The Montreal Impact will soon begin their third season in MLS, and with training camp only 10 days away, there is a sense that the club has changed their ways. Their first two years in MLS were like a roller coaster ride, lots of highs and lows. The team transitioned from the NASL to the MLS needing to completely overhaul their roster, prepared for an expansion draft, constructed a new stadium, created a new logo and uniform, worked tirelessly marketing and promoting the team in an effort to sell season tickets, etc. There was never a dull moment and it is safe to say down time was limited to non-existent for the staff.
The adrenaline and excitement fueled the management, its employees and particularly the players - who were told from the get go that the Montreal Impact were not an expansion team. Expectations were set high by Joey Saputo, continuing the tradition of the Impact's history of the pursuit of excellence. Winning was paramount, no time for excuses, especially with the signing of the first DP in the team's history, striker Marco Di Vaio.
With that signing, given Di Vaio's pedigree and financial compensation, the Impact made a bold statement that they are serious about winning now. Their first season was deemed a success. Even though they did not make the playoffs, they had a respectable record for a first year expansion team. Yet coach Jesse Marsch was let go due to a difference in philosophy the team stated, but the fans knew better. In came a more seasoned and experienced coach in Marco Schallibaum, who despite his credentials, was also hired because he spoke French. It seemed like a logical fit, with a roster composed of several Italian players (Di Vaio, Nesta, Ferrari, Paponi, Pisanu, etc.) to name a few, the thinking was a European coach would be able to take this roster to the next level.
Things did work out well for the first half of the Impact's season last year, including the win over Vancouver to become Canada's sole representative in Concacaf Champions League. Then it all came down to a crashing halt. Problems with injuries, problems with the coach being suspended, problems managing two competitions simultaneously (league play and Concacaf Champions League), etc. The Impact went from a contender to a team that finished 5th in the standings and squeeked into the playoffs, only to lose 3-0 amid an embarrassing display of undisciplined play that made a mockery of the team and its fans.
This downward spiral was difficult for the team's brass to digest. At the year end presser, questions were asked about the future of coach Schallibaum. Nick De Santis and Joey Saputo said the team would need some time to evaluate what happened during the season before deciding what to do. You knew at that point Schallibaum would not return. It is at this presser that we see a change in philosophy. The Montreal Impact brass, being of Italian descent, was known to be very emotional, reactionary, confrontational (like the incident with the Ultras), and lacking patience (many coaches changed in the team's history). The fact that no decision was made spoke volumes of the maturity earned in the past two years by the team's leadership. The Impact took a page out of the Montreal Canadiens playbook, where at every year end presser, reporters ask tons of questions and get no answers, as the team uses the "we need time to evaluate" answer to every question. So the Impact did the same thing, not wanting to reveal their plans.
It took quite some time for the team to decide to fire Schallibaum and replace him with Frank Klopas. Many pundits saw this move as a bridge, where Klopas is an in-between of Marsch and Schallibaum - only time will tell. The Impact paused, took their time, reflected. Gone was the criteria of needing a coach to speak french, they needed one that knew the MLS instead, but also had more experience than their first coach Marsch.
In terms of the roster, we also see this philosophy change where nothing dramatic has been done so far. The majority of the team from last year will return, the Impact showing they are leaning towards having more stability and not make revolutionary changes with the roster. While Toronto FC overspends millions of dollars on new designated players, the Impact is quietly going about its business, not making any waves whatsoever. It is not a bad thing to want to build from within and limit the changes to have stability, but questions are arising regarding the finances of the team. In an attempt to lure more fans into buying season tickets, the team had lowered their prices significantly. The Impact would love to have more season ticket holders, but it looks like they have reached a plateau.
After two years in the MLS, considering all the money invested by Joey Saputo and his family for the franchise fee, stadium and designated players Di Vaio and Bernardello, perhaps the team would like to control their expenses by limiting the amount of funds available for player acquisitions. In fact, Joey Saputo did state that the team's financial performance is not up to where he would like it to be. Perhaps the team would like to acquire some "cheap depth" and not pursue a third designated player. The salary cap and allocation money may be handcuffing the team, but we will never know to what extent because the MLS does not allow teams to reveal any financial data, leaving fans in the dark. We can only hypothesize based on what we see.
As things stand now, fans should not expect major changes and they should hope new coach Klopas will be able to get the most out of the current roster, in a patient, quiet fashion as opposed to former coach "swiss volcano" Schallibaum last year. Look for the team to spend their limited funds intelligently and rationally. The Impact look to change their philiosophy, depending on internal development and maybe giving the academy and younger players more opportunities to play. It will be interesting to see if the fans will remain patient with this new direction.