MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced on Monday the hiring of four coaches who will be joining head coach Laurent Courtois on the first team coaching staff for the 2025 season: assistant coaches Marco Donadel, Kobié Johnson and Ludovic Taillandier, who will also fill the role of individual development coach, as well as goalkeeper coach Vincenzo Benvenuto.
“After a rigorous hiring process aimed at clearly defining our needs and identifying the best available candidates, we are very pleased and enthusiastic with the coaches we have appointed,” said CF Montréal President and CEO Gabriel Gervais. “I would like to welcome them to our Club.”
Marco Donadel
Born in Conegliano, Italy, Marco Donadel will be making a return to the Club after four seasons as a midfielder with the Bleu-blanc-noir from 2015 to 2018. His coaching career began in Italy with ACF Fiorentina, where he was an assistant for the U16 and U17 team in 2018. He became head coach of that team in July 2019, then served as assistant coach with the first team in 2020 and 2021. Donadel then became assistant coach of FC Spartak Moscow of the Russian Premier League in December 2021, helping his team to a Russian Cup title in 2022. More recently, he was head coach of Italian Serie C club US Ancona in 2023. After obtaining his UEFA B and A coaching certifications, Donadel earned his UEFA PRO coaching license with honours in 2021. During his playing career, Donadel notably helped CF Montréal reach the Concacaf Champions League final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference final in 2016. He also won the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2012. With the Italian national team, Donadel won the European U21 Championship in 2004 and a bronze medal at the Athens Olympic Games that same year.
Kobié Johnson
Kobié Johnson joins CF Montréal from the Columbus Crew, where he was assistant coach with Crew 2 in MLS Next Pro over the past three seasons. Johnson will reunite with Laurent Courtois with whom he helped Crew 2 win the MLS Next Pro Cup in 2022 and reach the final in 2023. This past season, Johnson helped guide his side to the Eastern Conference final. From 2011 to 2021, Johnson was coach at the New York Red Bulls Academy where he moved up the ranks from the U12 to the U23 teams. He notably led the Red Bulls U23s to an NPSL championship in 2015. He holds a UEFA B coaching licence. During his playing career, Johnson suited up for German club Karlsruhe SC and SV Kuppenheim. He also played for the New York Red Bulls reserve team and was the Seton Hall University Male Athlete of the Year in 1995.
Ludovic Taillandier
A native of France, Ludovic Taillandier began his coaching career with AC Boulogne-Billancourt's U17 team in 2006-2007, then joined the Amiens SC Academy in 2007 as head coach of the U17 and U19 teams, before becoming Academy Director from 2010 to 2013. From 2013 to 2019, he held the role of Technical Director of the French Soccer Institute in the United States. He then joined the Chicago Fire Academy, initially coaching the U16, U17 and U19 teams from 2019 to 2021. Simultaneously in 2021, he served as assistant coach with the Fire's first team. He then served as head coach of Chicago Fire 2 in MLS Next Pro, from 2022 to 2024. He holds a UEFA A coaching license along with USSF Pro and A certifications. During his playing career, Taillandier played with the Paris Saint-Germain Academy from 1994 to 1996, then with the Pro 2 team from 1996 to 2000. With the French national team, he played for the U16 and U17 teams in 1996 and 1997.
Vincenzo Benvenuto
Vincenzo Benvenuto has nearly 20 years of experience as a goalkeeping coach. For the past three years, he was responsible for the Bologna FC Academy goalkeepers in Italy, and served as assistant to the first team goalkeeper coach. Previously, from 2007 to 2015, he was involved in various roles focused on goalkeeper development at the Bologna FC Academy. He then served as goalkeeper coach for Miami FC in the NASL in 2016 and 2017, for A.C. Perugia in 2018-2019, and for Frosinone Calcio from 2019 to 2021. He holds a UEFA A goalkeeping coach's license.
