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Posted by
Kevin Duarte,
February 15, 2013 |
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Kevin Duarte
Twitter @DuarteK27 |
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Things are looking bright for the Impact so far this pre-season camp. Following two and a half weeks of training at home, Montreal is currently in Florida where they are continuing their pre-season preparations.
The club arrived in Florida just over a week ago. Since then, the team has been training regularly, playing friendlies and partaking in team bonding activities.
On Saturday Feb. 8, the Impact played last season's Eastern Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City in their first match of the Walt Disney Pro Soccer Classic.
It was not the best of starts for Montreal. In the 18th minute, Graham Zusi unleashed a rocket from 25-yards out which sailed past Troy Perkins.
The Impact settled down shortly after and started playing some controlling football. Seconds before halftime, Marco Di Vaio got on the end of a perfect Patrice Bernier through ball, beat a defender, a skipped a shot under Jimmy Nielsen.
The second half saw a much better performance from the Quebec side. Head coach Marco Schällibaum made a series of substitutions, including bringing on Academy player Maxim Tissot and Brazilian trialist Eber.
Both players looked good in the second half, as both look to make the senior squad come March. In the 61st minute Tissot recovered a ball and send a long through ball down for Andrew Wenger. Wenger made no mistake scoring 1v1 against Nielsen.
Montreal controlled the rest of the match. For the squad's first 90 minute match since their trip to Italy in November, the performance was rather strong. The midfield connected well, both strikers did their job and scored, and the defence was acceptable.
Schällibaum's playing style seems pretty evident. As expected, the Impact will try to be a possession-dominant side looking to attack through the middle of the pitch. The team seems to play quickly when in possession and could look for counter-attacking possibilities. Montreal still needs to polish up defending between now and First Kick on March 2.
Like some players, Schällibaum was also making his debut for the club. Schällibaum seems very involved matches. He is constantly shouting instructions to his players from the sideline and expects flawless technical capabilities from his side. If something is not going right, Schällibaum is not afraid to address any specific player. It's not unnatural to hear him shouting in English, French or Italian.
On Wednesday afternoon, Montreal faced the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their second match of the friendly tournament. Two minutes in, Felipe put his side ahead connecting on Andrea Pisanu's low cross.
In the 16th minute, Di Vaio converted a spot kick after Felipe was brought down in the area. Two minutes later, the Rowdies scored a PK of their own.
In the 41st minute, Di Vaio restored the two goal lead when he tapped in another Pisanu low cross. In second half, the Impact added a fourth goal after Sanna Nyassi finished a nice combination play with newcomer Andres Romero.
The Impact will next play Friday against the Philadelphia Union in a non-tournament match in Jacksonville and again on Saturday against D.C. United in Orlando for their third group match of the WDPSC.
The Florida training camp is much more than just a tune up for the upcoming season. The trip is also used for team-bonding events. This is something the club never really had last year with players only meeting each other a few months before the start of the season.
Now, with the core squad intact, Montreal could concentrate on not only on-field events, but also those off the pitch. Since the pre-season began, squad and technical staff have played basketball games, participated in a snowshoe race and more recently took to a go-kart track for a two-hour race. The team and some players have been actively using social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to showcase events from the trip.
As much as off-field activities are important, the main focus still remains on pitch work. For some players, this training camp is a chance to make the first team.
As of now, the Impact have 22 players under contract for the first team. Along with these first team players, there are five Academy players, three SuperDraft picks and one player on trial. There are 31 players total at the camp.
So far some have made a considerable impression, Andrea Pisanu, who signed on-loan in the beginning January, has looked promising, especially after his two assists against Tampa Bay.
Other players, like Eber and Tissot, as mentioned earlier, have been good in both matches so far. Romero, who did not play against Sporting KC, came on as a substitute in the Tampa Bay match. He also assisted on Nyassi's goal.
Even for players already under contract, this Florida camp is a chance to solidify a spot in the starting lineup come March.
"I hope to be in the starting lineup," said midfielder Collen Warner, who made 29 appearances in 2012. "Last year was a good year and I kind of want to continue in that sort of fashion. Obviously with the new coach coming in, it's going to be another chance for me to prove myself."
Currently in his third training camp, defender Zarek Valentin says the Florida trip is a perfect way to solidify his spot in the starting XI.
"Besides Felipe, he's a new coach to everyone," he said. "Everyone's got to prove themselves; you got to go out there and fight. I think that's kind of good right now because everyone's on the same playing field, nobody has an advantage."
Valentin says he's been maturing as a young player, especially next to accomplished defenders like Alessandro Nesta, Matteo Ferrari and Nelson Rivas. Valentin also understands the importance of these pre-season trips.
"That's when you play games," he said. "That's when you really see who the player is. A lot of players can be semi decent in practice, but if they go out there and ball it up in games then that's what you want. Practices put you in a good spot to get on the field, and then you just got to take care of business [in games]."
The Impact's training sessions up-to-date have been incorporating fitness, tactics and the technical side of the game. Midfielder Calum Mallace says he needs to perform at the highest level in training in order to see more minutes on the pitch during matches.
"You just got to perform," he said. "I got to prove to the coaching staff and everyone else that I can do it in practice. And if I do get the opportunity in a game, that's what it takes. They're not going to play you if you cannot perform."
After the D.C. United match on Saturday, the Impact will play one more time in the Walt Disney Pro Soccer Classic in an elimination game. Currently, the team tops their group and just needs a draw against D.C. to guarantee a spot in the final next weekend.
The Impact returns to Montreal on Sunday, Feb. 24. On Wednesday, Feb. 27, the club will hold an event to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The event will also act as the official launch to the 2013 season.
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