FC Montreal midfielder Mastanabal Kacher has been with the Montreal Impact Academy since its foundation, in September 2011, but got his first glance of soccer through his father.
When the family was living in Azazga, Algeria, Mouloud Kacher, Mastanabal’s father, played for Jeunesse Sportive d’Azazga at a level similar to the semi-professional one. When they arrived in Canada, he was his son’s first coach.
“My dad coached a high school team. My brother and I followed him and trained with them. My first club was Anjou. I joined at 10 years old and played at the house league level. Before joining the Academy, I was with Lakeshore at the AAA level.”
Mastanabal was always playing soccer for fun, even if it was only in the park with his older brother.
Today, he still goes to the park with the ball in his feet, but since he is with the Academy, his perception of the game changed.
After taking part in the first ever detections of the Impact’s youth development centre, Kacher joined Wilfried Nancy’s team for his first year with the Bleu-blanc-noir.
“When I started at the Academy, I had the chance to play under Wilfried Nancy in my first season. I progressed a lot. He was the first one to tell me that with technique only, you won’t get anywhere. I had qualities as a player, but I wasn’t dominating. That’s when I learned that the work you put into training is important.”
The offensive midfielder was part of the club’s first experience in the USSDA.
“It was hard for us. We grew a lot in this league. We were doing 6-7 hour trips for the first time, as the other teams had been doing this for a few years already. Then, we started our second season alternating wins and losses, but it’s really in the playoffs that we stepped up. We passed through a tough group in Indianapolis, went to the quarterfinals in Seattle and won 3-0 in front of a crowd of 5,000 fans. It was one of the best experiences in my life.”
The U18 team, coached by Jason Di Tullio back then, finished third in the USSDA playoffs that year.
Following that season, an important part of the group, including the young player born in Algeria, joined FC Montreal’s ranks. The reserve team was just founded and about to play its first USL season.
Kacher was one of the youngest players in the team that also included players from the club’s former U21 team. He played 14 games in his first season, but wasn’t able to put his name on the score sheet in 573 minutes of play.
In 2016, after the first half of the season, Kacher has already played 13 games and registered 704 minutes on the field. He also scored two goals and an assist.
“I know I’m a player who needs to adapt. At first, with FC Montreal, I was shy, not as a person, but on the field. I progressed a lot in my second year. I worked hard to improve certain aspects of my play during the preseason. I try to learn from everything that happens to me. When I don’t play, I observe. When I play, I take all the benefits from it. I feel more involved in the game and that’s because of the coaches. They gave me more tasks. I like having more responsibilities.”
French midfielder Zinedine Zidane inspired many players, including Mastanabal Kacher. He’s also one of the reasons why he wanted to work harder on his play to become a good offensive midfielder. Today, at 20 years old, the young player from Anjou keeps watching videos of France’s former number 10.
