The Montreal Impact are on a roll, and their offensive attack is playing a big role in their success.
With their defensive line seemingly settled – Montreal boasts one of the league’s top central pairings in Matteo Ferrari and Alessandro Nesta – the club’s offensive output has them near the top of the league in goals scored.
Consider that they’re averaging 1.83 goals per game this campaign, compared with 1.32 per game last year and it’s easy to see the improvement. They’re providing enough offence to turn last season’s draws into this year’s wins, and last year’s losses into this year’s draws.
The difference boils down to a number of factors. Certainly, the addition of Andres Romero, and the tantalizing potential of Daniele Paponi have helped up the overall attacking quality of the side. But leaving aside the new additions, three holdovers from 2012 are so far carrying the load for Montreal in 2013.
Di Vaio on target
After a relatively slow start to his Major League Soccer career, Marco Di Vaio is showing that there’s plenty of class left in his 36-year-old legs. Well established as a prolific goalscorer in Europe, Di Vaio has now established himself as one of a handful of players that can lay claim to being the top striker in MLS.
How good has he been? The Italian striker sits second in the league with nine goals. He trails only to Robbie Keane in the goals per 90 minutes stat of players who have played at least 450 minutes thus far (five full matches). He leads the league in shots on goal (and offsides, but sneaking around the backline is a big part of what makes him so effective.) And Di Vaio has been particularly lethal at home, notching eight of his nine goals in Quebec.
He’s set himself a difficult pace to keep up, but if he’s able to hold up over the grind of an MLS season, he’s projected to pot over 25 goals. For the record, MLS lists his converted scoring chance percentage at 22.5 per cent this year, compared with 10.2 per cent last season, so there’s certainly the possibility of some regression.
Even still, it’s hard to imagine a massive drop-off in terms of his finishing ability as the season winds on. And it may be too early still to pull out the crystal ball, but you have to think that if the Impact remain at or near the top of the heap in the East, Di Vaio could garner some league MVP buzz as we head into the dog days of summer.
But more importantly in the context of the team, he’s given the Impact a completely reliable option up front – a huge boost for a squad that struggled at times in 2012 with their scoring consistency.
Mapp’s big breakthrough
If you’d asked any Impact supporter for their thoughts on Justin Mapp following the 2012 season, well, the reviews would not have been pretty.
Though he was consistently in the lineup for then-coach Jesse Marsch, he was often more frustrating than effective. And with the Impact having a fair number of wide options – newcomer Romero, holdovers Sanna Nyassi and Davy Arnaud among them – the easy forecast would be for Mapp to see his role reduced, or possibly even shipped out of town.
What a difference a year makes. Mapp is flourishing, playing with likely the most technically adept teammates he’s ever suited up with. The veteran American winger is enjoying a career year and is on pace to easily eclipse his personal best of eight assists in a season.
Mapp’s had some decent success in the league, having been an all-star in 2005. Call it a rebirth, or a renaissance, but by any name, he’s been quite the pleasant surprise for Montreal this season.
Felipe coming on strong
Brazilian midfield dynamo Felipe Martins was a fan favourite in 2012, and for good reason: he notched four goals and 10 assists in league play and started 30 matches. He was unquestionably one of the Impact’s top performers, and basically “the guy” in the Impact’s midfield engine.
But after notching a goal and an assist in his first two matches of 2012, Felipe struggled to create for a while – by his standards at least. Whether it was a bit of complacency with not having to be “the guy” in attack for Montreal, a minor knock, or something else, he went five matches without making a contribution on the scoresheet – a rarity by his standards.
Since then, he’s looked much more like his normal self. He’s notched a goal and two assists in five matches since his slump, and that doesn’t include a wonderfully-taken strike to help the Impact win the Voyageurs Cup against Vancouver.
And through it all, he’s continued to draw fouls and put his team in good positions, leading the Impact in the fouls suffered statistic by a wide margin.
Felipe coming back around to top form is a good sign for a team searching for all the depth they can find given a busy summer schedule.