CF Montreal | Between “expectations” and “ambitions”

“Same, but different. »

This is how Laurent Courtois described his training camp at the start of it on Tuesday. This is also the observation that we can make of CF Montreal in 2025. With the same coach and the same ideas of play as last year, but with tools (read: players) and ways of doing things optimized to his own style.

“We want to revisit things that we think we can improve,” Courtois said live from Tampa on Tuesday afternoon. Without shaking everything up either, because if I’m not mistaken, we thought we had a decent start to the season [l’an dernier]. It wasn’t by accident either. »

It refers to the two wins and one draw for the first three of six meetings on the road. Courtois thus wishes to “keep” the elements that worked, and “rectify” those that need to be corrected.

For defender Joel Waterman, this is the first time since 2022 that he has started a season with the same head coach as the previous one. Did he feel that his coach had shown up to this preseason with a little more experience behind the whistle?

“Yes, I could say that,” underlined the man who signed a new contract binding him to the CFM until 2027, before the holidays.

“One of the things I’ve noticed is he’s very consistent. The message is the same, and you have to make sure that new people become familiar with what exactly he wants. […] This is where guys like Sam and I can help encourage that narrative so everyone is on the same page. »

A Courtois team

Waterman and Samuel Piette are indeed two pillars of CF Montreal, a club in full transformation of almost half of its workforce. Courtois also says he was “involved” in all the discussions, and in particular those on the new members of his technical staff. After the departures of Laurent Ciman, Romuald Peiser, Luca Bucci and Barthélémy Delecroix, the club announced that it had hired four assistants to support Courtois, including former Montrealer Marco Donadel.

Thus, the team, on the field and on the sidelines, now, more than ever, has the Laurent Courtois signature. “I expect progress,” said its president Gabriel Gervais on this subject last week.

Does the main party feel increased pressure?

“I don’t really like the word “pressure,” he replies. But it’s true that it’s normal to have expectations. I have expectations and ambitions. This year, I have the staff I wanted and players who closely resemble what I wanted. So with people who know me and a good base of guys who know what I want to do, yes, there are expectations. And we want to try to return the favor. »

Looking for a “homogeneous” workforce

We talked about the retooling underway at the CFM. As such, Fabian Herbers, even if he is only in his first week as the color bearer of Bleu-blanc-noir, will have the task of displaying his leadership, this year, with what will be certainly one of the youngest teams on the circuit.

“I have a lot of experience in the league,” assures the 31-year-old midfielder, acquired from the Chicago Fire. I played 9 seasons and over 200 games there. I know what it takes to be successful. It doesn’t take me long to adjust to a new city. »

Herbers, in addition to German, his mother tongue, speaks English and Spanish. He intends to learn French, because he likes being “the guy in the middle who can communicate” with everyone.

Along with forwards Giacomo Vrioni and Prince Owusu, as well as defender Jalen Neal, Herbers represents one of the new faces of the CFM who could play important minutes this season.

“They have interesting profiles,” Courtois described. […] If you want to summarize a little what we want to do, it’s a squad that is a little more homogeneous, with fewer disparities between the highest and the lowest. This is exactly what we are seeing. I’m happy. »