CF Montréal's U17 and U15 teams returned home from a week-long trip in Texas for the annual Generation Adidas Cup. The high-caliber tournament, which has been hosted by MLS since 2007, was held this year at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, just outside of Toyota Stadium, the home of FC Dallas.
All MLS clubs were represented, as well as several Liga MX clubs including Pumas UNAM, Monterrey and Santos Laguna. Since 2014, international clubs also have also attended. This year was no exception with European heavyweights such as Manchester United, Valencia and Porto, in addition to renowned South American clubs Flamengo (Brazil) and River Plate (Argentina).
Among the 40 clubs competing at the U15 level, CF Montréal was one of the 16 clubs that earned a bye to the elimination round, after head coach Esteban Landazabal and his team managed two wins in the preliminary round against Mexico's Club América (1-1, 4-3 in penalty kicks) and the New England Revolution (1-0). Montreal was ultimately eliminated in the Round of 16 by LAFC, who went on to the semifinals.
On the U17 side, CF Montréal's journey ended in the group stage. One of the highlights of the tournament for head coach Maxime Leconte’s group was the showdown with eventual tournament finalists Tigres of Mexico. CF Montréal led 1-0 at halftime, but ultimately lost 3-1 to a team featuring players from the U20 Mexican national team, including the tournament’s top scorer, Isaias Galvan. In the group stage, Montreal edged out Real Salt Lake (1-1, 7-6 in penalty kicks), but lost to the Houston Dynamo (1-0).
“After two years of the pandemic, getting back to a tournament like this was fundamental for the development of our players,” noted CF Montréal Academy Director Patrick Leduc. “To continue their development, our squads need to play games at this level. Our players faced very tough opponents. This is an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. It was great to get back into the game and compete against the best players on the continent and beyond.”
