It was back in 2012, on a beautiful summer night in Montreal, that legendary club Olympique Lyonnais visited State Saputo for an international friendly against the Impact. Players like Alexandre Lacazette, Samuel Umtiti, Yoann Gourcuff and more all had a chance to wow supporters in a game that went down to the wire, in penalties. Evan Bush was in goal at the time, still pretty new to the city and the club at the time.
Little did he know that the goalkeeper he faced, Rémy Vercoutre, would end up being the goalkeeper coach at the Montreal Impact seven years later, joining his former coach, Rémi Garde, in the Quebec metropolis.
“That was a great memory. We won, sorry,” said Rémy Vercoutre, smiling. “In penalties, and it was actually against Evan Bush. We brought it up together a few days ago and laughed a little. It remains a great souvenir, something that has really marked us.”
Vercoutre replaces his former goalkeeper coach at Olympique Lyonnais, Joël Bats, who will serve as Rémi Garde’s right-hand man after training the goalkeepers in his first season with the club. It marks Vercoutre’s first experience coaching, his career having come to an end just a few months ago.
“It’s an adventure on a human level before anything,” explained Vercoutre. “But the objective is to win. I know this coaching staff very well. They love winning. So, once you join them, you need to know what you’re doing. I love to win as well. I’ll bring everything I can, especially with the goalkeepers. I’m very enthusiastic to attack this new season.”
Although Bush and Bats created a strong relationship in 2018, the American is already enjoying working with Vercoutre since the beginning of training camp, noticing a few differenced in their styles as well.
“He could strike the ball a little bit harder than a 62-year old can,” joked Bush. “It’s exciting to be able to work with a guy who’s coming off a great career like him, and he’s very eager to get started in this new career.”
More seriously, Bush, the ultimate professional, is always on the lookout for ways to improve his overall game. Working with his new goalkeeper coach is a way to achieve that, without straying from the work he did with Joël Bats.
“One thing that Rémy said to me yesterday got me really excited,” said Bush. “After watching my tape from last year, he told me there were three or four things he feels we should work on, and that’s great for me. It keeps me on my toes and gets me excited to come to work every day.”
“I never want to be stagnant in my development, regardless of where I am in my career. Having his different input and opinion is going to be very beneficial to me.”
