Your Thursday Kickoff: A new era in Montréal under Hernan Losada, SuperDraft madness 

CF Montréal name Losada head coach

Hernán Losada is back on MLS sidelines, with CF Montréal naming the Argentine as their new head coach. Losada, 40, previously served as head coach of D.C. United from 2021 until six games into the 2022 season. He had a 15-month tenure with the Black-and-Red, amassing a 16W-19L-5D record.

Charlotte FC select Clemson's Diop No. 1 in 2023 MLS SuperDraft

Clemson University defender Hamady Diop is the No. 1 overall pick in Wednesday’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. The Senegalese standout is going to Charlotte FC, who moved into the top spot after completing a trade with expansion side St. Louis CITY SC. The newcomers swapped down for the No. 20 pick in the 2023 SuperDraft, $400,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and conditional GAM. That was far from the only move last night though.

FC Cincinnati sign Ecuadorian midfielder Angulo

FC Cincinnati have officially acquired midfielder Marco Angulo from Independiente de Valle of the Ecuadorian Liga Pro. The 20-year-old has signed through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026. He joins as a U22 Initiative player and will occupy an international roster spot.

CF Montréal acquire Herrera in trade with Real Salt Lake

CF Montréal have acquired defender Aaron Herrera from Real Salt Lake in a trade. To land Herrera, the Canadian MLS side sent the Claret-and-Cobalt $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) split across the next two seasons, a 2023 international roster spot and Montréal’s natural first-round pick in today’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft (25th overall). RSL also retain a sell-on fee, should a certain transfer threshold be met.

DC United acquire Ruan from Orlando City for No. 2 MLS SuperDraft pick

D.C. United have acquired Brazilian right back Ruan from Orlando City SC in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. After four seasons with the Lions, the 27-year-old joins a Black-and-Red side in rebuild mode ahead of head coach Wayne Rooney's first full season in charge. They've been active this offseason, already bringing in six reinforcements prior to the draft (including left back Pedro Santos and goalkeeper Tyler Miller via free agency) while letting 12 players go.

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NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT.

Yesterday marked the first day of the offseason where it felt like we were really picking up speed. News broke left and right, Tom Bogert didn’t blink for like six hours, and we all were better for it at the end of the day. To celebrate, here are some quick thoughts on yesterday’s biggest stories.

CF Montréal are on pace for one of the single most intriguing offseasons of any team in recent memory. I would say the general odds are that they slow down eventually, but there are still a whole handful of positions they could potentially fill. And now those positions have to be filled by people who can fit Hernan Losada’s particular style. 

Let’s just pause real quick and talk about how seismic a shift in game model this is for Montréal. To be blunt, I’m getting serious “date the opposite of your ex after a breakup” vibes. Montréal have gone from Wilfried Nancy’s possession-based, positional play-influenced style to [LOUD NOISES]. This is the soccer version of getting kicked out of the classical musical conservatory and starting a speed metal band. Losada’s tactics in D.C. were defined by hyper-direct play, pressing and a general ethos that was practically, but not quite, Red Bullsian. 

It’s the kind of style that generally raises your floor in MLS but, without the proper pieces, limits your ceiling. Just ask New York. You have to wonder how quickly Montréal’s holdovers from the Nancy era will adapt to it. And you have to wonder how their newest players will adapt to it too. Their recent trades for center back George Campbell and full back Aaron Herrera were almost certainly made with Losada in mind. Herrera seems like a fit and a steal for the amount of GAM they spent to get him, but I have my questions about Campbell. 

Either way, there were enough players in D.C. that felt like a fit and it didn’t matter in the end because of Losada’s management tactics. You can’t mention his initial success with a not-so-great D.C. roster without also mentioning the fact that he left the Black and Red early this season on bad terms with a decent portion of the locker room thanks to wild standards involving weight and conditioning. Chris Seitz, a backup keeper with D.C. United at the time, laid out some of those standards and how they affected his mental health in a thread earlier this year. You have to wonder what lessons, if any, Losada learned from that situation and how it will affect his time in Montréal.

I lost track in real-time, but it looks like Sporting KC were the first team to actually make a SuperDraft pick in the position they were originally assigned last night. The seven teams before them all made trades. Five picks later, the Columbus Crew became the second team to make a pick in their original position. 12 of the first 14 picks were traded. I can only guess that’s some kind of record. 

Then, somehow, in the middle of the tradingest SuperDraft ever, the Philadelphia Union made their first pick since 2018 and then made another pick. Not going to lie, my worldview felt a little shaken last night. Anyway, it’s interesting to see the varying prices assigned to certain picks, how teams leveraged them and why other teams felt the need to use allocation money to move up. For example, Charlotte must be extremely high on Hamady Diop to trade $400,000 in General Allocation Money and their 20th pick to move up to number one on the same day that Aaron Herrera went to Montreal for $500,000 in GAM. 

There’s no real way to assess those kinds of moves at this point, but I wish we could fast forward to see how the differences in roster-building strategies played out for all the teams involved last night and how those consequences affected future drafts. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect many teams to trade up last night after seeing the Union rake in a ton of allocation money over the last few years to great effect. It kind of felt like people would be wise to the trick at this point. But here we are, with millions in GAM changing hands and the Union making multiple picks. MLS will always keep you guessing.

Orlando sent Ruan to D.C. yesterday and then drafted two forwards. Again, no real way to assess yet, but that’s just fascinating. The Lions need to find starters at both full back spots and now seem to be banking on two SuperDraft picks immediately providing depth up top. All of that happened with the backdrop of a major deal for a Designated Player looming on the horizon. Tom Bogert is reporting that a deal for Argentine winger Martin Ojeda is nearly done. 

Meanwhile, D.C. picked up another experienced player who can step in and make an immediate impact. Ruan, one of the fastest players in league history, has been as effective as they come as an attack-minded fullback. D.C. are working overtime to build some semblance of a “win-now” team and it’s still very unclear how much winning that win-now team will actually do. With every move, the range of outcomes seems to increase. But I think the floor has been raised slightly here. We aren’t talking about a Wooden Spoon-winning team. Just a team that could finish anywhere from like 13th to fifth in the East. And they almost certainly aren’t done yet. 

I’m grateful for all of that. Sometimes you just have to sit back and appreciate the teams that are keeping things interesting.

Colorado Rapids acquire Harris in trade with FC Cincinnati: The Colorado Rapids have acquired forward Calvin Harris in a trade with FC Cincinnati. Cincy are guaranteed $200,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) split across the next two seasons, plus another $175,000 in conditional GAM. They also retain a percentage of a transfer fee should Harris be sold or traded by the Rapids.

Charlotte FC sign Cambridge after acquiring homegrown rights from Vancouver: Charlotte FC have signed midfielder Brandon Cambridge through the 2024 MLS season with option years in 2025 and 2026. The 20-year-old Canadian inked a homegrown deal after a standout career at the University of Portland.

New York Red Bulls sign homegrown defender Reid: The New York Red Bulls have signed homegrown defender Jayden Reid through the 2023 MLS season with options for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The 21-year-old recently finished his fourth and final year playing for the University of Connecticut, where he tallied three goals and seven assists in 51 appearances.

• Travis Clark gave out grades to each club after the 2023 SuperDraft last night.

• Take a look at the 2023 MLS preseason schedule.

• Here’s every No. 1 overall pick in MLS SuperDraft history.

• No. 1 SuperDraft pick Hamady Diop says he’s “just grateful” to join friends at Charlotte FC.

Good luck out there. Celebrate with everyone you can.