2024 – loss of the Montreal club in the preseason

The breath of fresh air since the appointment of Laurent Courtois may have bathed Montreal CF in positivity, but everyone at the club is nevertheless advocating patience. A trait worth recalling once again after Saturday afternoon's 6-2 loss against the Colorado Rapids in Orlando. Our special correspondent took part in this third preparatory meeting of the SIMC. Here are some of his observations.

(Orlando) “Wake up, damn it!” »

The result of a pre-season match is worth it, especially if the said match is one of the 120 minutes divided into 4 periods of 30 minutes. By the way, we had a special seat for this confrontation, which was installed right behind the players' and coaches' seats, and our feet were on the same field as the players in the match. That's why our approach was perfect to check out Laurent Courtois during his team's meeting.

Rapids scored 6 points^e minutes, courtesy of former Montrealer George Mihajlovic. After a while, we have the first sample of Courtois' style at the helm. “Wake up, damn it!” (wake up!), he tells his players.

Courtois and Laurent Ciman are the most talked about of the coaching staff. When the assistant noticed the rebound, especially to the young Alessandro Biello, he said, “Well done, chicken! And then what do we do? » Biello starts running after the game. “Yes. »

In the second 60 minutes, Samuel Piette entered the field. Courtois asked him, “Sam, where do you want Rida?” he asks. “, says midfielder Rida Zuhir. Samuel, is it new to you when a coach asks you to choose your teammates position during a match?

“Lauren and his staff want us to be very vocal on the field,” explained the captain after the meeting. (…) It is a pleasure to be given this role, the keys to guide the attackers. But it's a responsibility I have to learn. I'm not an expert at the tactical level, I'm learning a lot at the same time. It's very interesting. »

A solid 30 minutes, but…

Courtois' desire to see his players wake up has paid off. The second 30 minutes were Montreal's best on Saturday. We clearly saw the beautiful passing game that the Frenchman was trying to set up. Despite conceding the second goal, Dominik Iankov and Nathan Saliba scored back-to-back goals after effective attacks.

So you get the sense that despite a good moment in an otherwise tough match, Courtois isn't really happy.

“It's my fault for not giving enough marks to admit the lesser mistakes,” he said of the match overall. We go back to work to see which errors are acceptable and which are not. »

Piette, Wanyama and Reserves

For the next 60 minutes, a group consisting mainly of players who should be drawn around the XI this season gave way to reserves and academics, with the exception of Piette and Victor Wanyama.

In the same period, the team conceded four goals. Does that explain it?

Laurent Courtois: “It's good that we try to find circumstances that make it easier for us,” responds Laurent Courtois. Press. They scored four goals and we can't concede that many. (…) Even if we are young or inexperienced, we must be competitive. There are protective notions of cooperation, and they should be. Today we did not find them, especially in the second group. It is up to me to harden it and absorb it. »

For Piette, the goals were “totally the fault” of Bleu Blanc Noir. “Stupid” technical fouls are due to missed passes, among others. “At the same time, that's the style of play we want to play. It's normal to make mistakes, especially when starting to learn a new system. Now it's better to make mistakes. We learn the hard way. »

Sebastien Breza's failures

It is far from us to focus on the case of Sebastian Breza. Returning to the club after leaving at the end of the 2022 season, Montreal goalkeeper James Pantemis was a fan favorite that year before becoming a regular starter. But this preseason, Breza still doesn't inspire confidence, let's put it that way.

Moreover, Courtois asks his goalkeepers to be aggressive on the ball. Montrealers entered Saturday's third 30 minutes behind Jonathan Sirois. After making a mistake with the ball outside his own area, Courtois turned to his staff and called Luca Bucci, head of goalkeeping development at CFM. A short intelligent discussion followed between the two men.

The third goalkeeper, Logan Ketterer, came on for the final 30 minutes.

” This time, Laurent Courtois explained to us when asked about Breza's shortcomings. There are times when he tries to fit in. And when you sign up, decisions are made to try to reduce turnovers. We learn, correct, adjust. There is work. »

Good price for Doody and Alvarez

Regardless of the score and the pace of the match, a few players still stood out. We really liked the shot of American right back Grayson Doody, who was drafted in the last MLS SuperDraft.

Fernando Alvarez, who replaced Joaquin Sosa in the first half, also looked good in defence. He looks confident, young Colombian and doesn't make too many mistakes.

His reputation is well established, but quarterback Joel Waterman has shown excellent leadership qualities on the field. In the first half, with the captain's armband, he seemed to control the game from the back, effectively passing the ball forward like a full-back in American football.

On that note, Happy Super Bowl everyone!