MONTREAL – A challenging preseason is soon coming to an end for the Impact.
Involved in competitive action on Feb. 24 against Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions League, Montreal haven’t had the luxury of time. In each of the last three preseasons, they played against at least five other teams. This year, in a 32-day preparation period, only three games – all in Mexico – fit into their schedule in between a handful of intra-squad scrimmages.
With 12 new faces in camp, the Impact have been racing against the clock, while Pachuca started their league campaign already. But Montreal have only one finish in mind: being fully ready for that first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
“It’s a different team this year than it was last year, with a lot of changes that we made to the team,” head coach Frank Klopas told reporters earlier this week. “With less time to prepare, it makes it a little bit more difficult, but we were out here [in Mexico] early and we wanted to give ourselves every opportunity to get as ready as we possibly can to face a good team.”
It hasn’t been the greatest of starts for Pachuca in Liga MX. They sit in 13th place in the league with two wins, a draw and three losses.
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But don’t let that record fool you. The Tuzos’ last result was a fine 3-1 win at Atlas, and Montreal are expecting a grind at the Estadio Hidalgo. They are wary of Pachuca’s pressing, pace and transitions.
“We have to be good with the ball, and I’m not just saying that we have to dominate possession over 90 minutes and dictate the tempo of the game,” Klopas said. “What we have to do with the ball is about our decision-making, where we’re looking to play and the areas we’re looking to attack.
“They’re a very good team at home,” he continued. “They will pressure and come out with a very high tempo. Our ability to slow the game down through possession and our decision-making for the areas that we’re looking to attack, pushing numbers forward, is going to be key.”
