Football Season Guide

Montreal recovered from a dreadful start to last season, where they lost their opening three MLS games, to eventually finish 2nd in the Eastern Conference and reach the semi finals in the play-offs. Wilfried Nancy turned Montreal into a well-oiled machine that played exciting attacking football and churned out victories with a W20 D5 L9 record in the regular season. Only eventual MLS Cup winners LAFC won more games. Nancy has since left the club to join Columbus Crew and he may prove the most difficult person to replace. Hernán Losada is the man tasked with the job. The Argentine was the youngest ever coach to be appointed by an MLS team when he took over at DC United but was sacked after just over a year with mixed reviews. He is known for intense training sessions and having strict weight permutations for his players, which allegedly haven't gone down well at times. The new manager is expected to continue with the 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 system that was used previously under Nancy, but he'll have to account for the departures of some important players. Djordje Mihailovic was one of the best in the MLS last season and his creativity will be sorely missed. Alistair Johnston, Ismaël Kone and Joaquin Torres were also key contributors who have since left. Veteran striker Kei Kamara was second-top scorer and has requested to be traded. The incomings haven't been as frequent or impactful. Aaron Herrera is the only signing that is expected to go straight into the starting line-up in place of Johnston at the right-wingback position. He had a great season last year for Real Salt Lake. The other acquisitions are younger and more unproven. Despite the players that have left, Montreal have maintained a decent spine. The 3-man defence remains unchanged, Victor Wanyama provides steel and experience in midfield, whilst top scorer from last season Romell Quioto continues to lead the line.