MONTREAL 鈥� CF Montreal president and chief executive officer Gabriel Gervais is setting a clear objective for the upcoming season.
鈥淲in a trophy,鈥� Gervais said Friday at Montreal鈥檚 training complex. 鈥淲hether that鈥檚 the Canadian Championship, the Leagues Cup, the MLS Cup. By winning a trophy, we return to the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 participated since 2022. That competition is in our DNA, and we want to get back there.鈥�
The Major League Soccer club kicks off its 2025 season preparations this weekend with player medicals, followed by a training camp in Tampa from Monday until Jan. 25.
Gervais is excited to welcome fresh faces to the club, including new designated player Giacomo Vrioni.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a really talented No. 9, gifted technically, and also has the ability to get behind the defence. He can score goals,鈥� Gervais said of the 26-year-old striker. 鈥淲e had a chance to get him and we seized the opportunity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an important add for us.鈥�
Montreal also added 鈥渧ersatile鈥� 21-year-old defender Jalen Neal from LA Galaxy and veteran midfielder Fabian Herbers in recent days.
A roller-coaster 2024 season featured a surprising quarterfinal loss to lower-tier Forge FC in the Canadian Championship and an early exit from the Leagues Cup.
Montreal, however, squeezed into the MLS playoffs with an impressive late-season surge under first-year head coach Laurent Courtois, bowing out to Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference wild-card round.
Courtois stayed on, but an off-season of significant turnover followed. The club restructured its front office, revamped its coaching staff and said goodbye to a swath of players.
Striker Josef Martinez 鈥� the team鈥檚 MVP who spearheaded the end-of-season charge 鈥� was one of nine players whose contract was not renewed. Montreal also let disgruntled DP Victor Wanyama walk and sent forward Matias Coccaro out on loan.
"A lot of guys that maybe weren't too involved on the team are now gone, and we're getting new players that are really interesting,鈥� captain Samuel Piette told reporters at MLS media day Thursday. 鈥淭hey want to be in Montreal, they fit our style, they fit our locker room as well."
Courtois鈥檚 fingerprints are all over the team a year after being hired. Gervais said the head coach helped choose his new players and staff 鈥� including former player Marco Donadel, who returns to Montreal as an assistant.
The 46-year-old Frenchman began shaping his team鈥檚 identity during the summer transfer period when Montreal added midfielder Caden Clark and wingbacks Tom Pearce and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, three young talents who contributed to the turnaround in 2024.
With that, Gervais鈥檚 expectations of Courtois have increased heading into a second season.
鈥淗e's got a lot of players coming back who are young and now will step up even further,鈥� Gervais said. 鈥淚 expect an improvement from last year in terms of consistency. We were very inconsistent last year. I expect us to be better defensively as well and our press has to be better.
鈥淲e saw what we could do at the end of the year, from an offensive perspective, from a combination perspective, from a building out of the back perspective. That was extremely interesting, so I'm super motivated with what's to come.鈥�
Gervais hopes Neal will help bolster Montreal鈥檚 defence, which conceded 64 goals last season.
Vrioni, a former Juventus product, should replicate some of Martinez鈥檚 scoring, but the Albanian international only has 16 goals and three assists in 67 MLS games.
New England even retained salary in the transfer. So why might it work in Montreal?
鈥淗e鈥檚 also a lefty who can be a target man with two players behind him," Gervais said. "In our formation and the way we want to play, his profile can be really interesting.鈥�
Next on his to-do list, Gervais believes Montreal could use some more 鈥渂ite鈥� on offence with an additional striker or an attacking playmaker. He wouldn鈥檛 rule out using the club鈥檚 second designated player spot.
Gervais also wants another left back, with Pearce the only player currently occupying that role.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to improve the team, we can鈥檛 do everything in this window. We鈥檇 like to, but it will be difficult,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have room to manoeuvre financially that we鈥檒l try to use in the next week or month. If we have a good opportunity we鈥檒l try to take it.鈥�
After its training camp in Tampa, the club returns to Montreal for sessions at Complexe sportif Marie-Victorin from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4 before wrapping up pre-season in Orlando from Feb. 5-21.
Courtois鈥檚 side begins the 2025 MLS campaign against Atlanta on Feb. 22 and won鈥檛 host its home opener until April 12 against Charlotte FC at Stade Saputo, its eighth game of the season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
