Sagna and Garde go way back
Rémi Garde’s European connections are continuing to pay dividends for the Montreal Impact.
When the Impact began retooling for the 2018 season, Garde’s longtime association with Lyon led to the club signing players like Rod Fanni, Rudy Camacho, Saphir Taider and Zakaria Diallo.
The latest addition to the club, right back Bacary Sagna, also has a French pedigree, but his connection to Garde stems from their shared relationship with longtime Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
“I’ve been following this coach (Garde) for a long time,” Sagna said Tuesday as he greeted the Montreal media for the first time.
“He speaks French, he played for Arsenal and we play football approximately the same way. There’s a lot of trust.”
Garde said he first noticed Sagna early in his career.
Sagna, the son of Senegalese parents, was playing for Auxerre in the French League and Garde was scouting for Lyon.
“I always followed the French players who went to Arsenal,” said Garde.
Sagna, who was once described by Wenger as the best right back in the English Premier League, won an FA Cup with Arsenal, and made two trips to the World Cup as part of the French national team.
He has 65 appearances for France.
Sagna most recently played for Benevento in the Italian Serie A.
“I had offers from clubs in Turkey, France and the U.K. but I wanted to experience something new,” said Sagna, who is signed for the remainder of the season with an option for 2019.
“I just want to enjoy football, I want to get to know a different continent, a different kind of football.”
Garde suggested that Sagna could see action as early as Saturday when the Chicago Fire visits Saputo Stadium.