Thursday morning, a day after the club presented Alejandro Silva to the media, the Impact closed the deal to acquire Rudy Camacho as well, from Belgian club Waasland-Beveren. The French center back was at Centre Nutrilait to talk to the media and train with his new teammates for the first time.
“This is an important day for me,” said Camacho. “I’m very happy to be here and I’d like to thank the club and the staff for believing in me. I hope to achieve great things with Montreal and to go far with the club. I have a long-term contract, and my goal is to win in Montreal.”
Rudy will come and reinforce a center back position that has seen its fair share of injuries since the beginning of the season. Both Kyler Fisher and Zakaria Diallo are not available due to long-term injuries, leaving Víctor Cabrera and Rod Fanni as the only natural occupants of the position, with Jukka Raitala filling in adequately as well since the beginning of the season.
“My philosophy is to play good football,” said Camacho. “I’m a defender before anything, but I’m also technical and confident in my abilities. I love good football and starting the attack from the back.”
It was these qualities that caught Rémi Garde’s attention, leading to a first contact with the player.
“He’s a defender with a lot of qualities,” said Rémi Garde. “He likes to defend, and he’s aggressive. He also seemed to me like a leader on the pitch. What I like the most is the way he brings the ball out cleanly from the back. It’s a philosophy that is important to me. Even if he’s a defender before anything, he’s someone who’s very good at starting the attack.”
L’Arbresle
Rémi Garde and Rudy Camacho will get a chance to get to know each other at the Montreal Impact, but the two have more in common than you might think: both are from the same village, L’Arbresle, in the outskirts of Lyon. Although the two never met, Rudy was familiar with Garde and his coaching staff.
“It didn’t directly affect my decision to come here, but to know that it was this staff working in Montreal really proved to me that I made the right choice,” added Camacho. “This is a staff that is known throughout Europe, and that I know of as well. I think it’s very important to work with a staff like that.”
Camacho will wear number 4 with the Impact, a number that hasn’t been used since 2003. Rudy’s number was 69, which is also the official code representing the Rhône department, where L’Arbresle is located.
The Impact’s next game is on March 31 in Seattle, giving the Impact’s newest additions some time to settle in and get to know their teammates before experiencing a game. It is unclear whether Camacho or Silva will start, although head coach Rémi Garde specified that both are “selectable” this morning at Centre Nutrilait.
