Homegrown midfielder back with the Impact
Sometimes, life comes full-circle, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Ballou Tabla. The Impact’s homegrown midfielder has returned to Montreal for a six-month loan from FC Barcelona, after the Ivorian was transferred to the Catalan giants over a year and a half ago.
Despite being just 20 years old, the young midfielder has a long history with the Impact, having originally joined the Academy in 2012, when he was just 13 years old.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how it all started for Ballou.
Ballou flourished at the Academy, originally joining in 2012 and returning in 2015 after a stint with Montreal amateur club CS Panellinios, helping the U18 side finish first in the Development Academy standings. Following the end of the season, Tabla would sign with FC Montreal, the Impact’s former reserve team that played in the United Soccer League.
Ballou would go on to score his first professional goal in his debut, against Toronto FC II. He would score five in total, adding five assists as well, in his lone USL season.
Finally, after having trained with the first team for a while, young Ballou officially made the jump to MLS, signing a two-year contract with the Montreal club during the offseason. His official debut came in the club’s first game of the year, in San Jose, officially becoming the youngest Impact player in history to start an MLS game.
He would come on as a substitute in the following game as well, before making his first start on April 1, 2017, against the Chicago Fire, in Illinois. His first start proved to be a special occasion, as the midfielder would score his first professional goal as well, in the 90th minute, to give the Impact a 2-1 lead.
Unfortunately for him, the ecstasy from his first tally would be short-lived, Chicago tying things up two minutes later with seconds left to play. Still, his name would be inserted in the record books again, as the youngest Impact player to score in MLS.
Two months later, Tabla would score the winner in the 78th minute against D.C. United, handing all three points to the Montreal Impact.
It would mark Tabla’s first and only season with the Impact’s first team, as he was then transferred to FC Barcelona during the offseason, becoming the first Academy product to be sold in Europe.
How will Ballou mark history this time around?
