tying goal after Nemanja Nikolic struck home a rebound from Evan Bush's save. It was déjà vu for Impact fans who had seen the DC match – down to the tying goals being scored in the same minute of both games. Fans had seen this situation just two weeks ago, and it looked as though Montréal were about to give up three vital points at home.
Finally, the team woke up following the goal. Substitutes Quincy Amarikwa, Micheal Azira and Jeisson Vargas all helped the Impact lay siege to Chicago's offensive third. Urged on by the fans' boisterous cheering, Montréal peppered the area around Ricardo Sanchez's net without striking the target.
In the dying instants of the match, the Impact earned a corner. It was now or never. The noise in the stadium rose even higher. Vargas struck the dead ball into the midst of a pack of players. A Chicago head cleared the ball, and Daniel Lovitz hit it on the volley, directly into the bottom right of the net.
The stadium erupted as Lovitz took off to celebrate with pure, unadulterated joy. It had been some time since such a ruckus broke out following an Impact goal! As Jukka Raitala had done the week prior, Lovitz scored his first MLS goal, and it may well prove to be a crucial goal in the increasingly tight playoff race.
As for Sagna? He worked up and down the right side of the pitch tirelessly, despite the lack of game time he'd had leading up to the match. It is still too early for him to have the chemistry that other players share, but he certainly staked his claim to the starting right-back role, with a performance that earned him the Man of the Match Award.
Up next is another incredibly important match, of course! Not only are Montréal visiting Toronto FC, enemy number one, the points on the line are bound to have massive implications in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The whirlwind that the month of July has been is nearing its end for the Montreal Impact. The team soldiered on with their duties to the faraway land of Portland to have their yearly battle with the Timbers. Being that the Timbers entered the match on a 13-game hot streak and are undefeated at home this season, most were of the opinion that the Impact would be very happy to escape the Rose City with a point.
Suffice it to say, the 90 minutes that played out in Portland were wild. Despite the glut of matches and how much fatigue must be creeping up on players, Rémi Garde fielded his strongest lineup possible, with the exception of Shamit Shome replacing Ken Krolicki in midfield.
You can often tell what kind of a match the Impact are going to have based on what kind of match their undisputed best player is having. If Ignacio Piatti is up for it, then the team are all but guaranteed to score goals. However, another significant offensive threat has awakened in the form of Alejandro Silva who has taken to the right wing like a fish to water.
In the 23rd minute, Silva intercepted a poor pass and dusted himself off after a clumsy collision with a Timbers man, dribbled deftly into the box and served up the assist on a silver platter for Saphir Taïder's fourth goal in as many matches. Piatti, Silva and Taïder have a combined 10 goals and 10 assists in the past 7 matches (all competitions).
Although Portland would come back to equalize, directly from the kickoff that followed, Matteo Mancosu also found the back of the net for a second time this season. Piatti played a perfectly weighted long ball to him, allowing the Italian to do what Italian strikers do best – peel off the shoulder of his defenders to score a goal that undoubtedly brought him great relief.
LA LIBÉRATION! Mancosu est tout simplement SOU-LA-GÉ.
While neither of the Impact's strikers has had much success filling the net this season, the burden of creating and scoring goals is no longer solely on Piatti's shoulders. In seasons past, teams could simply smother the Argentinian maestro, because he was at the heart and soul of the team's attack. With his teammates finding their form, it is now dangerous to overcommit bodies to Piatti, as Silva is proving to be a deft dribbler and Taïder is developing a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
The Impact's first draw of the season would not have happened had it not been for one player. For as much of a hero as he has been this season, the Impact would have won this match had it not been for Evan Bush's two howlers. Twice, Bush ineffectively palmed shots into positions for Samuel Armenteros and Diego Valeri to pounce on his errors.
Bush would go on to make seven saves, to his credit. Given the assault he has faced in net this season, most are willing to excuse the 'keeper's lapses so long as he returns to his 2018 form! That will be all the more important to see out the month, as it became clear toward the end of the match that outfield players are beginning to feel the fatigue of a very condensed schedule.
The Impact remain on the West Coast to play the second leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final at BC Place tonight. They take a 1-0 advantage into that match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Impact return him for their last match of the month on Saturday, July 28th, as Atlanta United will be in town to undoubtedly test the team's defensive resolve.
After crashing down to Earth with a sobering 3-0 loss away to NYCFC, the message from coaches and players alike was "We want to bounce back." Saturday's match against San Jose Earthquakes, who are currently bottom of the Western Conference standings provided a perfect opportunity for the team to accomplish their goal.
After rotating the squad for the mid-week loss, Rémi Garde elected to field his A-team at home. Rudy Camacho, Ken Krolicki, Alejandro Silva, Matteo Mancosu and Chris Duvall returned to the starting lineup. A notable absentee was Rod Fanni, who missed out through illness. Some fans were concerned about whether a central defensive pairing of Camacho and Jukka Raitala would prove as effective as Camacho-Fanni, and there was only one way to find out.
The Impact started the match brightly, with some fantastic give-and-go play between Mancosu, Ignacio Piatti and Saphir Taïder leading to the Algerian's fourth goal of the season. The chemistry between Taïder and Piatti was perhaps best evidenced by the first-touch passing between the two, the confidence that the other would be there to receive the ball. Mancosu, despite his abysmal goal tally this season, also deserves credit for his placement on the left side of the opposing 18-yard box when Piatti moved to the centre of the attacking group, as he was, therefore, ready to pass the ball to Piatti who laid the ball off for Taïder.
In the celebration of that goal, Piatti and Taïder came together to hold up an Impact jersey — Marco Donadel's #33. Donadel was waived by the Impact a few weeks ago, and this match was the last he would be attending before his rumoured return to Italy. Piatti and Taïder chose that moment to recognize the significant role he had played in the team during his three and a half seasons with the Bleu-Blanc-Noir.
Although 'keeper Evan Bush was called into action at the end of the half, the real talking point of the game would not be the Impact's superior collective performance.
Instead, all eyes outside of Montréal are on the implosion taking place – very publicly – within the Earthquakes' team. Two early substitutions, Anibal Godoy and then his replacement Fatai Alashe, perfectly encapsulated the level of discord with that team and likely made the Impact's win all the easier. The frustrated body language of the visiting players on the pitch betrayed some deep internal problems which undoubtedly contribute to their current position in the standings.
Despite Piatti scoring another goal to end the match on a positive note, with Alejandro Silva notching yet another assist, arguably the biggest highlight of the match would be when the referee tackled Samuel Piette to the ground.
Thankfully, it will take more than that to take out the defensive midfielder! Somehow, the referee escaped a booking for his blatant attempt to play the man and not the ball!
I had the immense pleasure of being present at Stade Saputo this match as well, in Section 132 with the Ultras de Montréal 2002. The capo was on fire, and got several other sections involved in chanting for the team! And woe be unto you if they caught you taking a break.
The Impact are about to face a lot of Western competition, with Vancouver Whitecaps visiting Stade Saputo for the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final on Wednesday, July 18th. On Saturday, July 21st, the Impact will attempt to improve their MLS road record and take on a stingy Portland Timbers defense in the Rose City. The road trip will wrap up with the second leg of Canadian Championship semi-final at BC Place on Wednesday, July 25th.