A look back at the CF Montreal season | Laurent Courtois places his convictions beyond doubt

There were storms and blue skies. Big wind, from behind and from the front. Great victories, heavy failures, crashsof the clashesbeautiful game, very ugly. Through all of this, the lesson that Laurent Courtois learned in the twilight of his first season as professional head coach? “Believe in yourself even more. »

The Press met the CF Montreal technician in the Nutrilait Center amphitheater, around ten days ago, a little over a week before his club’s final and decisive match. The CFM will face New York City FC this Saturday evening, at 6 p.m. He only needs one point to confirm his participation in the play-off match giving access to the series.

This therefore means that after the many adventures which have made up the story of this 2024 season, everything will be decided in the last pages of the campaign. Like a good Agatha Christie novel.

“It’s a bit of the absurdity of the profession,” Courtois tells us candidly. You take a point, you are qualified, and if we manage to put in a decent performance, I can see straight away the nice titles, the pats on the shoulder. And if we don’t catch this point and we create a disaster scenario, everyone will turn on me. It’s absurd. »

We will then talk about his “lack of experience”, he believes. Of his “ability to manage stars”. “It’s normal, it’s part of the job. I just can’t let it bother me about where I want to go. »

“It was still a discovery”

The theme of his learnings over the last 10 months was at the center of our thirty-minute discussion on this October afternoon. He names three main ones: “detailed knowledge of opposing teams”, “media management” and that of his entire workforce.

Regarding his opponents, he believes that “next year, there will be a real, real, real head start. This year, even though there was a lot of work, it was still discovery.”

We can give it this: not only was it launched as coach rookie in MLS, but he also did it in a city that he essentially did not know, in which he had to settle, with a club where all the familiarization had to be done. In addition to being one of the most followed in the league, media speaking.

He himself tried to put a “filter” on himself during his appearances in front of journalists, without success. “I’m not good, because as soon as I feel like I’m starting to lie to myself, I can’t do it. »

He still has in mind the question from the representative of your newspaper after the 5-0 defeat at Saputo stadium in August against New England, the worst team in the East at that time. We asked him, basically, if he had the impression that his position was in danger after such a thaw, at home no less.

“And apart from the transitions which directly cost goals in the second half – and that’s already too many – there were some of the best sequences of the season, with the ball,” he recalls

These words from Laurent Courtois are consistent with his perspective of constant nuance. That of seeing good in bad, and bad in good, of never being ecstatic or panicking. In this sense, his challenge this season has been to “continue to believe and work on what [lui] seems the most fair and coherent, on and off the field.” Because often, “you doubt because people doubt”.

He doesn’t specifically name the media or partisan critiques here. Perhaps even the questions came from within, to hear him speak.

“For example, as soon as things don’t go well, we say: ‘Are you sure you want to do this with your goalkeeper?’ And you can apply this for each position and each line. It’s normal. As soon as things go wrong, humans are like that. It turns on the side of doubt. Either because they think it’s their way of helping you, or because they don’t believe in it. Or because it’s their job to ask disturbing questions. It was interesting for me [de trouver] how you manage to maintain yourself, and say: “No, this is what we want to do.” »

Discussions and spats

In 2024, there is no question of the playoffs without the brilliance of Josef Martínez, author of 5 goals in 3 games during the positive streak that began in September and 10 goals so far this season.

Courtois earlier referred to his “ability to manage stars”, potentially called into question in the failure of a qualification. This is because his relationship with the star striker, rightly or wrongly, was at the heart of CF Montreal’s intrigue this year.

In mid-August, after having excluded the Venezuelan from a match as part of a disciplinary gesture, Courtois spoke in particular of a “big disappointment”, ending with this: “I give my hand until that you betray me. » These words were perceived, among others by the author of these lines, as the admission of a betrayal of Martínez experienced by Courtois.

That wasn’t quite what he meant. “As long as you have not betrayed me, you have my complete confidence,” he rephrases when this episode is mentioned to him.

Yes, this period was “complicated”, concedes the coach. But Martínez is not the only member of the squad with whom he had to have discussions. “There were several episodes with a lot of players. »

We come back to his management of all 30 players under contract with the club. Not all of them were able to participate in the project. Some, like Rida Zouhir, left on loan mid-season. Others, like Victor Wanyama, warmed up the bench from start to finish, to the point of no longer traveling with the team.

“Naively, I wanted to bring everyone together,” he admits. […] As a result, it somewhat slowed down either the progress or the healing of the group. On this, I am very vigilant for next year. »

“Yeah, it was hard.”

There was the impressive start to the season on the road. Until the “comedy” of the 4-3 defeat in Chicago in March, after a gust in the windy city diverted the trajectory of the ball into the net. “I don’t have a lot of experience, but I don’t think you’ll relive two match scenarios like that,” Courtois sighs.

“We weren’t able to bounce back after that,” he adds. What followed was the hellish month of May, with Mathieu Choinière’s trade request, the defeats, the failure in the Canadian Championship. In addition to the departure of Olivier Renard.

“He’s the guy who gave me my first opportunity in MLS,” recalls Courtois. His son went through horror movie scenes [NDLR : au début janvier]. I know he fought to sign me, before and during. And him having to leave so quickly…yeah, it was hard. »

Somehow, CF Montreal kept its head above water for the following months. Until the great breath of fresh autumn air (five games without defeat, including four victories), enabled according to Courtois by the arrival of Caden Clark, a substantial “evolution” in defense, as well as an “execution” and a “confidence” enhanced. And now, a final chapter remains to be written.

“What I control is the direction I hope to help the club take, the identity of the game on the pitch with the current players. […] Whatever remains in the green rectangle, I am convinced that we have interesting things to offer. »

CF Montreal v. New York City FC, this Saturday at 6 p.m. (RDS2)