MONTREAL – Two names were mentioned more than any other during the Montreal Impact’s season review Monday: Davy Arnaud and Alessandro Nesta.
Both players have been gone for nearly a year, and that’s actually why they came up.
In January, Impact defender Matteo Ferrari was worried that the team had failed to replace those two leaders.
Nine months later, Montreal finished with the worst record in MLS following their 1-1 draw Saturday against D.C. United. They were unable to win even one game on the road, where Arnaud and Nesta had proved so valuable last season when they advanced to the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s young history.
Time proved Ferrari right.
“Alessandro and Davy leaving left a big void, for sure,” goalkeeper Evan Bush told reporters. “Looking forward to the offseason, that’s something that needs to be addressed as far as what guys will step up in leadership roles. … You need that, but you also need guys to step up when things are going poorly to kind of right the ship in the locker room by saying things.”
Some leaders, Bush added, remained on the Montreal roster. But most were leaders by example, less inclined to raise their voice in private.
The ending to the 2013 season, when Montreal had three players sent off in a 3-0 playoff loss at Houston, also left a mark. Their first win of 2014 came eight games in.
“There was a malaise – that we never fixed – related to the previous season,” team captain Patrice Bernier said. “Sometimes, when you win, it turns out fine, but we started losing. We started doubting, and we lost confidence.”
One of four players out of contract for next season – along with goalkeeper Troy Perkins and defenders Heath Pearce and Mamadou "Futty" Danso – Bernier is adamant that his work in Montreal is not yet done. The Impact opted against in-season negotiations with players, but head coach Frank Klopas sounded willing to offer Bernier a new contract.
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Retaining Bernier’s services would please the Montreal fan base, which the club hopes to rejuvenate once again.
But the Impact are thankful for some aspects of 2014, namely that the first fixture in 2015 is against Mexico’s Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions League after they advanced out of group play earlier this month. And there’s a feeling that the second half of this season, closed out with four draws, will translate into a more optimistic squad this winter.
“Winning the Canadian Cup and advancing in CCL were very positive things for the club,” Klopas said. “But obviously, the most important thing is to be a team that’s consistent, getting in the playoffs and having an opportunity to win something.”
Ferrari also added a couple of thoughts, his early season remarks lurking somewhere in the background.
“You see that a lot of young players had a lot of space this year, and I think it’s important,” Ferrari said. “I don’t want to say names because I don’t want to forget somebody, but you can see how much they grow. That’s good for the club. But I still think that if you want to be there, in the playoffs, at the top, you need something more.”
