Quebec, land of football. This observation is being made more and more thanks to the Soccer players who are emerging and excelling almost everywhere. But we are gradually realizing that it is just as much for coaches.
Published at 7:00 a.m.
The examples are numerous. Wilfried Nancy is currently the leader: the Frenchman spent nearly 20 years perfecting his curriculum in Quebec, before being named head coach of the year with the Columbus Crew in MLS, the highest circuit North American last week.
Now, closer to home, the Montreal Roses have just announced a technical staff entirely composed of coaches who trained in La Belle Province.
In September, the team named Robert Rositoiu as head coach. Rositoiu is a 31-year-old Montrealer originally from Romania. He set foot in the Montreal Impact pre-Academy in his twenties.
Read “Robert Rositoiu, from Bucharest to Montreal”
Last Wednesday, the Roses named his three assistants.
Maryse Bard-Martel, from Boisbriand, will be the first assistant to the head coach. The former jailer will also serve as goalkeeper trainer.
Yannick Girard, until recently a physical trainer at Canada Soccer and formerly with the Impact, will be responsible for the team’s performance.
Antoine Guldner, who worked for a long time with CF Montreal, has been since 1is October the mental trainer and responsible for the performance culture of the new professional women’s soccer club.
Girard and Guldner are two French people who, like Nancy, have made Quebec and Canada their homeland. Both worked for the Bleu-blanc-noir when the Impact Academy was born, and they were “moved” when the Roses announced their branding last October.
“We are adopted Quebecers,” Guldner said to The Press as part of an interview on the sidelines of the player detection days for the Roses, last week, at the Bois-de-Boulogne training center, in Laval.
“But I think that he and I had a passion for developing football here. We saw the potential there was, thanks to diversity, thanks to the talents of Quebecers. Honestly, it’s important to me to participate in this project in general, girls and boys. »
Being involved in the birth of the professional women’s team in Montreal, frankly, is beautiful. It’s magnificent.
Antoine Guldner
Women’s soccer will be a “discovery” for Guldner. It will be a little less so for Girard, sitting next to his colleague in front of one of the synthetic fields in Bois-de-Boulogne.
“I had the chance to work with women’s teams, and see what was missing, the opportunities they didn’t have,” explains Girard. It’s an environment that I knew needed to develop. »
Bard-Martel knows this too well. After having been a goalkeeper in Canada Soccer’s national programs until 2013, she had to go into exile in the United States, in the NCAA in particular, to continue her career. Like the vast majority of Canadian women wishing to make a living from their soccer… before the arrival of the Super League of the North (SLN).
PABLO ORTIZ PHOTO, PROVIDED BY THE ROSES OF MONTRÉAL
Maryse Bard-Martel, first assistant to the head coach of the Montreal Roses
“The timing was good, I was looking for a new project,” she submits in a telephone interview with The Press. One of my dreams for a long time was to come home. Seeing the scale and values of the project, there was interest on both sides. »
“Maryse had to leave Quebec because there was nothing for her,” illustrates Antoine Guldner. And she’s coming back as principal assistant. It’s a very beautiful story. »
“She will have a crucial role”
During a long interview with The Press in September, Rositoiu argued that he had been “clear with the owners”: he wants to help build a succession, which will be made up of “Quebec women”.
Read “Behind the scenes of a nomination”
“Why not train someone who will eventually take my place?” he said. I really want to be a part of this. Women have given me a lot. Today, to have this responsibility is a privilege for me. »
Could Bard-Martel be this person? “Yes, 100%,” confirms Rositoiu. She has the potential. To find out if she has the desire… you will ask her the question! »
It’s lucky that we speak to the main interested party afterwards.
“I am where my feet are, Bard-Martel image. I don’t want to think too much about things like that in the future. I want to do a good job with Robert right now, get better every day, and help Robert get better. After that, things will fall the way they’re supposed to fall. »
The two have already had a constructive “debate”, during the hiring process, on the best way to use the goalkeeper out of the defensive zone.
“We were building on an idea,” says Rositoiu. There, we felt that we wanted to work together, because we came together. »
“She has great experience,” adds Guldner. She has experienced everything as a player, she has a specific vision in terms of university and Canadian soccer. […] She will have a crucial role. »