This is one in a series of team previews preparing fans for the 2023 MLS season. Check out the full list; teams will be revealed in predicted order of finish from Feb. 10-24.
What CF Montréal did last year
The actual, undisputed best season in club history by a mile and it’s not even close. You probably didn’t even realize CF Montréal were just one win away from taking the Supporters’ Shield, but they were. Wilfried Nancy had this team clicking, even through some difficult periods without Djordje Mihailovic. Things were fantastic last year. And I’m sure they’re prepared to capatalize on that momentuOH GOD OH NO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE MONTREAL???
Key additions
Defender George Campbell (trade from Atlanta), defender Aaron Herrera (trade from RSL), Midfielder Ilias Iliadis (signing)
Key departures
Midfielder Djordje Mihailovic (transfer to AZ Alkmaar), defender Alistair Johnston (12/3/22 - transfer to Celtic FC), midfielder Ismael Kone (transfer to Watford FC), midfielder Joaquín Torres (trade to Philadelphia)
Making the case for CF Montréal
The offseason began with (rightly) a lot of focus on CF Montréal’s outgoing players. Midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, mdifielder Ismael Kone, wingback Alistair Johnston and d-mid Victor Wanyama were all set to leave. Then they picked up wingback Aaron Herrera for an absolute steal from RSL in one of the most inexplicable moves of the offseason. That instantly solved the Alistair Johnston problem. Then they surprised everyone and were able to re-sign Victor Wanyama. That instantly solved the Victor Wanyama problem. Even with Mihailovic heading out, the roster itself looks somewhere close to as solid as looked last year.
A couple of problems here though. They struggled without Mihailovic and it doesn’t seem like a direct replacement is coming through the door. Then, you know, they maybe or maybe didn’t run off the best manager in club history. Oops.
Wilfried Nancy bailed on Montréal in favor of Columbus after issues with the CF Montréal front office helped send him along. It’s hard to overstate how impressive a job Nancy did in his two years leading CF Montréal. The Crew will be home-playoff favorites this year because they grabbed him. We don’t have time to really dig into it, but I voted for him to be Coach of the Year and I didn’t think twice about it. He’s very, very good at this.
With Nancy gone, CF Montréal had a choice to make. They could either see that their roster generally looked pretty steady and they could find a coach with similar tactical tendencies as Nancy to continue that steadiness, orrrrrrrr they could sign an ultra-direct, transition-based manager that got fired last year after he lost the locker room. They chose the latter.
Enter Hernan Losada, who’s now tasked with shifting CF Montréal from Nancy’s possession-based style to his own, Red Bulls-adjacent methods. Frankly, it makes absolutely no sense. But that roster is still pretty decent at least. And, for all his flaws in D.C., they were playing better ball than most D.C. teams.
The case for CF Montréal here is that the roster clicks with Losada’s style and they’re able to make up for some key losses with a tactical style that doesn’t require a Mihailovic to make it function. Good luck.
Players to watch
Victor Wanyama was outstanding last year. But he’s not exactly the kind of guy who seems set up to thrive in Losada’s high-octane system. They’ll need him to be damn good anyway though, especially next to a midfield that might include 18-year-old homegrown Nathan-Dylan Saliba or 19-year-old homegrown Rida Zouhir alongside him.
It’s also worth keeping an eye on Kei Kamara. Kamara had an outstanding year in 2022 but he’s openly saying he wants out from Montréal. He’s still there for now, and if he’s willing to still put in the effort, he could keep playing a part in Montréal’s attack.
A nerdy tidbit
Hernan Losada’s 2021 D.C. United team finished third in the league in expected goal differential. They also missed the playoffs. Still, that’s an impressive output from a pretty not-great roster.
A fun tidbit
Thierry Henry once managed this team.
Projected finish
10th in the East
What do you do with a team that lost their best player and lost their top-tier manager? You generally throw them down to the bottom of the standings. What do you do with a team with a solid, balanced roster and a manager with previous success getting a lot out of a less-than-stellar group? You put them in a playoff spot. What do you do when throwing in a whole bunch of context about tactics and man management and front office issues and a handful of talented young players and a huge windfall from transfers that could turn into team-changing reinforcements at any moment? You lay down and cry a bit and then get forced to put them somewhere so you just say “10th place!” and try and move on with your life.
