The Impact U13 team was part of the CONCACAF Champions League from August 4 to August 8, and like the senior level competition, the young Impact players faced teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Head coach Nicolas Gagnon, along with assistant coach and physical trainer Yoann Damet, travelled with the group that trained all week long at the Cruz Azul training centre, a Mexican first division team.
So as the first team held its preseason camp at the Cruz Azul’s fields in preparation for the Champions League, the Impact U13 walked in their footsteps and understood the magnitude of this competition.
Preparation
“The preparation was simple and complicated at the same time,” explained Yoann Damet. “We were invited by CONCACAF for this amazing opportunity only four weeks prior to the start of the competition. The group was new, composed of current and new players who just joined the Academy this summer. The majority of these new players come from the Pre-Academy, as well as some players from outside. We had to build cohesion quickly, but mostly be physically ready as we trained only four times before leaving on Sunday. When we arrived in Mexico, we trained on the Cruz Azul’s field where we would play all week long.”
The games
Tuesday, the team started the competition against D.C. United, the only other MLS team in the tournament.
“We exchanged a lot with them during the week,” said Damet. “The first game reflected a domination we had against a good D.C. United team. We saw some interesting plays and we were efficient in our chances. It was an interesting game that helped us build with confidence on the rest of the week. Meeting other MLS academies is always interesting for us.”
The next day, they played Harbour View FC, a Jamaican team. The team was physically more imposing and caused problems for the Bleu-blanc-noir players.
“With their commitment and their will, this team caused us a lot of problems,” said Damet. “We took the lead quickly on a penalty, but they got back in the game, also on a penalty, and made us doubt. It was a game where the content was mixed with good and bad moments, but the win was deserved as we showed more character.”
The third game against Aguilas De la UAS (Mexico) was similar to the first one. The Impact young players were in tough in the beginning, but quickly took control of the game with more possession. After scoring the first goal, two others followed and Montreal finished top of its group with three wins.
With three games in three days, the Impact was forced to play the semifinals the very next day and fell 3-0.
“We played against CD Chalatenango, a team from Salvador. We really felt the fatigue at this point of the competition. Preparation was short and our identity is demanding, which we paid for in the fourth game. Despite the result, we were proud to see our players’ performance and the good start of the week they had.”
Then playing for third place, the team lost 1-0 against Aguilas.
“We aimed to be consistent the whole week with the same speeches, but also on the field. The goal was to respect the Academy’s identity of play and come back from this experience more mature on both the human and game level. We suffered physically, but we still had interesting moments. It was still a disappointment for the kids who deserved more.”
The experience
“We were part of a week with high level competition, where every team had quality and gave everything they had. We showed a lot of quality on the pitch, but we also had difficult moments that are really educational at this level of competition. This is a positive sign for our kids’ futures, but also for the Academy. The week was really satisfying. We gained valuable experience and time. The players learned a lot on the field, but also off the field, where recovery and preparation was evidently important.”
On an individual level, keeper Benjamin Collins was named the goalkeeper of the tournament.
When they got back to Montreal, the players had a well-deserved two weeks off, as the Impact Academy activities start again in August for all the teams.
