MONTREAL – As new Montreal Impact head coach Remi Garde introduced his coaching staff on Wednesday, a French re-connection was immediately apparent.
Joining Garde are assistant coach Maxence Flachez, goalkeeper coach Joel Bats and fitness coach Robert Duverne. All three previously worked with Garde at Olympique Lyonnais, where Garde won one Coupe de France and one Trophee de Champions in his three seasons as manager.
Bats spent the past 17 seasons as Olympique Lyonnais’ goalkeeper coach, working with the likes of Anthony Lopes, Hugo Lloris, Remy Vercoutre and Gregory Coupet.
“The last trophy I won in France was with Remi Garde,” Bats said. “We won two trophies together, and now I’ve come to rejoin him here to win another one on the other side of the ocean.”
Garde was asked what it took for him to convince Bats, his former teammate, to join him in Montreal.
“It was very difficult, believe me,” Garde said. “ I don’t know, probably he believes in the possibility for me to be a good manager for him as well. I mean, we like to work together. We know each other for a long time, and of course he was with a big club as well, but he thought that it was a good opportunity for him to give another direction to his career after so many years in Lyon.”
Bats earned 50 caps for France and helped Les Bleus to the 1984 European Championship. He also faced Canada when they played their first World Cup game in the 1986 opener for both teams. France went on to a third-place finish in Mexico.
“I only remember that we won 1-0 against Canada and that it was a very complicated game,” Bats said. “It was very hot, that’s the only memory I have of that game. I haven’t revisited it.”
Garde said Evan Bush enters the season as the Impact’s No. 1 goalkeeper, with Clement Diop, who signed with Montreal on Tuesday, as their No. 2.
“I have complete confidence in our goalkeeper management by Joel Bats,” Garde said.”It’s a team within the team, and their positions are clear from the outset.”
Flachez spent the past four seasons with Olympique Lyonnais, the first two as their U-19 coach before coaching their reserve team.
“I knew about MLS before Remy contacted me about this magnificent project, but only from a distance,” Flachez said. “I didn’t particularly follow MLS, but I can’t hide the fact that since Remy approached me I have looked into the league in depth and I’m attracted to this championship. I am looking forward to experiencing this on the other side of the Atlantic.”
Assistant coach Wilfried Nancy is the only returning member of last year’s coaching staff.
"I wanted to have someone in my staff who knew both the club and the league, a kind of witness, so I would not have to discover everything by myself,” Garde said. “I wanted to rely on someone's expertise, and the meeting with Wilfried went very well. It worked out pretty quickly and it suited me."
