Olivier Tremblay covers the Montreal Impact for MLSsoccer.com
Marco Di Vaio has made up his mind.
After much speculation about his future despite a scintillating 2013 season, the Italian forward will be back for another season with the Montreal Impact in 2014 as the club confirmed that it had exercised its option on the player.
The 37-year-old Di Vaio, who was the lone Designated Player on the Montreal roster before the July arrival of midfielder Hernan Bernardello, has had an exceptional 2013 and was key in many a Montreal Impact win. After scoring 19 goals in 30 games so far, he is currently tied with Mike Magee as top scorer in MLS.
Di Vaio’s future has been in doubt since he revealed, last month, that he could retire and get back to his wife and his two young daughters, who all returned to Italy a few months ago because of an illness to a relative. With the support of his teammates, including childhood friend Alessandro Nesta, Di Vaio has remained fully focused on the Impact’s chase for a first-ever playoff spot.
“Maybe [I’ll retire], because it hasn’t been easy for me,” Di Vaio told the Montreal media on September 11, 2013. “I decided to come here with my family, and my family's not in Montreal anymore. It changes things a lot. Of course, if my family were here with me right now, I’d keep going one more year.”
Di Vaio had made the statement hours after the Corriere di Bologna speculated on the former Bologna captain returning to Italy this winter, which a report published on Tuesday by Bologna newspaper La Repubblica dismissed. La Repubblica is adamant, however that Di Vaio will at some point be back in Bologna, where he is still much revered, as a Rossoblù executive.
