Another 3-0 loss for Montreal.

Can we go any worse? 

Before the game we knew we'd miss all the injured/suspended players and performance would be affected but we also wanted to experiment how deep our squad is and how dependent is the team on certain players. 

I don't want to take away any credit to DC United, the did the right things and availed our errors wisely. I don't know why I enjoy watching playing Boskovic, maybe because he reminds me in some way to what Fernando Redondo, Argentinian and Real Madrid legend, treated the ball and set the pace to the game. 

The truth is we thought our squad was deep and is here where we face the reality of an expansion team and the dilution of the league talent, but we will develop this subject in another post.

Can we save a player from last night? wow, not even Davy Arnaud, who always makes solid performances, was victim of the fatigue of the last few games where traveling and little rest has been the rule, especially if he plays all 90 minutes in every single match. Here I blame Marsch a little, especially when he made no substitutions in the win against Houston after winning 4-2 with 30 minutes left, he could have freshen the midfield and avoid extra tax key players like Felipe, Mapp or Arnaud. 

We also have Sinisa Ubiparipovic, very erratic last night; he couldn't make a decent play in the entire match. I've always been a fan of him, he came last year and gave us sparks of magic but never forget it Montreal was still playing on 2nd division (NASL). I was very happy Jesse Marsch kept him on the team and coming off the bench he has done some good things when the team is on full potential. But there is a big difference when you want Sinisa to start the game and carry your MLS team on the shoulders. He simply hasn't been able to fill that role. He is like our own MLS Guti, referencing to the role Jose Maria Gutierrez played last decade with Real Madrid who was unable to pull out a good performance when starting the game but did great things off the bench. Although Sinisa hasn't been particularly spectacular coming off the bench either. 

I also blame Jesse Marsh for persisting on using Nyassi as a forward, what are we? Spain using a false 9? He has never performed well in this position and you can see he tends to go to the flanks and make the plays from there because he is a natural winger. I would rather have Arnaud as a center forward than Sanna Nyassi and having forwards on the bench like Sebrango or Montanio makes me really think about how we are using our tools. 

Marco Di Vaio, we better wait two or three more games before start evaluating his performance. 

At the end, we need Bernier, Ferrari, Rivas, Felipe and Warner the 90min and Marco Di Vaio adapted to MLS to compete in this league.

   

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.

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.

Impact vs Vancouver, pre-season in Orlando. The reality of an expansion team.

Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Florida. Last three preseason games for the Impact. Tonight Montreal played against Vancouver and results did not go the way we wanted. Vancouver won the game 3-0 with goals from Hassli, Mattocks and LeToux (PK). 





Vancouver made us realized we are an expansion team with a lot to learn about how to win matches in this league, and the message has been given by the worst team in the league last season.  


Montreal starter eleven was: Ricketts, Brovsky, Ferrari, Wahl, Gardner, Arnaud, Bernier, Felipe, Neagle, Montaño et Sebrango. 


The Impact was outplayed by the Whitecaps in the first 20 min, after that, midfielders Patrice Bernier, Felipe Martins and Davy Arnaud started pulling the strings to create some danger and that draw me a smile in the face, it was the first time I watched Impact's MLS team,  but unfortunately inspiration was not enough to score a goal. 


Eric Hassli scored in a counter attack so sophisticated that whitecaps Argentinian center back Bonjour went all the way up like "Lucio" to make the cross to the Frenchman. I did not like the Donovan Ricketts reflexes on that shot, I think the ball was close enough to at least make contact. Our back line did not look good on that one.


Honestly, when the first half ended I was hopeful since we were increasing our level in the pitch. Miguel Montano and Lamar Neagle made their efforts with no luck, they just could not outplay Vancouver defense.


The second half was another story. The game didn't improve on quality but Vancouver improve on populating the midfield and being more dangerous when attacking. That way Mattocks, the forward Montreal did not picked on the superdraft, made Impact's back line suffer with his speed. Specially after Shavar Thomas made his appearance as a center back. 


Mattocks scored his goal on the 69" in an impressive acceleration display and killer instinct. Sebastian Le Toux scored his penalty in the 83" and Mike Fuscito had a chance from long distance before the game ended. 

Many questions now are raised, are Valentin, Nyassi and Mapp that important creating opportunities? Since were the ones missing on the team. 

Is our back line deep enough to overcome the injuries? with Camara and Rivas out we really need to sign Ferrari and if possible make Wegner play defense.

Is 4-4-2 the best lineup for the current team? maybe yes with Maap and Nyassi, but without them we need a "trequartista" like Ubiparipovic or the Argentinian Lucas Acosta to make the game more dynamic. 

Here the match highlights, courtesy of impactmontreal.com