MONTREAL – With a 0-3 start, it can’t hurt to get a 20-goal scorer back.
Along with Andres Romero, whose three-game suspension is also over, forward Marco Di Vaio will be eligible this Saturday when the Montreal Impact face the Union in Philadelphia. The returning players’ contribution last season all but ensures there’ll be lineup changes, but first, Montreal have to figure out just what they’ll be.
After Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Seattle, Impact center back Matteo Ferrari suggested that Felipe and Andrew Wenger’s efforts up top may warrant the two of them partnering with Di Vaio the following weekend. With still some way to go, head coach Frank Klopas keeps his plans to himself, but he gladly admits that a nearly complete squad is a handsome sight.
“We’ll see, it depends on how we want to play,” Klopas told reporters on Tuesday. “But it definitely gives us more options in depth, whether they play together or you have more depth in quality with guys you bring off the bench. But we play a certain way. … It just depends on the game. We’re going to try different things, but it’s good to have a lot more quality players available.”
Not only does Di Vaio’s eligibility give Montreal extra options to choose from, it also offers build-up play alternatives, midfielder Patrice Bernier explained.
While he acknowledges that MLS now knows what to expect from the Impact’s DP striker, Bernier compared Di Vaio’s ruthlessness to how a Thierry Henry or a Robbie Keane can punish defenses with few opportunities. As the opposition drops back and leaves the ball to the Impact more and more, the key, Bernier said, is keeping them guessing.
“[Di Vaio’s] positioning and the way he goes to goal mean that, sometimes, we can play more directly than we [normally] would, so defenses are going to be on their heels a bit more instead of coming directly at us,” Bernier told reporters. “As we saw, they didn’t hesitate to bump into Andrew in the last game, and sometimes, we need that little direct play that makes the defense wonder whether they should mark you tightly or drop back a bit because they think we’re going for goal.”
Olivier Tremblay covers the Impact on MLSsoccer.com
