Mathieu Choinière and CF Montreal | “There was never any conflict”

“Everything was clean. There was no problem. »

Mathieu Choinière assures him: there was “no animosity” between him and CF Montreal during the months which ultimately led to his transfer to Grasshopper in Zurich, Switzerland.

“Internally, we knew what was happening,” he said in an interview with The PressMonday morning, in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Montreal. Choinière is back in the Quebec metropolis for the week, with the Canadian men’s soccer team.

“We didn’t hide anything from each other,” he adds. […] All the discussions we had about transfers or anything went really well. »

Externally, in any case, the perception was quite different. The saga began with the bomb dropped by informant Tom Bogert on 1^is last May, wanting Choinière to request a trade after months of unsuccessful contract renegotiations.

The sequence of events nevertheless suggested an acrimonious behind-the-scenes game. A few days later, sports director Olivier Renard and the CFM divorced. His deputy Vassili Cremanzidis left the ship at the end of May. In the meantime, the Impact was going through its slowest period of the season on a sporting level.

On the pitch, we felt that Mathieu Choinière was not reaching his peaks of 2023. Did the procrastination off the pitch harm the player’s performance at this time?

“No, I don’t think so,” he replies. It sure did a little something [au club]. »

Choinière often repeated it in his media speeches afterwards: his dream was always to evolve in Europe.

And at 25 years old, the truth is that he could not afford to wait for the end of his agreement with the Bleu-blanc-noir, which could have been concluded no later than December 2025, when he would have been almost 28 years old.

“I’m not really young anymore, I’m not really old,” he agrees. If there is a chance to discover this world, it is really now. […] We’ll see in a few years where this takes us. This move– there, it was to take advantage of the present moment. »

“I find him courageous”

And he quickly took advantage of it. Mathieu Choinière started his very first match with Grasshopper. And he scored! His celebration in front of the club’s supporters makes you smile. He seems out of place.

“He’s a very well-educated person,” coach Marco Schällibaum, head of the Swiss club, describes to us.

Yes, this same Schällibaum – the Swiss volcano! – who was at the helm of the Montreal Impact in 2013. We reached him on the phone last week, in the afternoon, Zurich time.

“He’s a very intelligent player,” he said. At the tactical level, he is very disciplined. With his technique, I find his movement to be very interesting for us. It’s not for nothing that he was in Montreal as a player, as well as a Canadian international. »

With its 27 national championships and 19 Swiss Cups, Grasshopper is the most successful club in the country. His last participation in the Champions League dates from the 2014-2015 season.

In recent years, this historic team is far from its former successes. They barely escaped relegation last season. This time, she wants to finish the campaign in the first half of the ranking of 12 teams. The recruitment of Choinière, in particular, is part of this ambition.

“I find it very courageous, because it’s still far from Montreal,” admits Schällibaum. It’s another country, another mentality. Switzerland, like Montreal, is very beautiful. It’s nice to live. It also means that he has the character to make his way in life. This is what I smell every day. »

“Football culture, you feel it”

The transfer was made official on August 27. After a little over a month, is this what you expected, Mathieu?

“How the world thinks about football is really different,” admits the man who found an apartment in Zurich just before packing his bags for the Canadian team camp.

Since Choinière’s first match on September 21, Grasshopper has a record of 1-1-1, and is at 9^e rank in the standings after 9 matches.

If he obviously wants to “start by performing well” with his new team – he has a three-year contract with the Zurich club – Mathieu Choinière does not hide the fact that he is aiming even higher.

“I want to have the best career possible. If there are other doors that open, I will definitely look at them. »

“I went there to experience that,” confides Choinière. Getting to know European football, the championships. It’s a first step, and we’ll see what the future will bring me. »

“There are a lot of smiles in this city”

In Montreal, every time the name Marco Schällibaum is mentioned, smiles appear. That’s because he scored several during his one-year stay with the Impact. When we mention it to him, he responds straight away: “I miss your Quebec accent!” »

What memories do you keep of Montreal?

“Only good. For me, at 51 years old, it was quite an intense challenge. I went to a big city 6000 km from home. I had some really good times. The people around me were really good. We made the playoffs, we won the Canada Cup in Vancouver. Those were extraordinary times. I really liked the city. There are a lot of smiles in this city. »

He regrets not having been able to return to Quebec since.

“Montreal has given me a lot in my life. It was a very intense and very good period. »