Team presentation at Olympic Stadium before the home opener

Tonight we had the chance to watch players presentation in a open house to the fans before the public training. We also had the chance to meet Montreal Olympic Stadium in "MLS mode" before the home opener. It's always impressive to be in such a historic infrastructure all dressed up prepared to receive more than 50,000 fans against Chicago on Saturday.

Training. Olympic Stadium

And of course, the training. I take trainings very seriously since it always reflects the way you see the game, and therefore I looked at this one with very critic eyes specially the 11 vs 11 and the attacking drills.

Nyassi and Wenger in attacking drills

It's always discouraging when substitutes play better than starters and that happened most of the game tonight. I didn't see much of a difference compared in performance with game against Vancouver. Justin Mapp not very bright with the ball, Nyassi erratic and Justin Braun's lack of finish in front of the net.

I liked Arnaud, always sharp and attentive, also Andrew Wenger who had the best flashes of football in the training. We had a chance to see most recent signing Bernardo Corradi. The Italian played with lots of motivation, showed good attack instinct on the box. The details of his international transfer rights remain unknown to me.

Bernardo Corradi

We also saw the injured players sidelined where Camara, Rivas, Ubiparipovic, Montaño, Garcia and also Sebrango only jogged a little.

So, are we prepared to stop the fastest forward in MLS, Dominic Oduro? Can we cancel Marco Pappa's creativity in the midfield? Being these the two stars to watch out closely I also predict Arnaud and Wenger will be involved in the first Montreal Impact's goal in MLS. 


Enjoy an interview, courtesy of impactmontreal.com with Corradi and his current impressions of the training and his availability.

First lesson for Montreal Impact in MLS. Now the home opener

The first two errors in MLS were very expensive and unfortunately for the anxious fans they started early in the game. The Impact lost its first match 2-0 in Vancouver with goals from elite MLS forwards Sebastian LeToux and Camilo.


 




I'm going to analyze game, with the help of the Matchcenter chalkboard, and point out what I think could be improved for the next match.  


My first concern after this game is Justin Braun. The young forward was not at the level we all desired, at least for Jesse Marsch first scheme. He couldn't pivot the attack effectively, he didn't make a shot on goal in all game and he was unable to make a dangerous move or pass to feed the attacking midfielders. Unless Corradi is signed this week, I wouldn't be surprised if Wenger or even Sebrango start the next game.


Many people may argued the decision of Nyassi being chosen as the man of the match for the Impact in that game. Fans were not happy with the inaccuracy on his passing and the turnovers caused but, on the other side, his work rate and footprint on the pitch are undeniable covering twice the space Justin Braun covered. Also the Gambian recovered more balls than any other forward, including Whitecaps' 3 forwards,  and even more than Patrice Bernier who is supposed to lead the team in this category. That being said, we can expect better games for this player and most probably he should be in the starter eleven against Chicago.


Justin Mapp also had a weak performance being second with most unsuccessful passes in the team, one of them led to the second goal of the Whitecaps, and was the only player in the team with zero recoveries during the game something Marsch shouldn't be happy about. My opinion, won't start next game, specially if Sinisa Ubiparipovic is healthy or a chance is given to Lamar Neagle.


The duo Felipe-Bernier was not as effective as it was in preseason but they had a decent game. They rely on the team's offensive performance to look better but they did not dare enough to give them a try. I blame that to the nerves of the first kick but I have no doubt this duo will improve with the time.


The defensive line was very decent, the first goal was a matter of timing and that certainly will improve with time as well. What we should regret is the lack of intensity of Josh Garner in Camilo's goal, he could have done more in that play but overall this back line did many things right, specially when compared with this week LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls defensive errors in their respective loses.


According to Marsch it won't be much changes in the starter eleven for the home opener and we, as fans, have to be ready to give them a second chance, in the Olympic Stadium,  to make things work. I am sure we will have a different discussion on Saturday evening after the match. 


You can watch the highlights here courtesy of MLSSOCCER.COM








Here are the highlights form the first week in MLS. For me Villar (FC Dallas vs NY) and Espindola (Real Salt Lake vs LA) are the two best goals of the week. 

Is Montreal now ready for the first ever MLS kick?

Well, we all know you cannot be 100% ready for anything but Montreal Impact seems now comfortable with most of the aspects of the game except the for the forwards part. Not bad at all for an expansion team.

I know my comments on the first match in Orlando against Vancouver and then against Sporting KC were mainly negative, but on Wednesday night's match we saw an improved team. With a few changes on the lineup when comparing it with first match, Montreal managed to have the ball, find and create spaces everything with a solid and confident defense.

Lets go  into more detail.

The back line looked very comfortable with the ball and also synchronized the 90minutes except for few aerial balls. Matteo Ferrari have a good vision of the game from the back and  Tyson Wahl  showed fresh legs and quickness in two key occasions inside the box.  Brovsky and Gardner covered the flanks with responsibility and, I imagine are Marsch instructions, didn't risk too much on the attack.

Courtesy of impactmontreal.com

The midfield looked great, and more on detail Patrice Bernier is definitely is a great pacemaker for the team because he can have the ball  and protect it while the best option arrives, that is a tough and risky job to do. I barely saw him causing turnovers last night and personally like very much his style. He also has a good couple on Felipe Martins who is very skillful but sometimes I think he is too young to pull the team’s strings. Marsch, very much as Arsene Wenger’s style, is confident on keeping the 21 year old Italian-Brazilian on the field because he can be an all around player.  

The flanks were very good too, with Arnaud and Ubiparipovic both offering diagonal options on the attack they were very dynamic creating a handful of chances that Braun and Fuscito didn’t capitalized. Arnaud’s game last night was remarkable also on the defensive side, fighting every ball and covering Brovsky’s attacks. The Texan has surprisingly quick legs that not even the young quebecois defenseman Andre Hainault could stopped him that night. I am very happy watching a player like Arnaud on Montreal and I most say I did not expected such a mobility in a veteran like him.

On the attack side is a different story. Unfortunately besides hassling the other team's defensemen they haven't offered a good work on the field. Justin Braun and Mike Fuscito need to hesitate less and risk more. With the substitutions, Montano and Neagle did not make the difference either. Hoping experienced Italian Bernardo Corradi brings a spark to prepare the youngters rise their level for the first kick. 

Three key players, Nyassi, Valentin and Mapp were not in Orlando. The good side is other players stepped up and showed they can be starters too. The bad side is good teamwork is already in place without them, the team made a good progress in Florida this past week and now they need to fit on the system again. 

Montreal have now a handful of options in many positions with versatile players and do not be surprised if the Impact shows a different starter eleven in at least the first 6 games until the ideal system is being played.