|
|
The heart of the Montreal Impact defense has had a lot of question marks since the start of preseason. These questions have been for now answered by the club bringing new bodies to shore up the back line.
The Impact's first two MLS signings were central defenders. They opted for Colombian veteran Nelson Rivas and the team's most valuable player in 2011, Hassoun Camara. Rivas' durability was already in question, having played 33 league games in the past 4 and a half years. A lack of appearances could be due to being at a big club like Internazionale. However, he managed to only play one game for Dnipro in one half of a seasons in early 2011. So it was clear that the Impact would need people to cover for him in case he gets injured. He wasn't fully practicing with the team during the training in Montreal and it has now been told to the media that he will have to miss two months due to an thigh injury.
Meanwhile, Hassoun Camara got training camp off to a bad start. Indeed, he wasn't able to pass his physical evaluation right away and had to wait before joining the team in Mexico. Even though he played most of the 2011 season as a midfielder, the Impact listed him as a defender, and when he played on the backline, he was in the middle of it. When the team came back to Montreal, the Frenchman injured his ankle and didn't follow the team to California and just started practicing with the Academy. Still, the preseason injuries of both of those players may have woken the club up and forced them to sign more centre backs.
Another player picked during the Expansion Draft that was expected to fill the void was Bobby Burling. After the first day of training camp, Jesse Marsch said that Burling was absent because of contractual reasons but the head coach expected the former San Jose Earthquake to come to Montreal. The more days went by, the more it felt improbable that the Colorado native would play for the expansion team.
Then came the signings to cover the lack of depth at that said position. Jamaican captain Shavar Thomas was Montreal's first new acquisition. That move could have meant many things, whether it is to get cover for possible injuries, or to just add depth because of Bobby Burling's absence. Then some rumours swirled around saying Nevio Pizzolitto has signed with the team. The club has yet to confirm the news, but it's not surprising to hear it considering the question marks surrounding who are expected to play in the central defending role. This week, another centre back was brought in Matteo Ferrari. He hasn't signed an MLS contract for the moment, but Nick de Santis has made it look like it's almost a done deal.
Outside of those players, there were a few players that played at centre back during training camp. Tyson Wahl was used a lot at that position and started on most games with the team that looks the more probable to be the first team. Also, Gienir Garcia has played at that position alongside Pizzolitto. Marsch will have a good idea on who to keep and who to start at the beginning of the season. The big question on the heart of the defense will be the durability of that group, especially with travel time that is much worse then what Ferrari and Rivas have played throughout their entire football career.
|