One More Time(Quarterfinal)

So, a lot of people are drawing parallels to the Gulls championship season of 2009. A bad start, followed by the team beginning to work well together as well as a striker finding his form and scoring at nearly a goal a game.

Well, it’s certainly something no one would criticize people for saying around these parts because frankly it’s all true. Gone is the shakiness that characterized our early games and lacklustre offense. That’s been replaced by (mostly) calm actions on the field and yet another striker in blue hitting the net nearly every time. Gerba has 13 goals in 15 games, almost bringing him to a goal a game on average. If you count just what has happened since his coming out party in Baltimore, he has started scoring at what nears out to a goal every hour on the field.

The timing for both the good run of play of Ali (Zherba) Gerba as well as the team as a whole can certainly not be beat. It seems that gone are the days where Montreal would start hot and fizzle out. I, and I would hope many others, prefer this style of season to one that Montreal was known for merely a few years ago. Gone are the days of total defense interspersed with the odd goal or two. I haven’t watched a game afraid of no goals being scored by the Gulls.

If you have any knowledge of IMFC, you know just how strange and alien a feeling that is for us here in Montreal.

But don’t mistake my praise of our offense as taking something away from those who toil away in the back and middle of the field, making sure our goal is protected. Our defence is as solid as it’s ever been historically, the big change in Montreal was just finally having a working offense to go along with our indomitable defence.

This past quarter-final series versus the top-ranked Austin Aztex(from Texas…get it?) was what I like to see as a tale of two teams. The first leg which took place Wednesday at Saputo Stadium was a game in which the Gulls demonstrated their newfound offense built on the back of Ali (Zherba) Gerba, where he scored yet another effortless brace against yet another helpless team. In an interview that took place weeks before the game Marc Dos Santos had gone on record saying how Ali (Zherba) Gerba was not playing as good as he could be. Notably the Maestro said Ali had to work on his aerial game.

It looks like he did. An effortless header early on in the game set the tone of the match, which ended with yet another 2-0 win over the poor saps from Austin.

In the second leg of the quarter-final, there was certainly some action. There was a total 5 goals in the match that I will surprisingly label as Jordan’s game. Now at first blush you might think I’m even crazier than usual. That might be, but to anyone who had the pleasure of watching the game was treated to by an amazing individual performance by our beloved Phantom of the Pitch(NEVER FORGET) punctuated by a confident and effortless save on an iffy penalty call early in the game. This stellar play by Jordan was backed up by yet another(shocking, really) set piece goal scored by (surprise) Ali once more. Yet another header and display of passion from Gerba. In his own words, Marc Dos Santos has made the game enjoyable for him once more, something that he had apparently lost. A goal and flamboyant celebration by Eduardo “Old Man River” Sebrango was the final nail in the coffin for Austin, extending the Gulls’ aggregate lead to 5-2.

All this sets up another, sure-to-be-spirited matchup between our Gulls and Carolina’s Caramilks, which begins this Thursday night at Stade Saputo.

Now onto more interesting things. Those of you attentive enough to watch the video of King Ali’s goal may have noticed that in front of CXIV, there was not banner at all. And those of you who were too lazy to click one of my many(2) hyperlinks, can go back and click the first one.

See? Nothing there.

That’s because not even 5 minutes into the game, BEST security once again came into the section to take it down, by any means necessary.

Surely they were in the right though? Surely they had a justifiable reason and surely the banner was so obscene it should be taken down.

Well, take a look for yourself, courtesy of BallonRondMTL:

Ghastly, isn’t it?

The justification for a planned charge of the section by BEST security, overseen by our friends from the SPVM, for the removal of the banner in question was that “it’s hiding the ads”. Golly, BEST security, I’m sure Metro Grocery is glad you came into section and pushed people with handicaps and ejected members. That’s really positive publicity for them. The reason for the forcible removal of the banner? They asked and no one complied. Well, BEST, it’s kind of hard to hear a guy field level asking politely to take it down, over the din of 300 people screaming.

Those astute viewers out there might have realised that all ads in front of section 114 are legible, and that one of the two affected companies have their ads plastered all across the section.

But it’s not like it’s named after Metro or anything. Oh wait, it totally is:

If only there was some sort of small indication of the sponsor...

Apparently BEST workers were under orders to uncover the ads “or else” but that hardly seems like a warrant to do whatever is necessary to whoever. Another highlight of the whole 15 minute scuffle was when one police officer was asked what she was doing in the middle of the section while shit was hitting the fan.

Her response? “I don’t know.”

I’m sure glad it was a well thought out and precisely executed idea.

Also, credit to the club for channelling MC Skat Cat and taking two steps back(sweet reference, right?) by moving the ads from a fence in front of 114, back to attaching them directly to 114 and the whole stand itself:

2009

 

2010-Le12e Joueur.ca

 

See you Thursday.

 

D Natural is back!

Yes I’ve been away for a while, and yes the world was briefly robbed of anglo Gulls coverage, what with Steve Beau and I both being gripped hard by the strong hands of apathy.

I was going to write up about the very well played Gulls-Raging Rhinos tilt, which saw IMFC win a very important match on the final night game of the regular season, in which Ali Gerba(Zherba) scored the fastest goal in club history, a mere 17 seconds into the game. He then potted his second later on in the game, to make his goal total over the last 2 games to a whopping 5, with two consecutive record setting games. People were certainly happy about that:

But then I was going to write about the Canada match, in which Canada won in front of a, for once, pro-Canadian crowd in Canada against their CONCACAF rivals Honduras, 2-1. The game was also characterised by the creation of an Ultras group for Canada, with the aims of fully supporting their nation in a way more familiar and comfortable to ultras all across the nation, as well as it being Paul Stalteri’s record setting game where he became Canada’s all time senior men’s cap leader:

Ultras banner, Courtesy RedNationOnline.ca

This win in Montreal broke our 427 day streak without a win. People were certainly happy about that:

http://vimeo.com/14789442

But then I was going to write about Montreal’s come from behind win over the PR Islanders, 2-1. Yet another match where Ali Gerba(Zherba) showed his brilliance when focused, with two nice goals, including a ~30 yard golazo. People were certainly happy about that:

http://www.rds.ca/zv2/?categorie=impact (click the Impact 2 Islanders 1)

But then I decided to do a small writeup about this crucial upcoming game against The Rowdies, and how a win on sunday will lock us into the playoffs, and how well that looks, considering how positive the team has been playing of late. And by team I mean Ali Gerba(Zherba), and how he’s dragging us kicking and screaming into the post season with seven goals in his last three games.

Tous au Stade!

PS: Thanks to BallonRondMTL for the Rochester video, and Zed for the Canada match.

Insanity in the City

I had this big post ready to be shipped out, comparing the MLS preparations of Montreal and the Cascadians, as well as mentioning the effect that Joey’s Trash Kicking Tirade is a very poorly planned and immature move. But then I saw just how many people were lining up around the block to kiss his ass for it.

And then I questioned my sanity because surely I slipped into some bizarro world where Montreal fans are happy their asshole team owner blasts his team  without first even attempting to talk to them. I decided it would be a better way to pass my time hitting my head against a wall, because it would cause less damage than hearing why people think Joey yelling about a problem he could have fixed himself privately is a good idea.

In order to save myself the excruciating pain that comes with even thinking about that, let’s switch topics to the hot off the presses coverage of the Montreal Mirror’s look at a game in Kop CXIV with the UM02:

Here it is!

Go to page 10 and check out the goodness!

And also get ready for this Friday Night, where our Gulls take on the Whinos from Rochester! It’s definitely something to keep your eye on, and hopefully the only Friday night crowd of the year will not leave disappointed. They’re coming into Montreal on a six game win streak, so hopefully we’ll send them home with that streak broken.

Here’s the part where I’d tell you all to get tickets and go to 114, but the game is sold out, so I’ll preface it by saying go deal with one of our beloved scalpers… and get your ass in 114! Hopefully this outbreak of insanity leads to a fired up Kop CXIV!

See you there!

Champion Requiem

I was taught when there’s somethin’ you can change around
Keep quiet, you got nothin’ to complain about
You got work to do, I don’t know if that work for you

Fitting that I’m able to contrast my previous use of a Mos Def song with another. For those of you too busy reveling in FCE’s run of 21-1 in their past two games, or busy biting their nails in anticipation of the upcoming Cruz Azul-TFC game. Or, busy doing whatever’s happening in Vancouver, whatever that is. Pot Smoking?  Anyways… For those of you too busy to notice, Joey dropped quite a bomb on Montreal recently, coming out of his hidey-hole to lambast almost everyone in his organisation, except for those that deserve it. Here is the english press release, which was followed up by a statement from the 2.77 Billion Dollar Baby on CKAC.

“Following the recent performances of the team, I wish to reiterate that Nick De Santis, Marc Dos Santos and the other members of the technical staff continue to have my vote of confidence and they will stay in their current functions. They have proved their skills in the last few years and we will continue to build the future of this club with them.”

“The players, veterans as well as newcomers, are the only people responsible for the position of the team in the standings. They have not lived up to expectations so far this season. They have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask if they could have done more. Certain players have yet to convince us that they should be part of this club in Major League Soccer in 2012; as well as in 2011, as we will focus on our MLS preparation.”

“With seven matches to play this season, making the playoffs is still possible, but to do so the players on this team will have to react and find solutions. I cannot accept the results thus far, as the standards set by the Montreal Impact are higher than simply just making the playoffs.”

What a crock of shit, right? Well, to be fair, there’s a few dead-on things in his press release, most notably that Joey will never fire his organisational staff, not even if our lives depended on it. They, coughcoughNickcoughcough will stay and build a future with us, yes. Notice how Joey Saputo shies away from saying a build a GOOD future. Guess we can’t hold Saputo to that one…

“They have not lived up to expectations so far this season”: Partly True. Some have been found wanting.

“The players, veterans as well as newcomers, are the only people responsible for the position of the team in the standings. “: Completely False. Absolute bullshit coming from the master of it himself. Teams don’t organise from the ground up. If many underperform as a whole team, while occasionally having individual flashes of brilliance, the problem is most likely coming from the actual organisation of the team itself, not every single player. And if there truly is a problem among every single player like Saputo says, shouldn’t his brother NDS be able to bring in people who can fit in the system? Shouldn’t MDS be able to try and reorganise to play to the strengths of what he has available?

After the release, Joey himself went on air saying he has not yet spoke to the players in private yet. But then he goes on to name individual players and their problems: It was a mistake to make Pizzolito captain, DeRoux doesn’t perform, Ali Gerba(Zherba) gets paid too much to do nothing, Placentino “thinks he’s the future of the team” but “a guy like Rocco Placentino is cheating the organisation, the club and our fans”.

After those player-centric diatribes, Joey comes close to skirting the issue by saying that the issues and philosophy needs to change, and that a change will come in 2011, but ignoring the fact a clubs “philosophy” is closely tied to the aura exuded from the front office, which right now is a large part of this complacency and stagnation that exists in Montreal. A technical director is in charge of the team, and should that team end up playing below their expectations, one most look towards the technical director for answers. Answers like why does he rely on player Philippe Billy to spearhead our search for talent, rather than earn his money by finding the players himself?

And has it never occurred to Joey that only talking to the Technical staff would paint a picture that is biased towards placing blame on the players? Maybe he should grow up and act like an adult, and hear both sides of the story before going about in public blindsiding his players? But then again, this is a man who calls us Ultras “pieces of shit” and “not real fans” one day, and “great fans” the next. The guy whose team is very totalitarian when it comes to criticism, and keeps his players from their fans when celebrating their championship?

Who can really expect a proper response to a situation from an entitled boy who’s acting not like an adult owner, but more like a boy who is having a problem with his toys?  Even if he says there is a youth movement coming to Montreal in 2011, one must realise that our 2012 will look less like the start of a new era, but more of the same old shit. All this for a team that’s sitting out of a playoff spot, who haven’t won in near on a month, with seven games left. Perfect.

Look for some “pieces of shit” making the trip down to Baltimore, regardless of how badly you mismanage the team, Joey.

Next home game is the 27th vs. Rochester.

You got work to do, I don’t know if that work for you
But thats how Mos work it through

Mountreal Roundup #4

So, a bit has gone on since the last match, where the Gulls quite rightly(but somehow surprisingly) beat AC St Louis 3-0. A goal from Reda in under 20minutes, and a goal from the now returned and much loved Antonio Ribeiro mere minutes after being subbed into the match were the highlights of the night.  This late goal by Ribeiro sent quite a clear message: that he is always someone who gives it his all, and he played like a man determined to show everyone that he never should have left in the first place(We’re looking at you, DeSantis!). And as his performance shows, you cannot stop a determined soul. You could see his joy after the match as he ran up to the kop, in front of  a 3-foot high banner of his likeness to celebrate his triumphant return. Welcome back, Antonio.

It was also quite a treat to have a strong contingent of supporters come over from the fledgling ESG, to take back some ideas to support their team on the prairies, FC Edmonton. Nice guys, with quite a bit of potential. I can see good things coming from Edmonton in the future, if everything is allowed to grow.

The feather in the cap for me that night was while waiting for the ESG on Crescent Street, running into parents of AC St Louis keeper Alec Dufty. They were so genuinely nice and appreciative of the atmosphere at the game, I couldn’t even manage to smack talk these kindly oldish people. Shocking behaviour for me, I know.

To bolster our hot-and-cold offense, the Gulls signed Marco Terminesi to a contract today.  A young(ish) Canadian with an unfortunate past, Marco last scored 6 goals and got 4 assists in 700 minutes with the Thunder. Hopefully he is match fit and able to make a difference right away.

Seeing as Nick is a fan of Latino Gang movies, he lives his life according to the phrase “Blood in, Blood out”(google it) Tyler Hemming, as of today, is outta here! The much maligned, often unused midfielder was the victim of a strong midfield that he could not crack. Here’s hoping he does well in Austin(with, shudder, Sakuda.)

And all this is in anticipation of one of the bigger matches we’ll play all season, a rivalry/night game, against a team we desperately need the 6point turnaround on this season versus the Whitecaps, which takes place tomorrow night. We can expect to see Jordan in the lineup(he didn’t lie to me when I asked when he’d be back. Huzzah!), as well as a possible appearance from Terminesi, as he’s been cleared to play for us. With Jordan back in nets, I feel like we should thank Srdjan Djekanovic for all his good play this season while Our LORD and Saviour, Jordan, was on the bench. You’re a good kid, Srdj, thanks a bunch.

See you all there!

Life in Marvelous Times

As of last night, it seems like it might finally be good to be an Impact supporter: A win over their budding Caramilk rivals with a late goal by Byers, followed by an intense celebration courtesy of Kop CXIV:

Coming on the heels of this electrifying Wednesday night were a few big media announcements.

PR Mayard is officially back from Charleston. Fresh off his impressive stint in Charleston where as far as I know, he formed the core of a competent Charleston Battery, where they eventually lost in the USOC to everyone’s favourite Crew, Columbus.

The Impact will be selling 1 dollar hotdogs!!! Too bad they don’t have them scheduled for a Rochester game, maybe the lure of cheap pigbutts in intestinal tubes could have enticed the Rochester Stamped up one last time, where they would once again lose in a hotdog eating contest.

Based on my pregame interaction with him last night, it seems pretty likely that Matt Jordan will be back to starting in nets “next week”.

There was also a guest appearance of Antonio Ribeiro on local Radio, but I missed it and have no idea what was said, so…yeah.

And the big one, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…the return of King Ali! He’s back, confirming both the widely held suspicions that he would come back, as well as the slip from trialist Jawad el-Hajri  back on Canada day that “Montreal already found their attackers”. If the King can get over his training/effort problem, expect big things from him and the Impact attack, with young up and comers in Reda and Mayard, learning from the veterans Sebrango and Gerba, hopefully alongside a newly-lit Byers.

We are alive in amazing times…with dollar hotdogs.

Sayonara, Bombardero!

The Gulls have just(minutes ago) announced that they were jettisoning Roberto Brown. This comes days from the opening of the transfer window, and the club reasons that he did not “live up to expectations”… While true, it’s a line applicable to all members of our strike force, as no striker has more than 2 goals(Byers) while Brown, Reda and even Sebrango have 1. Our top scorers lie in the midfield, with Donatelli(4), Placentino(2) and many others at 1 goal apiece.

Certainly, Brown was underachieving(like every Gull), but to drop one of our(arguably) more “effective” strikers, and not others(Big Pete, Eddie), before Brown, is certainly strange. Maybe if it wasn’t for the Punch-heard-round-the-World, el Bombardero would still be yet another struggling striker in blue in the upcoming game on Wednesday.

Maybe the club have already solidified things with a striker coming into town(Gerba(Zherba)?)?

Maybe this means a full time spot for Reda, and PR Mayard is coming back?

Maybe the club is just incompetently run, too.(Note the lack of question mark).

Adios Brown, have fun on the canal.

Montreal Roundup #3

Montreal played away to the dozen or so in attendance at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester. Reda got his first goal off of a Pastel cross. The only members of the Rochester Stampede in attendance put on quite the show and came in second at their halftime hotdog eating competition(not a joke). Disappointing to lose to a rival, as always.

Another name has been added to the list of dearly departed Gulls: Stefano Pesoli. Negotiations between the club and the player broke down recently and with the transfer window soon to open up, the serviceable Italian centreback has chosen to try his luck over in Europe. Stefano, before his departure posted a letter over on impactsoccer.com, mentioning that he spent “two and a half fantastic years, perhaps the best since I [started]  playing football ” which I can certainly believe. Stefano played hard and left it all on the field. I remember being very angry with him in the first ever Gulls-Torontoshire game as I believe had he not gotten a red card, Montreal would have won(though it doesn’t matter, we won yet another Voyageurs Cup that year…). The rest of his translated letter reads:

“I started in 2008 with a suitcase and hopes to find a world and a better football in North America, and so it has been … I met a new country, a beautiful city, a society and people who were always serious and friendly with me . My heart cries writing this letter, I never thought it would end all so suddenly and especially leaving things [unfinished]. Ultras, with you we had lots of satisfaction, winning a Canada Cup, taking part in CONCACAF with great results and winning a championship last year , all unexpected and maybe the best results in the history of Impact! I’ll always be proud and [honoured]. I helped write an important piece of history with this team and no one can take that away from me! I would have liked to continue the adventure here, but sometimes in football you put aside feelings of guilt and affection for “good” money, it’s enough just to come in and go against the road together, but it was unfortunately not so… Maybe it was lack of confidence because I played little this year because of my injuries, but I can also say that when I got into camp I have always shown my worth, sacrificing and spitting blood for this shirt… [Things] could be done differently, but sometimes fate brings you back home with the same case but with some championship titles in there’… Despite everything, I want to thank the company for all he has done for me over the years, thank the staff and my teammates that I will miss you very much and fans who have always supported and helped us even in the most difficult times. I want to thank my partner and I ‘was near this Canadian adventure and I hope that our future will be’ as good and ‘been there… Montreal thanks for everything, who knows’ if we meet again in a few years ….

with affection

Stefano Pesoli”

It’s very unfortunate to lose a player like Stefano, who certainly gave us everything he had and more, and it’s unfortunate that such a strong and dedicated player is cursed with multiple injuries, as it really leaves us wondering what could have been, had they stayed healthy. The Gulls will certainly be weaker for having lost Stefano, both the ever-weakening defense(Joqueviel, Pesoli, Aaboubou(returning next game?)) but also the heart of the team will have suffered a blow. Stefano was truly a wonderful player, both on and off the field. His dedication to the fans is demonstrated both by the fact he himself left this letter to the fans on IS.com but also in his actions when talking with UM02 members and small children alike.

He will always be missed.

Turning to a somewhat related piece of IMFC news, Montreal has entered talks with one Antonio Ribeiro, even though Nick De Santis has gone on record saying he was not a good player in his previous stay with us . It would be nice to see Nick eat crow, but I don’t really see why we would need a defensive mid, as we’re actually quite strong in the mid, while continuing to be weak up front and now with Pesoli’s loss, weak in the back.

It’s nice that the team has gone on record to say “we are actively searching for a central defender” but slightly troubling that they have not gone on record saying they need a striker. If it came down to only signing a striker or CB this transfer window, I say get a guaranteed striker. I can live with a crack in our defensive foundation, and put the games in the competent hands of Jordan and Srdjan, while also counting on a goal or so a game, rather than filling the hole at CB, and scoring nothing.

Hopefully the Gulls are not affected by the loss of Pesoli and play inspired away against St Louis Saturday and home against the Caramilks this coming Wednesday.

I, on the other hand, am going to hedge my bets by going to the upcoming Baby Gulls game this Sunday, to see them destroy( I assume) the St. Catharine Wolves by a score of (I assume) 4-1. That is, if I don’t melt before the game.

Also, we might see the return of Pierre- Rudolph Mayard to the flock, as he was not listed as a player or benchwarmer in the Battery’s recent 3-0 USOC loss. His loan was set to end at the end of July, but perhaps his recent success in Charleston, coupled with our dire need for offense has sped up his return?

Montreal Roundup #2

So, a few things have happened here in the Land of The Gulls the past few days, including an away game. Our Gulls went to Carolina to take revenge out on their Hawks for the sorry excuse for a match that took place here mere weeks ago. There’s something interesting about that Caramilks game-post, as it ties in nicely with many elements that have once again became news in Montreal. The recently played game did not so much deliver vengeance to Carolina for the loss, but it did perhaps take the sting away as we robbed a point from them when we equalised with a Tony Donatelli goal(PK, as per our style) in stoppage time.

Ali Gerba(Zherba) was also officially offered a contract by our resident well meaning fool, Nick DeSantis. This, if pans out, might be quite a good move for both the Gulls and Gerba himself as he has never really stayed at a club for a long period of time successfully aside from his time in Montreal, which in his few games earned him a spot among our top scorers list. And hopefully the addition of the powerful, tenacious(and risky) Gerba jump-starts our anemic offense. He may be a risky addition, but it’s time to roll the dice and shed the image of an overly cautious front office. What’s the worst that can happen, a striker that can’t score? It’s not like we aren’t used to that.

Also relevant to that past game post, Philippe ”          ” Billy has become quite the force among our team, as he appears to be growing much more comfortable with the level and style of play here in North America, while it seems resident hero Pastel has started to backslide in the rankings. Hopefully he returns to his start-of-season form. I hope both continue to improve!

And you more astute readers will have noticed a change in appearance. As I have decided to address the emails sent to me talking about using a more simple theme that allows for better viewing of the Image of the Week. No more changes people! And if you find it bad, just hop on over to some Toronto based Newfie’s View From the South Stands where the gray-text-on-black-background-on-gray-borders wreak havoc on your eyes as you scroll.

Next up, we play the Politecaps at home today. They’re without washed up-potential star Marcus Haber, as it looks like he shagged off to England, while we’re without Jordan and Sebrango(groin), Aaboubou(personal) and Pesoli(toe).

Expect a post-game update within the next few days!

Looking Ahead

So, in order to try and pretend that the Gulls-Rhinos rivalry is still a relevant one, and not the footballing equivalent of an estranged and soon to be divorced couple I went above and beyond for gameday, deciding to use it as the framing device for my very first player interview, with a very important Gull, Stephen Deroux. I truthfully think that today we’ll see a change group of Gulls, ones that are able to terrorize defenses, and play competently. Hopefully I’m not wrong because there not many teams better to give confidence than a fellow team that is struggling with mediocre results, as well as a home game against a longtime rivalry. So let’s get on to the very first D&G Interview(whoooo!):

D&G: So Stephen I’m real glad you were able to take some time out of your day to answer a few of my questions. It’s a real pleasure to hear from you, as I find it kind of strange we don’t hear more from you in the media. Either way, let’s get to it.

How did it feel last year to win the cup in Montreal?

DeRoux: It felt really good, it was my first championship in my career.

D&G: With the recent MLS announcement, Montreal has been given the OK to play in the league come 2012. Is there a lot of excitement in the dressing room about the announcement and do you hope to still be a part of the team in 2012?

DeRoux: Yeah, I would love to be a part of the squad when we go to the MLS. The club and all the players are really excited.

D&G: You turned quite a lot of heads in the recent friendly against AC Milan, how did it feel to not only step on the field with them, but also do so well?

DeRoux: Playing against AC Milan brought out the best in me, I think for a person to reach their full potential, they have to be put to the tests. It was a dream come true.

D&G: You yourself have been having a pretty good year, what do you think about the club’s performance so far?

DeRoux: I think we’re in a good position to finish first in our division, and first in the league also.

D&G: What do you think the main difference is between last year’s club and this year’s edition? Is the loss of Joey Gjertsen significant to the team?

DeRoux: The team is the same as a whole, except it’s a couple of different players have to play the same role for us.

D&G: Can you tell me how the team feels about their good play on the field, except when it comes to finishing?

DeRoux: As a team, we need to get better in all aspects of our game.

D&G: Is there a sense of pressure in the locker room to try and repeat last season’s success? IF SO, do you think that pressure is what’s causing the teams lack of finishing?

DeRoux: Pressure is something we can deal with because last year we were under a lot of pressure and came out on top, so that’s not it.

D&G: Has there been any sort of change in the way the club are approaching set pieces such as corners and free kicks?

DeRoux: We just have to be a lot more aggressive when it comes to our set pieces.

D&G: Do you think that the club might have turned around after the 2-1 win in Tampa?

DeRoux: Yeah, the win gave us some  more momentum and motivation to play our next game against Rochester.

D&G: I actually met you, briefly, at the Bell Centre when the Canadiens honoured the impact’s cup win. How do you feel about hockey and the city of Montreal?

DeRoux: This is a hockey city but soccer is on the rise and now that the Impact are going to the MLS, which is a great thing for soccer in Montreal. I love playing here.

D&G: A quick search of you online turns up results from girls talking about how much they, let’s say, admire you. Do you feel like Montreal is a great place to play professionally, and how do you feel about all the women out there who follow and support you?

DeRoux: I love playing in the city of Montreal. We’re ranked with some of the top fanbases in MLS and I appreciate all support I get from the city and from them.

D&G: What has been your favourite moment this season, and what was the most disappointing?

DeRoux: Playing against AC Milan was definitely my favourite moment by far while losing to Minnesota was my most disappointing.

D&G: Do you have anything to say to the Ultras, or Impact fans in general?

DeRoux: I love you guys, a lot of our success is because of you guys and thanks for all the continuous support.

D&G: Thanks for your time and good luck to you in the season and against Rochester!

DeRoux: Thanks!

—
Hopefully today we’ll be witness to some of the momentum and confidence that Stephen mentioned, and today is the turnaround we’ve all been waiting for.