The Impact earned its first win of the season, Saturday afternoon against Toronto.
For the first time this year, the Impact played with a three-man defense: Jukka Raitala, Victor Cabrera, and, starting his first game with the club, 36-year-old Rod Fanni. Five midfielders played in front of them, with Samuel Piette and Saphir Taïder occupying a lot of space in the middle of the field. Finally, Jeisson Vargas and Ignacio Piatti manned the top.
“The idea for this formation came from starting at the top,” explained Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “When I found out Matteo couldn’t play, it became a question of how to best position Nacho and Jeisson. I didn’t know about Matteo’s status until the last minute, but just in case we started practicing it as of Tuesday. The players responded well.”
Toronto FC is known for playing a similar formation to the one Rémi Garde put out on Saturday, starting with three defenders in the back, with Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore occupying the two forward positions. The Impact did a good job shutting down Toronto’s attacking stars, and much of that credit goes to the three defenders in the back.
“We worked hard in training and it worked out,” said Fanni after the game. “Our coach studied the other team in depth and put in place a formation that stifled them the most. It stopped them from being able to turn and pierce our defense, and it helped me read Giovinco and Altidore’s movements.”
Options in attack
On the offensive side of things, the South American connection up front proved to be effective. The young Chilean, Jeisson Vargas, netted a goal with a few minutes left in the first half off a Piatti assist, a goal that ended up being the game winner.
“I really enjoyed Jeisson and Nacho together,” added Garde on Tuesday morning, before the practice at Centre Nutrilait. “The idea was to free Nacho of certain defensive tasks. When he’s positioned on the side that he loves so much, there’s a lot more defensive work to do in that corridor. I really liked the relationship between the two on the field, they found each other well. It gives us a lot of possibilities up front moving forward.”
The goal was made possible when Samuel Piette recovered the ball near midfield and fed it to Nacho right away. The young Quebecker from Repentigny was a force with four interceptions, including the one that led to the Impact’s goal.
“Sam is very important to the team,” said Garde. “He recuperated the ball a lot. I think he has the potential to be even better, to have more influence on the game. He had a really good game and he was the cornerstone of our midfield. He was extremely involved defensively.”
Saphir Taïder, playing next to Piette, was equally efficient, earning Team of the Week credentials along with Rod Fanni, Ignacio Piatti, and Evan Bush, on the bench. The Algerian international was also a rock defensively, earning two interceptions, and was clinical, completing 18 successful passes in the final third.
The team now has a week off for the international break, before travelling to Seattle to face the Sounders FC on March 31. Whether or not Rémi Garde will opt to use the same formation remains to be seen, but with the signing of Alejandro Silva recently announced by the club, the Impact does have options moving forward.
