MONTREAL -- Before Didier Drogba ever got to set up shop at the Montreal Impact's own training facility, fellow international soccer superstar Alessandro Nesta experienced a more grassroots workout environment during the team's early MLS days. It bore little resemblance to what he had become accustomed to in Italy's Serie A.
"I remember walking out to [Centre Claude] Robillard with Alessandro Nesta, and before training there was the old-age aerobics session going on on the track before our session, and he turns to me and says, 'We didn't have this at [AC Milan’s training facility] Milanello,'" Montreal coach Mauro Biello recalled after the Impact formally opened their Centre Nutrilait training facility Wednesday.
Nesta – who played for Montreal from 2012-13 – took the Impact's previous training arrangements in stride. But now, by contrast, Drogba and his Montreal teammates enjoy a modern and convenient facility that houses the MLS team and its development and academy teams in one location, all within a five-minute drive of Stade Saputo.
"You have to understand that the players are here more than they are at the stadium. And when you take a look at the facilities, you'll understand that when we thought about building the facility, we kept that in mind -- that the players are here literally six hours a day, if not more," said Impact owner Joey Saputo, who financed the $16 million CAD (approx. US $12.5 million) project.
"So it will help," he continued. "Real Madrid is coming here this summer. We had calls from other clubs that wanted to come here, not only this summer but also next year, so it does help to have a training facility that players can feel comfortable at."
The Impact have been practicing on the site, which features four soccer fields, including two natural grass and two turf, for the past year, while work proceeded to renovate and expand on the 100-year-old main building, Caserne Letourneux, which was originally a firehouse.
"I've known Joey for many years, and when he does something, he wants to do it the best that he can and be the top," Biello said. "And that is his mentality and for us to attract clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid – it speaks volumes about this facility and our city and our owner, and I could only applaud all his efforts throughout the year."
Everything from the players' parking lot to the practice fields is mere footsteps to the main building, which features a tower that was previously used to dry fire hoses.
"It's amazing," said Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush. "My first year here we were training on a high school field in St. Leonard, then to Claude-Robillard and pretty much everywhere in between. So to have this, to call it our own -- two turf fields, two amazing grass fields, the indoor part of it, the locker room, the whirlpools -- everything about it is top-notch. And it's going to be great to be able to show it off to players that potentially could come here and then that could be a deciding factor for them."
Biello recalled the road the Impact have traveled since their earliest days, when he recently addressed the organization's players in the newly completed theater room.
"I wanted to send a message to some of the young guys that maybe think this is the norm, and make them understand that 20 years ago, I was hopping fences to get into training," Biello said Wednesday. "This is a sport that is fairly young in this part of the world, and to have something like this, it's encouraging for our team and for where we want to be in the future."
