MONTREAL – When Dominic Oduro shed Toronto red for Montreal blue, part of him knew this might happen.
“We were kind of joking about it one time with one of my guys from Chicago,” Oduro told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “We were just having fun, and someone said ‘What if Frank [Klopas] tries to get everybody that used to play for him in Chicago?’ We were cracking up. It became a reality.”
It is clear the Impact are signing more than just head coach Frank Klopas’ former charges, yet when Oduro joined Montreal last Tuesday, he became the third player to reunite with the former Chicago head coach. Bakary Soumare, this offseason, and Dilly Duka, last July, preceded him – Krzysztof Król played under technical director Frank Klopas in Chicago in 2010.
Oduro only got acquainted with Duka and Soumare last week, but he understands why Klopas might be after him.
“I think he knows my ability,” Oduro said. “Everything happens for a reason. He knows what I bring to the table, and I think that’s one of the reasons he also got me, too. My heart is here. I have to focus on that.”
Last week, Oduro left an environment where a recently-named head coach, Greg Vanney, is still looking to bring in his kind of players. Oduro was “a bit surprised” to be shipped away to Montreal but said he has no hard feelings.
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After all, his first week with the Impact has gone smoothly – the lack of Papa John’s Pizza in Quebec aside. Oduro says he’s clicked straightaway with several new teammates: Duka and Soumare, not surprisingly, but also the likes of Jack McInerney and team captain Patrice Bernier.
His familiar head coach has, to his delight, kept evolving his game since they last worked together.
“He has established himself as a high-profile coach in this league,” Oduro said. “There have been a lot of changes in the system he wants us to play and everything. You expect that. This league changes. Players change. You have to change, to adapt. He has changed to adapt the system of play to MLS.”
