After a nearly month-long break, Montreal returns to Major League Soccer, hoping to move on from the chaotic first half of its campaign.
First up is a match against arch-rival Toronto at Saputo Stadium on Thursday.
Montreal suffered its worst start in history (1-7-0), fired head coach Marco Donadel and appointed Philippe Eullafroy on an interim basis.
Now 4-8-2, Montreal managed to crawl out of the MLS basement and move to within four points of a playoff spot by halftime.
The second half of this season will prove even more challenging, but a busy schedule with higher-level opponents and two competitions to juggle has done little to dampen Eylafroy’s enthusiasm for forging his team’s identity.
“Identity and values are two words that are unfortunately losing a lot of prominence in the world,” Eullafroy said. “Identity is something incredibly powerful.
“There are almost nine billion people in the world, and with the exception of pure twins, there are just as many individual personalities. The tricky part here is taking 30 players and making sure they have the same DNA, and if we want them to have the same personality, we can’t change who we are.”
During the break, with the exception of a two-game win over Canadian Premier League team Vancouver in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship, Youllafroy has been able to make progress in turning this team into the team he wants.
A few weeks into his tenure, he said the team was only 25 percent of his vision. Now, he says, that number has reached 45 percent as his methodology, philosophy and tactics become more ingrained.
That progress will be immediately put to the test as Montreal prepares for its biggest regular-season game of the year when it hosts Toronto in the 66th Canadian Classique.
Winning the Canadian Classique, one of the most intense soccer rivalries in MLS, was often considered an extra trophy, with bragging rights almost as valuable as silverware.
“We’re preparing mentally… It’s important for the fans and it’s very important for us as a group,” said forward Daniel Rios, who will be competing in his first Canadian Classique tournament. “This is the biggest derby in Canada.”
The rivalry peaked during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, when both teams were among the best in MLS. For several years, the two clubs met in the playoffs and produced instant classics, with each team winning one game.
Both teams have recently struggled to find consistent success and rediscover their former glory. However, this did not dampen the intensity of the games or the passion of the fans.
“You have to find a balance. You have to make the players understand the situation because most of them have played in rival games before. So you have to make them remember how important games like this are, but also understand that there are other games after them that are also worth three points,” Eillafroy said. “This rivalry isn’t just about football, it’s about hockey, it’s about Canadian football, and there’s a cultural element that also has a lot to do with the history of our province.”
Eullafroy comes into the match with a thin depth chart. With the departure of Ivan Jaime and Vicky Carmona’s long-term knee injury, the two strikers most relied upon in the first half of the season are unavailable.
Additionally, forward Prince Owusu will be suspended for the game and is currently playing with a nasty knock to his right knee that forced him to be substituted at halftime against Vancouver. This not only makes life more difficult for an already unstable attacking core, but also puts more pressure on potential recruits.
“It’s a good opportunity for players like Noah (Strite), Danny (Rios) and (Gennady Sinchuk), but they are not juniors. They have played enough minutes and it all comes back to identity; we will play the same way,” Eilafroy said. “It doesn’t change anything; We’re counting on them to make a difference on Thursday and they’ll help us win the game.”
Montreal already made a splash this month by bringing in proven MLS midfielder Dani Pereira from Austin and will be looking to do more in the summer transfer window.