Good shots, there have been. Not so good, too. But what Gabriel Gervais remembers after a year in office is that CF Montreal “has accomplished great things”.
The president of the club has experienced challenges, learning, but above all has been able to bring progress after a first year in office, he explains to La Presse during an interview of about thirty minutes. in the heights of the Center Nutrilait.
Seated around an opulent round table in the conference room at the top of the former Letourneux barracks – where we are surrounded by collectibles like a jersey worn by Paolo Maldini – Gervais recounts his adventures. When he gets to where he was on March 28, 2022, he’s “very proud” of how far he’s come.
“When I arrived, there were several questions about the identity of the club, the name of the club and there were the supporters of section 132 who refused to return to the stadium. There were several things. I wanted to clarify the values of the club, the mission and the vision that we want to put forward, and these are things that we clarified when we left. We wanted to reconnect with our fans, our community and fill the stadium, something that was done in the second half of the season,” he said.
He notes his two greatest prides: having seen the Stade Saputo full to bursting for the second half of the season and having been able to count on six representatives of CF Montreal at the World Cup. On the other hand, he recognizes certain hitches.
Among these was the soap opera of Sandro Grande’s hiring as head coach of the reserve team, whose tweet regarding the 2012 Metropolis bombing resurfaced after the appointment. Then there was the launch – or rather the still awaited launch – of the home jersey for the 2023 season. Gervais had an Indigenous language listing removed since “the consultation process with Indigenous communities was still ongoing”, he explained at the time.
“With hindsight, we would have made some decisions differently, but it’s easy to say afterwards,” says Gervais. […] The most important thing in all of this is to always show empathy, to walk in the shoes of others. Now we are much more sensitive to that. We have also put in place a process to make sure that the decisions we make do not cause harm to the community, to people personally or to the club. »
Gervais isn’t letting these events cloud his assessment too much, however. He focuses on successes, such as his club’s performances in the 2022 season. After breaking a few MLS records, CFM finished third in the Garber League. Eventually, these honors led to the sale of three club players – Ismaël Koné, Djordje Mihailovic and Alistair Johnston – to European clubs. “A lot of pride,” he said.
This pride of having concluded the season with sales is not yet entirely shared by some supporters, admits Gervais.
The club’s philosophy since Olivier Renard took office as Vice-President and Chief Sports Officer is quite simple: to bet on a mix of young players, possibly coming from the Academy, and veterans, while favoring a style of play focused on possession of the ball.
And if said young people have caught the eye of certain European clubs, they will not be selected. For its part, the Bleu-blanc-noir reaped profits, good news for a deficit team, and thus the players “realized their dream” by taking the direction of the Old Continent.
Except that in passing, there is this divorce, this separation with a player who was adored by the supporters. The jersey flocked to his name then becomes obsolete. A reality that is unfamiliar to the Montreal fan.
“We constantly have a responsibility to explain the project, to recall the project we want to put in place,” says Gervais. If we were in Europe and we explained this project, it is more in their DNA where soccer is the first sport. It is common for some clubs to prioritize a player development philosophy more.
“But the ambition remains. We showed it last year and it was good proof that with a great team, which plays great soccer, very tightly knit, where there is room for young people and veterans, we can pretty Things. It was very encouraging. We didn’t have a big star. We are here to build a team above all. »
Exactly. Promote this idea of collective, but make sure that when one of the players leaves, the supporters are inhabited by the same pride that Gervais was talking about, and not a form of disenchantment. How does he plan to go about it?
“It’s up to us to tell certain stories like that of Ishmael, Djordje and Alistair to find out what became of them. You have to reach the supporters. We have a job to do on that side. I think that if we perform on the ground, the project will go better, but we still have work to do,” says Gervais.
If there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that winning and performing well is a panacea.
The president of CF Montreal explains that the short and medium term strategy is based on three pillars.
The first is based on the sports philosophy of Olivier Renard. That of developing and selling players “while remaining competitive”.
The second is to be at the level of MLS standards. The Montreal club wants to be at least average for season ticket holders, average fans per game, revenue it can earn from partnerships and number of subscribers on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass In the region. All of these goals are aimed at providing greater financial balance.
Finally, the third and final pillar is to ensure the future of the club. Both in the organization with the people who work there and in terms of infrastructure, including the Saputo stadium, which could be renovated. Gervais adds that this component also includes the Montreal Impact Foundation, the project of a female component at the Academy and long-term partnerships, based on Quebec inc.
