“You think I’m a coach who’s going to punish a young player like Sean Rea, in his first season as a professional, because he did something like that? »
Take it for granted: Hernán Losada assures that he did not put young Rea into penance. The question has been in the air since the 21-year-old from Laval reacted strongly after being taken out of a match, even though he had come on as a substitute 18 minutes earlier.
It was against Miami on May 27. Almost four months ago. Since then, Rea has only played 97 minutes spread over two games. The attacking midfielder, a product of the club’s academy, has not stepped on the pitch since July 1.
“No, no,” continues Losada, in response to the question from your La Presse representative. It’s just that Bryce Duke is a number 10. Ahmed Hamdi is a number 10. I can’t go there with 3, 4 number 10s on the roster. Right now, there are other players in front of him. It is up to him to demonstrate that he can compete with these players. »
“There’s nothing more than that,” he swears, essentially imploring us not to look for problems where there aren’t any.
The head coach’s face is dotted with blades of grass and sweat after an intense end-of-training session with his players at the Nutrilait Center, on a very pretty Thursday morning in September.
Brother Jérémy Filosa, from 98.5 FM and IMFC Radio, relaunches it. How then can we explain that a player who was getting starts at the start of the season can no longer even get minutes with his club?
“Basically, it’s also because Sean played when other players were injured. The squad was not complete. Bryce was not there, Mahala Opoku was not there. »
These two players were acquired during the season through transfers.
Theoretically, the termination of Matko Miljevic’s contract should not harm Sean Rea. We can guess that the Argentinian, who occupied one of these attacking midfielder positions, was ahead of the Quebecer on the CF Montreal board.
Not to mention Bryce Duke’s nondescript performances for several weeks. In addition to a significant need for rotation with a third match in a week, Saturday, in Atlanta.
If all these factors do not allow Sean Rea to finally be called in for reinforcement, we do not know exactly what more it will take from him.
“It’s professional soccer,” Losada recalls. There is a squad of 30 players. It’s up to me and the staff to make the decisions. But when the time comes, and I give you your chance, you have to be ready. »
The technician had another thorny issue to comment on Thursday morning: that of Miljevic, precisely.
Remember that on Monday, MLS ended the agreement between CF Montreal and the player due to the latter’s participation in an amateur league in Laval. Miljevic was suspended from the QCSL after spitting and then hitting an opposing player while watching his team’s match on the bench.
“It’s a shame,” Losada said. We talked about this with the group, so that they are aware of the things that we can do, and that we cannot do. Everyone signed a contract. These are things that cannot happen. Unfortunately, it happened. »
Impact captain Samuel Piette had essentially the same remarks to journalists on Thursday.
“It’s in Matko’s hands,” he stressed. It was his own decision. We move forward, we lose a player appreciated by the locker room. Unfortunately, it’s part of the job. [We have to live with] the good and bad decisions that some people make. »
CF Montreal doesn’t have much time to think about all that. After Wednesday night’s frustrating draw against Cincinnati, a tough challenge awaits against an in-form Atlanta United in Georgia on Saturday.
Does Losada already have an idea of the tactical plan to put in place against Atlanta?
“To be completely honest, I don’t know yet,” he admits with a laugh. I just woke up after yesterday’s match. This morning, we had a session with players who did not play [Wednesday]. Now I’m going to go to my office and watch 22,000 clips of Atlanta and then watch our game yesterday. »
That said, the CFM “has a plan for all matches,” he assures.
“It’s very clear what we’re doing on the ground. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but we go into it with total confidence that we can get a good result. »
