A look at Impact’s future and its past
Preseason play is a good indicator for team’s potential starting 11
The anticipation level is high for Impact supporters as the team continues preparation for its Major League Soccer season opener in Dallas next Saturday.
The Impact lost 3-2 to Sporting Kansas City Wednesday night in its final group-stage game at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Fla., dropping its record to 1-2 after winning the tournament last year. The Impact will play its last game of the tournament Saturday against the Philadelphia Union for fifth place.
We have seen enough to offer some insight as to what we can expect from the Impact when the MLS season kicks off. There are similarities under new head coach Frank Klopas — both good and bad — in the team’s preseason play that have carried over from last year.
After the recent preseason games, it has become more clear what the potential starting 11 might look like on opening night in Dallas.
And with this year marking the 20th anniversary of the Impact’s first league championship in the American Professional Soccer League, I felt nostalgic and wondered how the current edition of the Impact would stack up against my Fantasy 11 of former Impact players.
So, here’s my look at this year’s starting 11, followed by my Fantasy 11 Impact squad: PROBABLE 2014 IMPACT STARTING 11 (1-4-2-3-1 formation) Goalkeeper Troy Perkins: The former MLS goalkeeper of the year led the league with 109 saves last season. As expected, Perkins will begin this season as the team’s first-choice ’keeper but, rest assured, Evan Bush will be pushing hard to take the No. 1 job. It goes without saying Perkins won’t voluntarily hand over his gloves to his understudy. Left-fullback Jeb Brovsky: If not for a broken nose suffered last May, Brovsky might have logged the most minutes of all players last season. In addition to Brovsky, the club has two 21-year-olds as leftfullback options — fifth overall draft pick Eric Miller and Impact Academy graduate Maxim Tissot — but neither is capable at this stage of de- throning Brovsky. Right-fullback Hassoun Camara: Since impressing at an invitational camp in January 2011, the French defender has steadily improved each season. Last season, Camara scored three goals, the fourthmost on the team. Although he is guilty of the occasional lapse in concentration defensively, Camara has become a mainstay on the back line. Centre-fullback Matteo Ferrari: The former Italian Serie A and English Premier League defender is now the Impact’s most reliable central defender. The experienced Ferrari reads the game as well as any defender in MLS and he’ll need that expertise since his athleticism is not quite what it used to be. Centre-fullback Wandrille Lefevre: There’s no denying the Academy graduate has shown vast improvement since his 2013 rookie season. The fact is he might have already earned the starting nod as a central defender by default. The Impact had hoped Nelson Rivas could reverse the curse and remain healthy long term, but so far no good on that front. Next in line is Adrian Lopez, but he’s only expected to join the team on Monday and his level of fitness and health status is still unknown. Enter fourthchoice Lefevre. Defensive-midfielder Hernan Bernardello: The club’s second designated player needs to increase his influence on the team this season. We saw flashes of his ability last season before an injury limited his participation to eight games. Given the fact DP’s are expected to carry a significant amount of the daily load for a team, much is to be expected from the Argentine midfielder. Defensive-midfielder Patrice Bernier: The newly appointed captain has been given added responsibilities, but I believe he has one main objective to focus on: Staying healthy. Bernier is coming off a “minor knee procedure” during the off-season, but at age 34 no procedure is really minor. I know that first-hand. An unhealthy Bernier is just an average player, while a healthy Bernier is one of the league’s most effective midfielders. Left-wing Sanna Nyassi: If ever there was a player given every chance in the world to solidify a place on the team, it’s Nyassi. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nyassi is his own worst enemy. His ability is evident — as we’ve seen this preseason — but his consistency is not. He’s getting yet another chance to get it right. Right-wing Justin Mapp: Next to Marco Di Vaio, Mapp is Montreal’s other legitimate offensive threat. Given a lifeline by the club last season after a very average 2012 campaign, Mapp has revitalized himself, effectively repaying the club with noteworthy performances. Attacking-midfielder Felipe Martins: No one needed to tell Felipe his 2013 season was not quite good enough. In fact, he said it himself. Statistically, the numbers say otherwise — five goals, eight assists — but with so much ability those numbers are slightly below expectations. Off-season sur- gery, coupled with a coach (Marco Schallibaum) who put him in unsuitable situations, led to a substantial dip in the Brazilian’s confidence. The Impact needs him to regain that self-belief. Forward Marco Di Vaio (suspended for the first three league games): He scored a bunch last season and will score a bunch again this year. Admittedly, MDV hasn’t looked particularly sharp this preseason, but I wouldn’t look too far into that. The big question now is how many will he bag? I predict 12-15 goals, which means that for the Impact to have a successful season others must step up and contribute supplemental goals. Far more than the supporting cast produced in 2013. Forward Andrew Wenger (filling in for DiVaio): The man who makes the hard work look easy and the easy work look hard will likely get the nod over new boy Santiago Gonzalez. And at the risk of stating the obvious, Wenger has some very big shoes to fill replacing Di Vaio to start the season. FANTASY FORMER IMPACT 11 (1-4-2-3-1 formation) Goalkeeper Greg Sutton: A four-time United Soccer League goalkeeper of the year, including a league MVP in 2004. Left-fullback Patrice Ferri: The Impact’s first-ever captain in 1993, and also the club’s first team MVP, was also a first-team league allstar. Right-fullback Gabriel Gervais: A six-time first-team league all-star, three-time USL defender of the year and 2004 team MVP. Centre-fullback Jason Devos: A second-team league all-star at just 19 years old, he was also named rookie of the year in 1993. Centre-fullback Steve Trittschuh: The U.S. Olympian in 1988 and Team USA World Cup member in 1990 was also a five-time first-team all-star. Defensive-midfielder Nick Dasovic: He was a secondteam all-star in 1994 while helping the Impact win its first club championship. Defensive-midfielder Nick De Santis: A two-time league all-star who was twice voted the team’s hardest-working player. Left-wing Mauro Biello: “Mr Impact” was a five-time allstar and four-time team MVP. His accolades are too long to list. Right-wing Kevin Holness: The former Canadian international player made a habit of leaving fullbacks in his dust. Attacking midfielder Paulinho: The league MVP in 1993 is arguably the most skilled player Montreal has ever seen. Forward Eduardo Sebrango: The former all-star and team MVP might be the most complete striker ever in an Impact kit.