The cleaning continues within CF Montreal and it is the turn of assistant coach Laurent Ciman and several other instructors to say goodbye.
The organization announced a lot of personnel movements on Thursday, notably making a clean slate within its coaching staff. If pilot Laurent Courtois keeps his job for the moment, he will have new assistants in 2025.
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The name Ciman is certainly the best known among amateurs. A great defender of the team between 2015 and 2017, the Belgian returned to Montreal in 2021 as assistant coach. In addition to Courtois, he will have advised Wilfried Nancy and Hernan Losada over the last three years.
At a press conference, President and CEO Gabriel Gervais did not wish to go into the details of his departure.
“We had confidential discussions. We recognize all the work he has done as a player and coach. […] After the season, with the entire technical team, we took a step back and we did an analysis of the players and staff. All the changes that we have announced are with the aim of making us more constant, more competitive, more efficient, to really have this winning culture,” he explained.
Goalkeeper coach Romuald Peiser, head of goalkeeper development method Luca Bucci and physical trainer Barthélémy Delecroix will not be back in 2025, CF Montreal also announced.
Several players also spent their final moments with the Football Club in 2024. The team confirmed that they had not exercised the contract options of Josef Martinez, Lassi Lappalainen, Gabriele Corbo, Raheem Edwards, Rida Zouhir, Ilias Iliadis, Grayson Doody , Robert Thorkelsson and Matteo Schiavoni.
Martinez, whose departure was announced earlier this season, was the one who had the most impact last season. He scored 11 goals in 23 games, but according to Gervais “the best decision for both parties was to part ways.”
The contracts of midfielder Victor Wanyama, Montreal’s only designated player, and goalkeeper Logan Ketterer will end by December 31. Full-back Joaquin Sosa’s loan will also end.
Quebecers Nathan Saliba and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint, for their part, will be back in 2025. CF Montreal has 16 players with a contract at the moment.
“It’s no secret: we want to look for another striker to replace Josef Martinez,” said Gervais. […] We want to strengthen, in general, our defense. When I talk about defense, I’m not just talking about goalkeepers and our defenders, but about the collective.”
“There are several young people that we have to let go,” he continued, mentioning Zouhir and Schiavoni, both loaned to the Canadian Premier League. I don’t always see it as a failure. “Montreal is not the best place to flourish for everyone.”
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