The Montreal Impact have launched a U-23 team, the club announced Friday, changing the structure of their academy.
The new reserve team will be led by head coach Jason Di Tullio, a former defender who logged 75 appearances with Montreal from 2002-07. He’s worked with several Impact academy teams and will be assisted by Esteban Landazabal. They’ll take into consideration minutes for first-team players and youngsters who can be challenged by the higher level.
“The establishment of a U-23 team meets an objective we had to add a post-formation step to the development structure of the club,” academy director Patrick Leduc said in a team release. “It allows us to put the players with higher potential in a professional setting while controlling the playing time. We have the privilege to count on a technical staff with strong experience at the professional level and our young players will benefit from that.”
In further academy changes, former club captain Patrice Bernier has taken a modified role as the link between the academy and first team. He’s been working as an assistant to first-team head coach Thierry Henry.
“I am happy to get this new role, which will let me maintain links with the academy and to keep an eye on our development,” Bernier said in a team release. “I will have direct access to the young players, which will allow us to offer a more accompanied preparation to the first team. I will also give my advice coming from the pro level to the academy sector.”
The new U-23 team sits atop Montreal’s development pyramid, with the pre-existing U-14, U-15 and U-17 teams still pivotal steps. The latter two teams will compete in the new MLS Elite Youth Development Platform, all as Montreal’s academy continues to grow after its founding in 2010. Their current first-team roster has eight Homegrown Players, as well as winger Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla who's back after a brief stint at Barcelona B.
Montreal are the latest MLS club to announce academy changes, after Minnesota United launched a comprehensive restructuring of their academy in late August. The Loons, taking inspiration from the Iceland model, are staying mindful of geography (isolated), climate (wintry) and culture (both tradition-rich and richly diverse).
