(Montreal) Olivier Renard has often said that he was not going to keep his young players if they wanted to head to Europe and the price was right. This is one of the reasons why the CF Montreal project is so attractive to them.
The Vice-President and Chief Sports Officer of the Bleu-blanc-noir has been busy during the days leading up to the closing of the MLS transfer window on Wednesday.
In just over a week, Renard signed forward Kwadwo Opoku and goaltender Jonathan Sirois, acquired defender Fernando Alvarez before signing him for several seasons and traded veteran defenseman Rudy Camacho at the Columbus Crew.
Each of Renard’s decisions reflected the philosophy of CF Montreal, which focuses on the development of talented young people in order to sell them for a profit, while remaining competitive.
Opoku and Alvarez, as well as Bryce Duke when he was acquired in April, have all already mentioned that they have European ambitions and that they believe they are taking a step in the right direction when they join the Montreal team. They can use it as a springboard because it has recently proven itself in this area.
“The club presents a good project. He managed to sell players in Europe and that’s why I wanted to join, explained Alvarez. The team always tries to help the players. If you’re ready to play, they’ll let you play. I love the city too and we felt like we didn’t need anything more because we had everything here. »
Alvarez is telling the truth. CF Montreal replenished its coffers in the off-season by selling three of its key players in 2022, a year of many club records.
Defender Alistair Johnston was transferred to Scotland, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic was transferred to a team in the Netherlands and Quebecer Ismaël Koné took charge of England.
For Renard, this is a normal evolution of things for a professional team, but also for young players who are hungry for challenges and excellence. It is a sometimes difficult concept for supporters to digest, who see their best players leave the club as they begin to grow attached to them.
“These are players who have sporting projects and who are interested in Europe. They came here to Montreal to give their all, underlined Renard.
“We are proud of what happened two years ago and last year. We have had six players at the World Cup and there is interest from big European clubs for several of our players. That’s the plan,” he added.
The objective is the same for Sirois, but as he is a local player, patience perhaps comes to him more easily than some of his teammates.
Sirois has been part of the CF Montreal organization since 2015. He wore the colors of the Academy on several levels before being loaned to Valor FC, in the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
His efforts have paid off this season, having taken over from James Pantemis when the latter suffered an injury in the first game in February. Sirois has since established himself as a true number one goaltender and is currently tied for second in MLS with nine shutouts.
“I’m super happy to extend my contract, to be able to continue playing at home in front of the fans, my family and my friends. I always said to myself that I wanted to play in the biggest leagues, but above all I want to reach my potential. I’m 22 so I still have a lot to learn and it’s up to me to keep developing,” said Sirois.
For Renard, the story of Sirois perfectly represents what the Montreal team is looking for and what it wants to accomplish with its young players.
“This is a project that started three good years ago. He stayed on the bench for a bit in CPL and that was perhaps the most important period for him, mentioned the vice-president and chief sporting director. He learned from that and he’s the prototype of what we want to see here. He is happy and he wants to give everything for his supporters. »
What would also help young people to develop and gain experience is participation in the playoffs. CF Montreal currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference, one point behind DC United and one spot in the playoffs.
