Football Season Guide

Montreal Impact continued their resurgence under coach Mauro Biello last season as they achieved a second successive playoff spot and came within 20 minutes of booking a place in the MLS Cup only to be denied by Toronto FC in extra time of their Eastern Conference finals clash. It was not a smooth sailing for Biello though with Montreal not exactly hitting top gear for large portions of the season while they were let down by Didier Drogba, first over speculation over his departure back to Chelsea before the striker not willing to play second fiddle to Matteo Mancosu. Drogba though has since moved on after his contract with Montreal expired at the end of last season and Biello will be looking to build on the final weeks of the previous campaign when their 2017 campaign kicks off with a trip to San Jose Earthquakes. Securing a playoffs spot remains the aim for Biello this season as well with the Montreal roster not at the level to challenge the two New York teams as well as Toronto for the Eastern Conference championship. Apart from Drogba, Montreal have also let go of Harry Shipp and Lucas Ontivero, with the duo failing to impress last season, while Johan Venegas has been traded to Minnesota United. Biello has also trimmed some of the supporting cast with Donny Toia, Kyle Bekker and Amadou Dia also leaving the club in the off-season. With regards to new arrivals, it has been a fairly underwhelming off-season for the club with Chris Duvall the only player seen as a potential challenger for a place in the starting lineup, though Hassoun Camara and Ambroise Oyongo have already established themselves as first choice fullbacks under Biello with some excellent displays last season. Montreal continue to leverage their link with Italian club Bologna by securing another signing in Blerim Dzemaili, though the midfielder will be arriving at the club only in the summer. However with Andres Romero now recovering from an ACL injury that kept him out for the whole of 2016, Biello has a pretty solid starting lineup and Montreal will be favorites to secure one of the three playoffs spot up for grabs in the Eastern Conference.