The Montreal Impact defense was one of the most solid during the 2015 season and will continue to do so in 2016 with new signings and jobs up for grabs. The Impact allowed only 44 goals in 2015, good enough for second-least in the Eastern Conference and they drastically improved from their disastrous 58 goals allowed in 2014.
The main reason to their improvement was the signing of Belgian international Laurent Ciman in March. Ciman previously played for Standard Liège in the Belgian Pro League and came to Canada for medical aid for his autistic daughter, Nina. The Impact could not be happier with Ciman’s decision to join the Impact on a pay cut and not use up a Designated Player spot.
Ciman adapted well to North American play and won the MLS Defender of the Year. Although Ciman was a force to be reckoned with on the backline, the Impact defense would have not been so dominant if they would have relied solely on the Belgian.
Players like Donny Toia, Ambroise Oyongo, Wandrille Lefèvre and Victor Cabrera contributed mightily to their stellar performances and Evan Bush was a rock in nets.
Cabrera, on loan from River Plate, Oyongo, acquired in a trade from the New York Red Bulls, and Toia, drafted in the MLS Dispersal Draft, all made their debuts with the club this season and greatly exceeded expectations.
Toia, the iron-man left back, played 31 MLS games plus ten CONCACAF Champions League and Canadian Championship games, which led the team in games played. He picked up only four yellow cards, a minuscule amount to the eight collected by Ciman, to go along with his three reds. The Impact found a budding star on the left side of the pitch when they picked him up in the Dispersal Draft. Outside of Ciman, Toia is the team’s best defender.
Oyongo and Cabrera both started the season weak but finished strong, leaving head coach Mauro Biello with a big smile on his face. However, there is a possibility of their departures before the start of the 2016 season.
Rumours have been swirling around Oyongo since he was traded to Montreal in January about emigrating to England, following the path of DeAndre Yedlin, who signed with the Tottenham Hotspurs. Cabrera’s loan deal is also set to expire and he may return to Argentina. Should both defenders depart the club, spots will be opened up at the half back and full back positions. With Hassoun Camara’s ability to play both positions, Lefèvre’s sudden maturity and the growth of full backs Eric Miller and Maxim Tissot, the signing of a single left or full back will fill out the Impact defense.
New Face Arrives (?) Questions Arise
The Montreal Impact fan base exploded on Twitter on Sunday with rumours of a new signing, which were quickly nullified. Ivorian left back Siaka Tiéné was reported to have signed with the club, according to Patrick Leduc of French TV Network, RDS.
Une première acquisition #IMFC en vue de la saison 2016. L’Ivoirien Siaka Tiéné (ex-Montpellier) aurait signé entente #EffetDrogba
— Patrick Leduc (@patleduc15) November 29, 2015
“A first acquisition for #IMFC ahead of the 2016 season. Ivorian Siaka Tiéné (ex-Montpellier) has signed an agreement. #DrogbaEffect” He then learned that nothing was confirmed by the club.
Une mise au point est nécessaire: les informations que j’ai obtenues sur Tiéné s’avèrent contradictoires. La nouvelle n’est pas confirmée — Patrick Leduc (@patleduc15) November 30, 2015
“An added point is necessary: the information that I had received on Tiéné has been contradictory. The news is not confirmed.”
Le club dément contact avec le joueur et on peut douter de l’authenticité du compte @Tienesiaka5. #IMFC
— Patrick Leduc (@patleduc15) November 30, 2015
“The club denies contact with the player and we can doubt the authenticity of the account.” A Twitter account by the name of @siakatiene5 was retweeting and liking tweets from Impact fans wishing him good luck with the team. A picture was even posted of him in a hotel room with the caption, “Montreal”. This was not a confirmed account and the tweets have since been deleted, questioning the legitimacy of the account.
Néanmoins, des sources maintiennent l’info initiale. Je suis sincèrement désolé de cette confusion. Je m’efforce de clarifier la situation — Patrick Leduc (@patleduc15) November 30, 2015
“Nevertheless, the sources are maintaining their initial info. I am sincerely sorry for this confusion. I am giving my effort to clarify this situation.”
Despite Leduc’s best efforts to convince the Montreal faithful that Drogba convinced this former Paris St. Germain player to come to North America, the Montreal Impact publicly said that they have had no contact with him and all reports were false.
Despite the strange sequence of events Impact fans will keep a glimmer of hope into signing Tiéné. As a left back, Tiéné would battle the younger Toia for a job and possibly force Toia to the right side, leaving questions as to what other changes may be made to the Impact’s back line next season.
Even if Tiéné will not be in Montreal next season, a report of such magnitude does not surface unless the Impact is in need of a full back. When Ignacio Piatti was first rumoured to land in Montreal, former DP Hernan Bernardello was on his way out and last February, local radio stated that the Impact was close to signing Italian striker Alberto Gilardino- they would acquire their DP striker in Didier Drogba six months later. Rumours may have a signal of the future.
If it is not Tiéné to join club the club and add depth to the flanks, there is still a world of players at their disposal. Impact owner Joey Saputo is a part-time owner of Serie A side Bologna F.C. and easily has players at his disposal for the Impact, in Italy.
With Toia and Ciman considered the only real locks on the Impact defense in 2016, two jobs will be wide open. With younger players fighting for the job, the Impact could look elsewhere to add speed on the right side or strength in the middle. The end goal of the possible upcoming change on the Impact defense is to maintain parity with the outstanding 2015 numbers.
Text in French was translated by the author.
Main Photo.
