Le CF Montréal sit third in the table after playing 12 of 34 regular season games in the MLS Eastern Conference. Needless to say, fans are excited about the start which Montréal have made. French head coach Wilfried Nancy and his team are on course for the playoffs if they can maintain this level of performance for the rest of the campaign. They look to be one of the best teams in the MLS when it comes to winning soccer games today and optimism is growing all the time.
Montréal have finished 7th or lower in five consecutive seasons, so it’s fair to say that few people saw this coming.
The emergence of Đorđe Mihailović
Serbian-American and United States international Đorđe Mihailović is certainly playing a big role in this early success. His six goals so far put the 23-year-old in joint third in the top scorers standings and many are already touting him as a contender to win the Landon Donovan MVP Award.
The work of head coach Nancy isn’t going unnoticed either. After taking over 14 months ago in his first ever managerial role, he is showing a tactical nous and a great understanding for the game as his team seems to grow in confidence every week.
After a 2-0 win over Charlotte last week, Nancy said: “Today we continued to do good things. We are on a good run and the credit goes to the players. There is a confidence building since last year and the players are enjoying executing the game plans.”
To go all the way and do something truly historic, Nancy and his players will need to maintain the consistency they’ve showed so far for another 22 matches and reach the playoffs, at which point anything can happen.
The experience of Victor Wanyama
The experience of Kenyan midfielder and former UEFA Champions League finalist Victor Wanyama will be invaluable in this push towards the playoffs. The 30-year-old is still arguably in his prime and will provide quality and know-how which just doesn’t grow on trees in North American soccer.
One concern for Montréal could be losing players to Europe as the summer transfer window opens and teams in the Premier League and elsewhere look to bolster their squads before the new season.
Could Montréal lose some key players?
Mihailović for one is said to be getting a lot of attention from Leeds United, who may be playing in the Championship next season if they get relegated from the Premier League this weekend. Either way, they will have more than enough financial pulling power to tempt the youngster away and their new head coach is reportedly interested. Former Montréal coach Jesse Marsch, who is now in charge in West Yorkshire may try to acquire the young star.
Other highly rated youngsters like Alistair Johnston and Joaquin Torres could be attracting suitors too.
However, for now the energy is all positive around Montréal as the team continues to pull up trees in the Eastern Conference. Fans in the stands and online are rightly excited about the prospect of their soccer team providing a run to the playoffs.
Other articles from mtltimes.ca – totimes.ca – otttimes.ca
Caerula Mar Club a new standard in paradise – South Andros Bahamas
