The start to 2014 season has been abysmal for the Montreal Impact, and a lot of their problems stem from the inability to keep the ball out of the back of their own net.
The first half of 2013 campaign saw the Impact rise to the top of the Eastern Conference table. This was thanks to solid team defending and the clinical finishing of Designated Player Marco Di Vaio. So what has happened to the Impact and in particular their defence this season? The Impact have given up 17 goals so far in nine games. The IMFC ship is taking on more water than those on-board can handle. If the ship has not sunk yet, it will very soon.
The pressure to win last season saw Marco Schällibaum consistently use a veteran back line. Expectations from ownership and management last season were sky high, and Schällibaum was given little room for failure (especially with Italian legend like Alessandro Nesta on the club). As a result of this pressure, the back four played a lot. Between the back four; consisting of: Hassoun Camara, Matteo Ferrari, Alessandro Nesta, and Jeb Brovsky, 115 MLS appearances were made out of a total 134. That is nearly 86% of the MLS matches were played by these four defenders! This number doesn’t even take into account preseason games, the Canadian Championship, or the CONCACAF Champions League.
The average age of the Impact defensive corps last season was 31 years. Consider this, the top ten MLS defenders (in terms of minutes played last season) had an average age of 26. Jeb Brovsky was the only Impact player of the four that would fit into this average. With the immediate pressure to win combined with the lack of trust in the young defenders, the scene was set for a very predictable struggle in 2014.
In 2013, 3 of the top 10 defenders in the MLS (in terms of playing time) played for the Chicago Fire under current Impact manager Frank Klopas. If those numbers are anything to go by, Klopas liked to stick with “his guys” and play them a lot. So perhaps it rubbed some players, such as Brovsky and Camara, the wrong way to see rookie Eric Miller walk into the starting lineup at the start of the season. Both Brovsky and Camara were were relied on last season as starters and leaders.
To rewind to the 2013 season once again, there was an event early in the 2013 season that perhaps scared the Impact management when young defender Karl Ouimette was given the opportunity start against Sporting KC, and was badly exposed. From that point forward, little to no opportunity was given to the young Impact defenders. Perhaps more attention was given to trying to win the Supporters Shield then on player development?
Midway through the 2013 season the Impact brought in both Adrián López and Hernán Bernardello to try and solidify the midfield and defense. Lopez got injured in his first competitive match during the Champions League and has yet to play his first MLS match. López was suppose to be eased into the fold last season. However, the longer he is absent the pressure mounts on him to be a saviour for the Impact defense. Will he ever live up to these expectations or demands? Only time will tell.
To be fair to the former academy defenders, there is no where for them to develop. With the reserve team only playing a handful of games, competitive playing time is very hard to come by. The North American leagues are not yet set up yet to accommodate academy level prospects, favouring NCAA draft picks.
Hindsight is always 20/20 however the Impact could have really used a player like Zarek Valentin last season as well as this season. Perhaps giving him some minutes with the Impact last season instead of loaning him out could have relieved some tired legs. Valentin’s impact would certainly been felt this season after receiving substantial playing time in the Norwegian league last season. Was the point of loaning him out not to give him more experience before coming back to help Montreal? His experience would have been greatly welcome in the first few months of this season.
As the MLS improves on the whole, the Impact are still heavily relying on players they have had since the beginning of their inaugural MLS season. The lack of long term planning, the pressure to win everything in 2013, lack of a place for academy players to grow, lack of stability with coaches, and just plain bad luck have all combined to make for a difficult framework for the Impact defence to grow together as a group.
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