MONTREAL - CF Montréal announced on Monday the appointment of Laurent Courtois as head coach of the Club's first team.
"We are very pleased with Laurent's appointment today," said CF Montréal Vice-President and Chief Sporting Officer Olivier Renard. "Over the past few years, Laurent has accumulated a wealth of coaching experience that demonstrates his ability to implement our sporting project with young players in MLS. We are confident that he will be able to replicate his past success with our Club's core team and young talent, while helping us to achieve our objectives by reviving a desire to win both at home and on the road throughout the season. In addition to his knowledge of the league, he possesses leadership, communication and teaching skills.”
“I'm honoured to be joining the Club and embarking on this new adventure in Montreal," said Laurent Courtois. "I'm very proud of this responsibility. I'm looking forward to working with everyone at the Club and contributing to the team's success. I want to continue the development work begun with our young players, while offering a dynamic style of play and emotions to the fans."
The 45-year-old native of Lyon, France, whose parents were born on Réunion Island, had been head coach of the Columbus Crew reserve team since January 28, 2022. In his first season in Columbus, he led Crew 2 to the regular-season championship with a record of 16 wins, three losses and five draws (62GF-22GA), then to the MLS Next Pro playoff title after a 4-1 victory in the final against St. Louis CITY 2. He received the MLS Next Pro Coach of the Year award in 2022. Last season, he helped Crew 2 reach the championship final for a second straight year.
Courtois wrapped up his playing career as a player-coach with LA Galaxy II in 2014, before returning to France to continue his transition as a coach with the Olympique Lyonnais (OL) Academy for three years. He then returned to the United States as an assistant coach with Galaxy II in 2017, before being named head coach of the Crew U17 team in 2019, followed by the U19 squad in 2021.
Courtois holds his UEFA and U.S. Soccer Federation A coaching licenses, and is currently enrolled to obtain the USSF Pro Course session.
During his playing career, the former midfielder and winger totaled 39 MLS regular-season games and 1,575 minutes with Chivas USA from 2011 to 2013, as well as with LA Galaxy in 2014. He previously spent three seasons with French club Grenoble Foot 38.
He began his career with the OL reserve team at the age of 18, before moving on to AC Ajaccio (1998-1999). In 2000, he made his Ligue 1 debut in France with Toulouse FC, before joining West Ham United in the English Premier League (2001 to 2003). He also played in the French first division with FC Istres Ouest Provence (2004-2005) and in Spain with Levante UD, from 2005 to 2008.
The first team's full coaching staff will be named at a later date.
