The 20-year old player, who left Montreal at the end of the 2003 season for club Landskrona in Sweden, has come to terms with Montreal for the 2005 season, pending international clearance. In 2003 with the Impact, Matondo scored four goals in 696 minutes of play.
Impact defenders Jason Di Tullio and Abraham François also signed three-year deals, while goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri signed for the 2005 season.
“We are pleased to have these four players back with us,”said Impact head coach Nick DeSantis. “These four local players have great potential and they bring a lot of depth to our roster.”
Just like Matondo, Di Tullio is part of the new up and coming generation of Impact players. After playing nine games as a starter last season with the Impact, the 21-year-old DiTullio tore his ligaments in his right knee during a game in Calgary, June 13, and missed the rest of the season.
For his part, defender Abraham François sat out the entire season after suffering a similar knee injury in a pre-season game against McGill University. In 2003, the 27-year-old defender was the top scorer on the Montreal back line, with two goals and one assist.
Andrew Olivieri was back-up goalkeeper to Greg Sutton throughout the 2004 season and finished the year with three wins, all by shutout, and a loss, in 278 minutes of play. He played his first career game with the Impact on July 16, 2004, against the Syracuse Salty Dogs, when Sutton was ejected from the game at the 82nd minute of play.
In other player movements, the Impact also confirmed that forward Chris Lemire’s contract had not been renewed. Defender André Hainault is currently on trial in England with First Division club Crystal Palace FC, while Chris Williams is in Switzerland for a tryout.
PRE-SEASON GAMES
The Montreal Impact will play three pre-season games during training camp. The first game will be played on April 9, at 7 pm at the Catalogna Soccerplexe in Lachine, against the Lac St-Louis Lakers of the Quebec Elite Soccer League (LSEQ). Former Impact player John Limniatis is the Lac St-Louis Regional Soccer Association’s technical director.
The Impact will then face the McGill University Redmen on Wednesday, April 13, at 10 am, also at the Catalogna Soccerplexe.
The last pre-season game will take place in Trois-Rivières, April 17, at 2 pm, when the Impact will take on the senior Trois-Rivières Select, another LSEQ team.
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Source: Patrick Vallée
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
