(Columbus) Rudy Camacho and Wilfried Nancy were almost part of the furniture in Montreal, before both heading to Ohio in the last year. “Sometimes we laugh. Who knew we’d end up in Columbus? », says the coach.
Camacho was traded from Montreal to Columbus for $400,000 in general allocation money last July after six years with the club. The two French people had a harmonious reunion in the city of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
In terms of sport, the adaptation was made “easily”, believes Camacho, in an interview with La Presse at the Crew facilities on Thursday.
“You get to know the guys on the field, and it’s not the same. You had habits with other guys, but it takes a week or two, and once you gain confidence in the matches, when you perform well, when you feel integrated into the team, that go. »
We talked at length about Wilfried Nancy’s style of play in our Friday issue. The latter believes that Rudy “knew” his philosophy well, but that he “had lost it”.
“No offense to Hernán [Losada], I respect all styles of play. But we have a way of playing that is different. »
“We had to reform Rudy a little, because he had picked up habits compared to Hernán. […] It came back pretty quickly, but it took a little longer for my liking. »
For Quebecer Mohamed Farsi, right back of the Crew who is in his first full season in MLS, Camacho “brings back a touch of experience in central defense, and that’s nice”.
“He’s a super intelligent guy, who knows the coach’s playing system very well,” he said in an interview with La Presse. […] Whether with the ball, defensively, in terms of experience, he helps us enormously, and he solidifies the defense even more. »
By Rudy Camacho’s own admission, “it was hard to move on” tactically at the start of the season in Montreal.
“We were, in quotes, formatted by Will and his style of play for two years,” maintains the defender. Afterwards, we were asked to do something else, and that’s normal too. These are other game ideas.”
Montreal lost six of its first seven games, then took off in late April.
“We rectified the situation, we looked for solutions, and after a while, we found them. I started to perform well again when the collective found new momentum. »
He assures that he did not leave on bad terms with the CFM. With no promise of a contract for next year, Camacho sought to find a “future” with another club.
Toronto FC was also a possibility for the Frenchman, but the idea of reuniting with Nancy and her staff “weighed in the balance.” “In Toronto, I would have had a lot more uncertainty, I would have conceded four goals per game, and I wouldn’t have liked it. »
On August 3, after the transfer market closed, sports director Olivier Renard explained that Camacho “had asked for permission to leave Montreal if he could, if he came to an agreement with a club”.
“We, obviously, asked ourselves questions,” he said. He was given three choices, actually. We said: “you can stay here […] and we’ll see what we do for the next season(s). And we gave him the choice to speak with the two clubs, and that’s what he did. He came back to us to tell us that he wanted to leave for Columbus now. We tried to find the best possible agreement for the club. »
Camacho’s children are still in Montreal, and he will return to town at the end of the season.
“I’m on good terms with everyone at the club, all the players, all the people who work there, the people in the town. I love Montreal. »