MONTREAL – Only three days after the superb victory against FC Cincinnati in the curtain-raiser at home, CF Montreal suffered a hard blow with the loss of Josef Martínez in training. It is added to that of Matias Cóccaro which should push the depth to express itself.
Fortunately, in the case of Martínez, the worst seems to have been avoided.
“He feels so much better already and he’s talking about when he wants to come back.” I would like us to remain careful, not to panic and not to be happy too quickly. We will try to gather as much medical information as possible to have a clear picture of the injury,” declared coach Laurent Courtois.
‘He already told me’MisterI already want to come back, I’m ready’ and I told him, ‘Calm down a little,’” said Courtois, who had no choice but to wear a tuque with the cold wind blowing during training on Friday.
As the coach said, the team is still, somewhat, under the reaction and emotion in this matter.
“When Josef got injured, everyone took a hit. He worked so hard and he was back to his best. We were all scared. There, there is a little too much euphoria and it comes from him, the first, when he thinks of coming back on Saturday. The key is to manage everything well. It was trying at the time, but the next day, everyone wanted to move forward,” explained Courtois on the eve of Orlando’s visit to Stade Saputo.
On the other hand, Cóccaro’s absence should last between eight to ten weeks.
“Some say 10 weeks and he told me 2 weeks so it will be in between. But we are talking, more seriously, about 8 to 10 weeks so as not to run any medical risk,” said the coach who would not be surprised to see him return before this deadline.
Even though Cóccaro was injured during the match against Cincinnati, the Montreal eleven was able to obtain the victory. It will come down to the depth in attack to follow up with a second convincing presentation in front of the home crowd.
The first name that can demonstrate its relevance is Mason Toye. The striker will want to regain his composure as his confidence has eroded since his good times in 2021. Sunusi Ibrahim should also be part of the equation and, with the magnificent goal he scored against Cincinnati, Ariel Lassiter will not be not embarrassed to venture offensively.
“You have to show your ambitions every day and not just on match day. But whether you play five minutes or a half, it’s about seeing how you’re going to react when you’re on the pitch. We will have an answer to know if we did our homework well in the previous weeks,” reacted the coach about the preparation with the next generation candidates.
As for the other injured, Courtois inherited the mandate to clarify their situation. Forwards Kwadwo Opoku and Quebecer Jules-Anthony Vilsaint will not be in the lineup on Saturday, but their return is imminent. All that would remain was to bring them back to the right physical level.
As for Lassi Lappalainen, Courtois said that “it was a good sign to see him training so often which bodes well. And for Dominic Iankov, he experienced a small relapse because the coach “forced a little too quickly” with him. He should regain his rhythm shortly.
Under the constraints of injuries in attack, we had to try to know how Courtois would adjust his approach depending on the athletes who will start.
“Honestly, this is where I need to improve a little, but I’m having a hard time changing. Each player has specificities, but that doesn’t change the priorities of passes and movements or the connection I want to see. Yes, one is more comfortable in one department, but everyone has to adapt to everyone,” admitted Courtois.
“Our guys fear no one”
For the first time this year, the CFM will cross swords against an opponent it has already faced. Montreal started its season by granting itself a draw, surprising for many, on the Orlando field.
“It’s a team that impresses me and that I have always followed closely. But I hope I don’t sound too arrogant or humble, except our guys can do anything and they fear no one. I expect a performance like last week, but we will have a very good team in front of us,” replied Courtois.
“Somehow, I think they want a little bit of a rematch of the match that perhaps they didn’t think we would offer such a result. We have no excuses, they will go very hard against us,” he continued.
To win, Courtois anticipates an interesting fight to avoid being sucked into a midfield congested by Orlando.
“It’s to see how we can attract them to areas in which we have numerical superiority. It will be a bit like a chess game. There will be a lot of intensity and duels. In short, it will be a game of chess, but also war,” he described.
2024-04-19 15:43:00
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