Even if the team will be leaving Thursday in view of the crucial trip, all the available time is allotted to game preparation.
“It’s all about getting focused and winning the game,” says captain Mauro Biello. “People sometimes tell us how lucky we are to travel all over North America and to be able to visit some great cities, but you’re there for work, it’s clearly not a vacation.”
“There’s no time to do anything else than train, eat well and rest,” says defender Mauricio Vincello, who was named to the USL D1 team of the Week. “Sometimes, after your last game of the road trip, if the team leaves the following day, you can go eat downtown with some teammates. But before a game — and especially if you have to play two games in two days like this weekend — eating right and resting is especially important.”
“And every player on the roster has to be ready, especially when you have back-to-back games,” points out defender Jason DiTullio. “Everyone has to be in game shape.”
“In cities where we take the plane, if the return flight happens to be later in the day after a game, that’s when you have the time to visit,” adds DiTullio. “But in cities closer to Montreal, like Toronto or Rochester, where we go by bus, we leave right after.”
Montreal players, however, do get a chance to make the most of life on the road at the very beginning of the season, when the team leaves down South in order to finish up its training camp. This year, the Impact spent a full week in Fort Lauderdale and another in Puerto Rico, in order to adapt to the weather conditions in anticipation of the games against Miami FC and the Islanders. On these occasions, players do get some free time.
But that remains the exception. After that, the grind of the season takes over. But as Vincello says, being a professional soccer player also has its advantages.
“I enjoy being with my teammates a lot,” he says. “I like spending time with the team. We have a nice group with the Impact, the guys get along very well, so it’s fun to just be with the boys.”
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