(Scroll to 2:50 to listen to Nick De Santis in English)
MONTREAL – In this day and age, there’s a simple barometer of the sports fan’s mood: Twitter.
With both head coach Frank Klopas and the Impact front office getting much flak for the team’s winless start to 2014 in the Montreal twittosphere, sporting director Nick De Santis acknowledged the supporters’ criticism, stating that he’s taken his responsibilities over 20 years at the club.
But De Santis also threw his support behind his head coach, however, repeating his faith that the team he’s assembled will overcome this slump under Klopas’ leadership and insisting that emotions – “What people feel, I feel,” he said – couldn’t determine reactions.
“I think we've made decisions, even in the last two years, that we easily could have not made, either with Jesse [Marsch] or Marco [Schällibaum],” De Santis told reporters in French on Thursday. “But with how we want the club to move forward, the work that must be done, the mentality, the philosophy and all that, I think that today, with Frank and the staff, how they work, how they manage the team – and I see how the team reacts to him –, we’re confident we’ll get out of this.”
Analyzing the Impact’s season thus far, De Santis argued that Marco Di Vaio missing the first three games through suspension, some bad luck and injuries to the likes of Sanna Nyassi and Hernan Bernardello were aggravating factors that deprived Montreal from some better results which he felt they deserved.
De Santis also echoed comments made earlier this week by coaches and players alike, who maintained that the Impact’s slow start was a matter of attitude rather than talent. This squad, De Santis said, withstands the comparison to the other MLS rosters.
“I’m very confident in this team, and with a few additions, [we will] improve this team,” De Santis said.
Among these additions could figure a Designated Player, De Santis confirmed. The name of San Lorenzo midfielder Igniacio Piatti surfaced again.
"He’s a player we’re very interested in,” De Santis said. “Are we confident it can happen? Things are going well. He’s been doing very well. [San Lorenzo] are in the Copa Libertadores right now – they won yesterday [in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie] –, so obviously it’s not easy, but trying to bring him here in Montreal is part of our plans.”
Olivier Tremblay covers the Impact on MLSsoccer.com
