MONTREAL — At the start of the 2022 MLS season, very few could have predicted the kind of campaign that CF Montreal was about to embark on.
The local team, without a true superstar and little playoff experience, weren’t seen as contenders. Nevertheless, a young squad that head coach Wilfried Nancy called “humble but ambitious” defied expectations.
On their way to a 20-win season and a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference, Montreal broke countless franchise and league records. One of the most striking ones was an 11-4-2 away record. The most away wins ever in a league where getting a result on the road is notoriously difficult.
On a warm afternoon in late October, CF Montreal failed to accomplish another feat: Getting the better of New York City FC at Stade Saputo. Montreal slipped to an 0-5-2 record on home turf against the defending champions and were eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs with a 3-1 defeat.
The season-ending loss leaves everyone wondering what is next for CF Montreal. The campaign’s success attracted the eyes of European football who have and will come calling for Montreal’s young talent.
“The point, when I took the team, was to get players with (sporting director Olivier Renard), try to improve them and to be clear about what we want. And for me this is a success,” said Nancy. “At the end of the day, I don't know who’s going to come back or not. But the team will stay here and the objective is to restart again.”
Djordje Mihailovic already confirmed his departure as he will join AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands in January. The American creative midfielder scored Montreal's lone goal late in the game for his last game at Stade Saputo and left the pitch in tears.
With up to five players that could join Canada at the 2022 World Cup, more players could follow suit and move on from the club. The most striking one being wonderkid midfielder Ismael Kone. The 20-year-old went from being a semi-professional player two years ago to being on John Herdman’s Canadian men's national team and could jump to Europe.
Fellow midfielder Victor Wanyama also let it known that he wants to leave the club known near the end of the season. With a midfield that could be greatly decimated, Montreal’s playoff run had a Last Dance feel.
“Of course there's always kind of a feeling of The Last Dance in any playoff run when you look at MLS, especially just the turnover in teams. It is crazy,” said Alistair Johnston, who will also be part of the Canadian World Cup side. “So no matter what happens, even if there were stratospheric rises for a lot of guys, which there was, there still would have been a lot of turnover.
“So that's always a bummer is that it's going to be another team next year there's going to be a different culture, it’s gonna be a different group and you just need to keep trying to bottling up that magic and bring it back next year.”
Another gigantic question mark for CF Montreal is the fate of its coach. Much like his players, Nancy went from a relative unknown outside of local soccer parks to an MLS Coach of the Year finalist. The Frenchman has an option for next season on his current contract but much uncertainty revolves over his future in Montreal.
“I want Wilfried and all of his staff to stay in Montreal,” said captain Samuel Piette. “What we’ve built with him since last year is remarkable, I think. You can tell that players take pleasure in playing for him, there is now a culture within the club and especially on the field that’s very clear.
“Wilfried and his staff made it so that many players, including myself, kept progressing. So I want him to come back and I think the entire locker room shares that thought.”
Nancy even attracted praise from NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing.
"I couldn't have enough praise for him," he said. "I've been here twice now and they've dominated and I think they do that to a lot of teams here.
"The one thing that I think they really should have a lot of praise for is just the process in the progression over the years. They stuck to the same idea, continued to work, continued to evolve, continued to improve. They finished second in the league, and this team will be a winning team. If it continues to work the way that it works, it will become a winning team. I'm sure of that."
In spite of that, the team tried to keep their heads held high and looked at the bigger picture. CF Montreal ends its season having gained respect from across MLS and within its own market. Captained by Piette, a man from Repentigny, Que., on the outskirts of the Montreal Island, this squad raised eyebrows.
"I'll be honest with you, I'll share something, where today with the national anthem, we all saw how it was last week, but today it was even louder and I got emotional. I cried a little bit," Piette said. "I was just so proud of being able to live those moments. You know, I had my son, my fiancee there, my parents, my in-laws were in the stands so being able to share those moments with the people that I love, it's something that I don't take for granted."
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