Victor Wanyama remains an essential part of CF Montreal as they prepare for their opening match of the season against Orlando City SC. The Kenyan midfielder has been reaffirmed in his position as the assistant captain of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team, CF Impact Montreal.
As the 2024 season approaches, Montreal’s new coach, Laurent Courtois, has shown trust in his leadership group by keeping Samuel Piette as the team captain and appointing Joel Waterman as another assistant captain, following Kamal Miller’s transfer to Portland Timbers. Despite a pre-season without wins, morale within the team is still high.
Montreal is set to face Orlando City SC this Saturday, February 24, at INTER&Co Stadium, aiming for a positive start to their season. Courtois, who took over in January, has been focused on rapidly getting acquainted with his team, using pre-season games as vital chances for testing new strategies.
“After the recent training session, Courtois stated, “The last thing I wanted was for the preparatory matches to be calm and peaceful in terms of results. We think we’re in a good position. We really tried new things, especially in the last game.” Despite a pre-season record of 0-3-1, which might worry supporters, Courtois and his team are looking at the bigger picture.
The focus has been on performing well on the pitch and learning from every match, regardless of the score. Courtois’s tactical plan seems to shift away from the previous coach, Hernan Losada’s focus on direct play, but the change might not be too sharp given the retention of players from the 2022 lineup.
Montreal’s record in season openers and early games has been disappointing in recent years, with consecutive losses at the beginning of their last few seasons. Moreover, their away game performance under Losada was concerning, underscoring the need for tactical changes this season.
