If you’ve been following the Montreal Impact’s training camp, you probably noticed the special emphasis placed on fitness, especially during the first phase of camp in Miami. But after the Impact’s first preseason game against the Las Vegas Lights FC, in which the Bleu-blanc-noir did not concede any goals,
“I’m learning a lot, defensively especially because it’s so important,” said Raheem Edwards. “He (Garde) really harps on us defensively. He’s a good coach. It’s not just him, it’s the entire staff, so credit to them, they’re doing an excellent job so far.”
Although the team was defensively sound against the Lights FC, a steeper challenge will come as soon as tonight, when the Impact faces the Chicago Fire at 7pm at Al Lang Stadium.
“We worked a lot on our defensive game and how we want it to be for the beginning of the season,” added David Choinière. “Chicago will be an interesting opponent to see how we react defensively to a good team.”
The Impact still has four preseason games left before the first game of the season, on March 4 against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Rémi Garde and his staff will therefore use these games to make sure the team is playing complete football, and that includes a very special emphasis on defense.
“We want to play the right football, and it’s the mentality that Rémi is putting into our heads,” explained Edwards. “We want to create chances, and when we get those chances, put them away, while staying defensively sound. You can’t win a championship or win games without defense. Defense is the most important thing. We’re working on that and building towards our game against Vancouver coming up soon.”
