For several CF Montreal players, Saturday’s game against the Columbus Crew will be an opportunity to reunite. Wilfried Nancy, Rudy Camacho and Evan Bush are now in the opposing camp, but we have to be careful that this doesn’t become a distraction.
It will be interesting to see how Nancy, who was Bleu-Blanc-Noir’s head coach in 2021 and 2022, is received. The Frenchman left the organization after more than a decade of loyal service, which included the best regular season in team history last year.
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“We know it will be an emotional game but at the end of the day we have a job to do and we want to make sure we get three points at home,” goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois said at a press conference on Thursday.
Additionally, he doesn’t believe Nancy’s new group will have an advantage over CF Montreal because of the coach’s knowledge. The Quebecer is planning a showdown against the fifth team in the Eastern Association standings.
“It goes both ways. I think we know how Wilfried wants to play, but he knows our players, our qualities. “It will be an interesting game,” said Sirois.
Above all, the team’s offensive potential will be kept in mind. In Major League Soccer this season, only one team has scored more goals than Columbus (50).
Other reunions
Camacho will be in the visiting camp for the first time at the Saputo Stadium. The 32-year-old defender spent five and a half seasons in Montreal and stood out for his reliability in front of his goalkeeper and his ability to score goals at any time.
“I told Rudy that I wish him all the best in the world for the rest of his career, but I will make sure he doesn’t score against us at Stade Saputo or on our trip to Columbus,” explained Sirois.
“We know that in general we are a team that is difficult to score,” replied Hernan Losada, who coached Camacho at the beginning of the year. That’s why we need more concentration, more defensive effort and joint work to prevent the opposing team from scoring.”
Bush, the mentor
Getting back to Sirois, last week he tied the club record of 10 shutouts in a season, which has belonged to Evan Bush since 2018. It’s already been four years since the American goalkeeper left the province, but his transition has been notable for many.
“It will be nice to see him, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen him,” the 22-year-old recalled. For me, Bush has always been a mentor, from the moment I did my first camp with the pros, when I signed my contract and so on. He is someone who has always been important to me and who has given me a lot of advice.
In fact, Bush wrote to him when Sirois completed his 10th shutout against the New England Revolution last Saturday.
“He wished me every success, except for the upcoming game,” Sirois said with a laugh.