CF Montreal had one of the most lethal attacks in Major League Soccer last season, finishing fifth in goals scored en route posting to the third best record in the league.
After losing one of the driving forces behind that attack when midfielder Djordje Mihailovic left for the Netherlands with no clear replacement, competition is heating up in training camp to see who will fill the void.
With last year’s leading scorer Romell Quioto clearly top dog, the likes of Mason Toye, Sunusi Ibrahim, Kei Kamara, as well as newcomers Chinonso Offor and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint all have a claim for that second spot.
“I think it’s healthy. Any time you have competition within the team, it pushes everybody to try and be better," Toye said Thursday from training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “We all want to play but there’s only a certain amount of subs we have so it’s going to make the trainings a lot more competitive."
Beside Quioto’s 15 goals on the season and an additional nine from Kamara, Montreal’s striker corps struggled to find any kind of consistent form. Between injuries and runs of poor form, there was a need for reliability off the bench.
“It’s a new coach (Hernan Losada) and a new system so we have to work together in order to get those results,” said Sunusi, who only featured as a substitute six times in MLS, mustering a single shot. “In my two seasons with the team, I’ve learned a lot and I’m still learning every day.”
Adapting to a new attacking philosophy has its challenges. While Quioto has excelled since moving from his natural left wing position to striker since joining Montreal, that's not always the case when a player is used in a new role.
Joaquin Torres, the technically brilliant left-footed winger, was unable to adapt his game and saw his minutes plummet last season under Wilfried Nancy, culminating in a move to the Philadelphia Union this off-season.
“As a professional player or just somebody in a job, you get asked to do certain things and play in certain positions and you just have to make the best of those opportunities,” said Toye, who also prefers playing on the left side of the pitch. “I just want to help the team in any position they play me in. I may be subconsciously more comfortable on a specific side. Wherever I’m placed I just have to do better this year.”
There is optimism within the club that the club’s offensive output will not take a hit despite some notable departures. However, that is heavily reliant on significant steps forward being made by last year’s supporting cast.
The majority of last year’s highest-scoring defence has stayed together, with a strong replacement for Alistair Johnston being found in Aaron Herrera, but there are still too many question marks surrounding an untested and injury-prone attacking corps.
Montreal has two remaining games before they kick off their season in nine days. They will travel to St. Petersburg in order to play both the Colorado Rapids reserve team as well as the Tampa Bay Rowdies from the USL on Feb. 18.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2023.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
