Even though he hung up his crampons in 2017, Patrice Bernier is still called the captain. We wish that fate to Samuel Piette, the new man in the CF Montreal armband.
At 28, the Repentignois official became team captain after two years sharing the job with Victor Wanyama and Kamal Miller.
“I’m very, very proud of it because although people considered me the captain, the status is clear now,” he said in a telephone interview.
“It’s more because of the looks that people can call me captain. When I gave interviews, some co-captains or captains said it was vague. Now things are clear and it’s a good thing for the club.
objective
Piette returned to Montreal midway through the 2017 season after eight years in Europe, playing in France, Germany and Spain.
As soon as he arrived, it was clear in his mind that one day he wanted to be the captain of the team. It wasn’t a major goal, but he thought about it regularly.
“I didn’t want to be captain at all costs, but it was a little childhood dream to captain Impact or now CF Montreal.
“It’s something cool to be able to tell my husband that I was CF Montreal captain.”
Natural leader
Although three players have shared the task over the past two seasons, he says he was the man in charge.
“I think even people on the outside have seen that I’m the captain, so not much changes.”
With his relaxed character and his very friendly and open nature, we can say that Piette is made for this role. He agrees, by the way, without appearing arrogant.
“It’s natural to me, it’s something I have in me. A manager can always work on this leadership. I’m warm, I’m positive, I’m not the type to cry out for defeat or throw things in the locker room.
“I tend to take a step back and analyze more, but I can also tell the real things.”
indulgence
When asked what the job of captain means to him, he pauses before answering.
“It’s easy for me to be a leader for the team that looks more at the big picture and at medium or long-term than short-term perspectives.”
As an example, he cites the team’s difficult start to the season, which lost its first three games by shutout. He wants to invite calm and avoid panic.
“At the moment we have three defeats in a row and it’s the start of the season. Fans can get frustrated, players can’t. We watch our games and there is progress.
“We have new hires who are getting to know us, and it’s not going to be done by snapping our fingers. It goes little by little. You have to calm down the dressing room and it goes both ways. We must not ignite with winning streaks.
leadership in motion
In his first full season in Montreal, 2018, Piette experienced a leadership deficit after the departure of several veterans such as Patrice Bernier, Marco Donadel or Hernan Bernardello.
He assures that the situation is not the same this year, despite the transfers of Alistair Johnston, Djordje Mihailovic and Ismaël Koné.
“Obviously the players we lost, like Ali and Djordje, had MLS experience and knew how the license works. I’m not saying they were great leaders, but they were important pieces because of their performance on the field.
“So there’s been a changing of the guard, but we still have great plays, including Victor Wanyama and Joel Waterman, while Romell Quioto leads in his own style.”
So the veterans have to pave the way for all the youngsters who joined the team over the winter.
“If your dressing room welcomes players like Sean Rea or Jonathan Sirois, they’re a bit new because they’ve been on loan to CPL for two years. There’s also George, Ousman Djabang and Aaron Herrera coming and we have to integrate them.