MONTREAL ā The Montreal Impact were on a good run of form until the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a halt.
Midfielder Samuel Piette was enjoying a new triangular partnership with Saphir Taider and the Impactās new Designated Player signing Victor Wanyama before the worsening public health situation forced Major League Soccer, the Concacaf Champions League and nearly all leagues around the globe to suspend competition.
And while Piette accepted and understood the decision, he was frustrated to have to break just as he felt his club were building momentum, unbeaten in two league matches while reaching the CCL quarterfinals.
āObviously everything stopped and I feel like it was a really bad moment for us because despite the injuries we were on a good run,ā Piette told MLSsoccer.com. āItās a bad timing for us, any for everybody really, but because of the form that we had it was a bit difficult to accept because we donāt know how far we couldāve gone.ā
Just how long that break would last wasn't immediately clear either, he says. Major League Soccer initially announced it would suspend its season for at least a month, then stretched that hiatus to May 10 based on guidelines coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most recently, the league stretched its moratorium on teams training together through April 3.
āIt was a new situation that weāve never faced before,ā Piette said. āAt first, we all thought that it was going to be a matter of a couple of days, not weeks or months. So itās all brand new for us. Weāre still living day to day.
āItās weird to train on your own, it feels like itās an offseason again where preseason is getting closer and youāve got to keep in shape.ā
For Piette, the toughest part is to keep the squadās togetherness.
āYes, we can train and maintain our levels of fitness but itās that togetherness that is tough to work on when youāre separate from each other,ā he said. āI think that because it's a pretty new situation, people are more concerned with staying home and taking care of their families first.ā
Piette has turned some of that energy toward social media outreach to educate the public on the dangers of the coronavirus threat.
Premier Francois Legault, Quebecās political leader, called upon influencers and athletes to spread awareness on social media. Legault wanted help to reach Quebecās younger audience and Piette tried to do that on his took to his social media accounts.
āI feel like it was my duty to do so,ā Piette said. āI feel like I have a reach and it was my responsibility to do so. I got great feedback, people really appreciated the gesture and it was a very simple one for me. If I can do something on my part to help the situation, I will do so.ā