MONTREAL — Samuel Piette grew up watching Wayne Rooney score goals for Manchester United on television.
Now, the Montreal Impact defender from Repentigny, Que., will get to face Rooney live when D.C. United visit Saputo Stadium on Saturday night.
Rooney, Man U and England’s all-time goals leader, will play his fifth Major League Soccer game after joining last-place D.C. on a three-and-a-half-year contract in July.
The 32-year-old got his first MLS goal in a 2-1 win over Colorado at home last week, when he also broke his nose in a late clash of heads with six-foot-seven defender Axel Sjoberg. He was cleared to play after passing concussion tests.
"I used to watch him on Saturday morning in the Premier League," the 23-year-old Piette said this week. "He was a top player for Manchester United, Everton as well.
"Now to be able to face him is special."
Rooney’s arrival coincides with a run of promising results for D.C. (4-9-5). They are 2-2-1 in their last five outings. They also have played only 18 games, five fewer than Montreal, with most of their remaining matches at home.
The fifth-place Impact (9-13-1) will be looking to rebound from a 2-1 loss to first-place Atlanta that ended a five-game home winning streak.
Rooney’s presence will underscore the Impact’s inability to land the proven striker they’ve been seeking. They thought a deal with French forward Jimmy Briand was in the bag, only to see it fall through at the last minute over what seemed like small details.
Unless another goal-scorer is found before the summer transfer window closes next Thursday, the Impact will be hard-pressed to hold their playoff position (top six) against challenges from close rivals New England, Philadelphia and Chicago.
The Impact have improved considerably in the last two months after a slow start under new coach Remi Garde. They defend better and control the ball better through midfielders Ignacio Piatti, Alejandro Silva and Saphir Taider, but are missing a consistent finisher at the top of the formation.
D.C. now has that in Rooney.
Garde, the former Lyon boss who also coached half a season at Aston Villa, is among the Liverpool native’s admirers.
"For me, he’s a tremendous player," Garde said of Rooney. "Fantastic football with a lot of skill.
"He’s also a very generous player, a very good teammate for the others around him. He’s a leader. Probably he’s not a verbal leader, but he’s a physical leader. He’s always running, trying to balance the team. He can make tackles. He can aid defensively. He can do everything for a team. I have a lot of respect for that because I think generous players, when they are so talented, are quite complete."
Garde made a last-ditch bid to revive talks with Briand this week, without success. He said the Briand case is now closed "definitively."
When told about Piette watching Rooney on TV, Garde joked that the defensive midfielder had better do more than just watch when they are on the field.
Piette agrees.
"Exactly, that could be the dangerous thing," said Piette. "If we focus too much on Rooney that could leave more space for (Yamil) Asad, (Luciano) Acosta and (Paul) Arriola.
"Offensively, they’re very dangerous. We’ve been very good defensively of late, especially at home, so we have to keep up what we’ve been doing and not think too much about Wayne Rooney, even if he’s the biggest player they have."
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D.C UNITED (4-9-5) AT MONTREAL IMPACT (9-13-1)
Saturday, Saputo Stadium
HOME AND AWAY: The Impact are 7-4-0 at home while D.C. is a league-worst 1-8-4 on the road.
UPPER HAND: The Impact are unbeaten (4-0-2) in their last six meetings with D.C.
ROONEY WATCH: The Englishman has a goal and an assist in his first four MLS games. He scored 253 in all competitions while helping Man U to five league titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League.
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