With the first leg of their pre-season camp finished, CF Montreal have temporarily relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for three weeks before opening the 2023 Major League Soccer season against Inter Miami.
While at the Florida Blue Training Center, the club is looking to develop their tactical setups and take advantage of the time away from home to bond as a team.
"We spend a lot of time together outside training. Obviously, there are meetings and obligations, but we find a lot of time to hang out and just enjoy ourselves," said wing back Zachary Brault-Guillard.
"I'm roommates with Rida Zouhir and we get along really well we’ve known each other for a long time. We’re both francophone and the francophones kind of hang out together a little more."
It appears as though training will now resemble the day-to-day of the regular season, with multiple game-like scenarios aimed at building chemistry and practicing tactical patterns in preparation for the four upcoming pre-season friendlies.
“The four weeks in Montreal were very positive,” said head coach Hernan Losada last week. “Now the focus in Florida is to play for the friendly games and to give game time to all the players."
Pre-season friendlies should provide a strong litmus test for where the team’s level is currently as it experiments with different lineups, combinations and sees where players are most effective.
One player who has not been able to settle into a single position is Mathieu Choinière. Having won the starting position as a right wing back in 2021 before coming off the bench in a variety of positions last season, the Canadian youth international has struggled to find an identity at the club.
“I had the chance to speak (with Losada) and he said my use will be pretty similar to last year where he is going to take advantage of my versatility and play me wherever I’m needed,” said Choinière. “There are times where I wish I played only one position to get a better feel for it, but, but I think that versatility gives me an advantage and I don’t think it’s really a drawback."
Many, like Choinière, will find their roles unchanged, but a more direct approach means that players who found themselves on the fringes of the starting 11 can impose themselves and stand out.
One of those hopefuls is Brault-Guillard, whose hard-running, north-south style of play meant he almost exclusively came off the bench under former head coach Wilfried Nancy.
Now, his abilities are more in line with Losada's style, but he has to compete with new signing Aaron Herrera.
“It’s a similar dynamic that I had last year where the club brings in reinforcements and now I have to compete, simple as that,” said Brault-Guillard.
"(Former defender) Alistair (Johnston) had a great season so that was at my detriment, but I still had a good year offensively and contributed a lot. I obviously don’t want to spend another year as backup. I’m a competitor and I’m going to do everything in my power to be a starter."
As a substitute, Brault-Guillard served as an attacking shot in the arm on many occasions, scoring four goals and adding three assists despite only starting four games last year.
Montreal will face Florida International University on Feb. 8 as the first of their four pre-season friendlies in three weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2023.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
