He played pretty good in the friendly against OL. I think he also played a little right back in the first game in Houston. It's hard to judge him since he doesn't see a lot of playing time but i guess learning from guys like Nesta and Ferrari can only be good
Ouimette is definitely going to get some more playing time. I wanted him to take Shavar Thomas's place and that's exactly what's going to happen. Heads will roll with Jesse's departure. I am almost certain that Mapp is a goner and I think Davy Arnaud (who is a grinder and a great leader) is the embodiment of Jesse Marsch- so I wouldn't be surprised if he left as well. Their departures would clear about 500K off the payroll something we'll need to sign more Italian geriatrics.
I have no problem with Arnaud, especially considering that he has an important roll in the dressing room as well, from my understanding. That being said, I think Bernier could (and maybe should) be wearing the Captain's band next year. So maybe Arnaud and Mapp will be gone. A lot could be done with $500,000, but at the same time we would need to fill the missing midfielders. Perhaps the results of Marsch's dismisal will be more offensive midfielders?
For the money he is being paid, I'm not sure Arnaud is worth keeping. He plays hard but that's it. He is not very gifted from a technical point of view and he can hurt the offense sometime. The problem is how you replace these guys since we only have so much international roster spots. They talked about moving felipe to the left if they can find a creative midfielder so that would solve the Mapp situation. But again, going all over the world scouting is great, but they're gonna need to find some North American talent eventually too.
I'm hoping the Academy can begin helping there. The question though is what sort of quality the Academy is going to turn out. Is it really a better breed of player than Canada was turning out ten years ago? How reliable will the Academy be to provide new players to the team? Ouimette will be the poster boy for that I think.
Keep an eye on Wandrille Lefevre. I hear that after Ouimette he is next most likely to get a contract at this time. Arnaud was explicitly named by Saputo in his statement last week, so I really don't think he's going anywhere. Plus the team needs to be careful and not burn its bridges with other teams, players and agents in MLS. Dropping Arnaud at this point would do that
They can keep him but I do hope they find other midfielders that can see plays develop faster. Part of the reason Di Vaio is so often offside is that the pass he is expecting comes a few second too late. I do agree though that if we let go most of the americans, it will hurt this team in the future as not many will want to come play here. But if we start winning next season and play a nice style of football, that probably won't be a problem.
And like someone said above, we've maxed out our international slots(8). So we can't add internationals. Corradi is done, so whatever we pick up in italy will take that slot. Anything other change will have to be local. I'm having trouble figuring out who exactly is international on our team. Do international academy players/rookies count? because we are at 13 at the moment from my count we have: Hassoun Camara Bernardo Corradi Marco Di Vaio Matteo Ferrari Dennis Iapichino Calum Mallace Felipe Martins Miguel Montaño Alessandro Nesta Sanna Nyassi Nelson Rivas Shavar Thomas Sinisa Ubiparipovic
Nyassi, Thomas and Sinisa Ubiparipovic probably have US green cards and count as US/Canada domestics.
Montano is on a loan so I'm not sure if he takes an international spot. Mallace played in the NCAA so I wouldn't be surprise if he has a green card too.
If Wiki is to be believed, Montreal has 9 slots total. Out of the 9, Impact are using 8: Camara, Corradi, Di Vaio, Ferrari, Iapichino, Martins, Nesta, Rivas, Montaño Mallace, Nyassi, Thomas and Ubiparipović are all non-CA/US born but are considered domestics.
Impact in Italy: Four players on trial with the team The Montreal Impact has announced on Monday afternoon that four players are currently on trial with the team during its postseason camp in Italy. Midfielders Nicolas Cordova (Brescia), Henrique Cornelio Bem (SC Kriens) et Andrea Pisanu (Bologna), as well as forward Oussama Essabr (Crotone, on loan from Juventus) have joined up with the team, who is currently training in Florence. http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2012/11/impact-italy-four-players-trial-team Cordova is 33, Cornelio is 27, Pisanu 30 and Essabr 23
Toni was also reported to have been in attendance for the Fiorentina game. Nothing conclusive, but some initial conversations certainly seem to be taking place. I've been brainstorming the full roster (currently at 26), we are short 3 forwards and a goalie. plus we have room for 4 more on top of that. Crepeau takes care of the latter, and the forward situation will be a mix of academy and outside players(3 international slots provides great flexibility). But the midfield is more complicated, I can't imagine us keeping the current number and adding more players on top of it, its just too expensive. some of Mapp, Neagle, Ubiparapovic and Arguez have to go(in order of likelihood)
Hi. I guess I found the right place to talk about Chilean Nico Cordova and his trial with the Impact. It seems like he hasn't been in Brescia's plans for a bit now and that is my opinion a shame because despite his age, Nico is still a quality player. In regards to his style, he's usually most comfortable as 2nd CM: not really a DM or an AM/10 but having the freedom (and ability) to handle duties associated with both roles. He's a poor man's version of Xabi Alonso, if you will: a more than decent central passer of the ball. He has spent most of his career in Italy, ever since he left Union Espanola (started his career with Colo Colo) in 2001 and had been up until then a regular with many youth Chilean NTs, most notable with the 1999 U20s. Sadly, for the Senior NT he's rarely ever had a chance to showcase his ability though on his last game for Chile (summer 2011) he scored a goal vs. France. He wasn't rated by Marcelo Bielsa consistently rated by now ex-coach Claudio Borghi though under him did the goal vs. France come about. Considering the other central options the Impact have, I think he would at least be a small upgrade. Hope all of this helps
Out of the 4 players, he was the most highly regarded by journalists. Though none of them really stood out overall. Most analysis plus interviews i've heard suggest that none of the 4 stand much of a chance of making the team, but its too early to know for sure.