This represents the first step in the creation of a development program within the club. The main objective of the Academy will be the development of Quebec players aged 17 to 21 within the club’s professional environment.
“We are taking today a further step towards the development of young players within our organization,” declared Joey Saputo, President of the Montreal Impact and Saputo Stadium. “We are taking full control of our reserve team to favour the growth of our local talent. By mixing with the first team players and by playing on the same field, the Impact will offer to its young players the best possible conditions to enhance their training experience. I wish to thank the community and the City of Trois-Rivières for their support in the last years.”
The Montreal club will manage the Academy’s technical, financial and operations-related activities. The Impact has moreover announced the nomination of Philippe Eullaffroy as head coach of the reserve team. He becomes the first director of player development to be hired full-time by the club. Eullaffroy will be assisted by Oliver Brett.
In 2009, in his first season as head coach of the Attak, Phillipe Eullaffroy led the team to the regular season championship, as well as to the first playoff championship in club history, October 25, 2009, versus the Serbian Eagles.
“Philippe demonstrated last year that he can work with a group of young players and that he is able to successfully develop them, as much on an individual basis than within a club’s mentality,” declared Impact technical director Nick De Santis. “He has gained a lot of experience, having notably worked at the training centers of Troyes and Reims.”
The 2010 season calendar in the CSL will be unveiled shortly. The cost to attend the Academy’s matches at Saputo Stadium will be of only $2.
AGOURRAM, BADESCU AND MAYARD UNTIL 2011
The Impact also announced that it had come to terms with three players from its organization. Forward Reda Agourram and goalkeeper Andrei Badescu signed two-year deals, while midfielder Pierre-Rudolph Mayard obtained a contract extension until the 2011 season. All contracts are pending USSF approval.
Agourram, a 19-year-old Montrealer of Moroccan origin, was the top scorer of the Canadian Soccer League last season, scoring 13 goals with the Impact’s reserve team in 19 matches (14 starts) and 1,356 minutes of play. He was selected Rookie of the Year, both with the Attak and in the league at the end of the 2009 season. He was invited at the Impact’s training camp January 25, 2010, and joined the team during its pre-season tour in Portugal in mid-February. Agourram took part in all three exhibition games of the team and scored a goal against Freamunde and Celta de Vigo. He also wears the colours of the U-23 Canadian National Team.
Badescu, a 25-year-old Romanian goalkeeper, was in 2009 the first goalkeeper of the reserve team and was the third goalkeeper of the Impact. With the Attak, Badescu tallied 13 wins in 16 matches and posted a 0,95 Goals Allowed Average. He evolved with various second, third and fourth division clubs in Romania, from 2000 to 2007.
Mayard, a 22-year-old Quebec midfielder, played his rookie season with the Impact last year. In 2009, he played eight matches, of which six as a starter, for a total of 478 minutes, tallying one goal and one assist for a total of three points. He is a product of the club’s reserve team who had finished the 2008 season as the top scorer of the Attak. Mayard has been loaned to the Charleston Battery, a USL Second Division club, for a 5-month period from March 10 to August 13, 2010.
“These are three young players from our club, so it’s very positive,” mentioned Nick De Santis. “These three players have the potential to play in 2010. They will need to keep up the work and show consistency during training.”
It is possible to purchase 2010 season tickets, or mini-season tickets for five matches starting at $50 or for ten matches starting at $100. Dial 514-328-3668 or visit impactmontreal.com.
PHOTOS PÉPÉ
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 227)
//www.impactmontreal.com
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