Football Season Review

Montreal Impact enjoyed their best ever campaign as an MLS club, coming within 20 minutes of clinching a place in their first MLS Cup final only to lose it out in extra time to fellow Canadian club Toronto FC. A combination of Didier Drogba's goals and Mauro Biello's tactics had helped Montreal stage an excellent fightback to book a place in the playoffs in the previous season and were keen to improve on that campaign. Biello had managed to hold on to all of his key players and made just two major signings during the off-season with Harry Shipp and Lucas Ontivero coming in as replacements for Dilly Duka and Justin Mapp. Following speculation that Drogba was also moving out after just half a season at the club, there were early signs that Montreal was moving away from its dependency on the Designated Player with Biello tweaking the system to ensure a more fluid offense. Drogba made just one substitute appearance in the opening six games of the season, which resulted in four wins for Montreal and helped them get off to an excellent start. Drogba's return though coincided with a drop in form for Montreal who won just two more times in the next 13 games and, while they were not being outplayed by their opponents, Montreal were drawing too many games. Lack of consistency by other teams meant that there was little pressure on Biello as Montreal held on to their place in the top six of the Eastern Conference despite a dip in form. With Drogba enduring a poor season both in terms of form and fitness compared to the previous campaign, Montreal set about finding a reliable backup and brought in Matteo Mancosu on loan from Bologna. That move was to have a major influence on Montreal's campaign in the final weeks as the club played more as a unit and racked up positive results with Mancosu in the starting lineup. With the season entering its final weeks, Biello clearly had more faith in Mancosu who held on to his place in the starting lineup despite Drogba returning back to full fitness, something which the Ivory Coast striker was not too impressed with and a tiff with the management ensured that his stay at the club would end when the current season wrapped up. Mancosu repaid Biello's faith with crucial goals in the final weeks but it was Ignacio Piatti who was key to Montreal's fortunes over the season as the midfielder ended as the top scorer with 21 goals and also chipping in with six assists and ensured a comfortable passage to the playoffs. Excellent performances against New York Red Bulls in the Conference semifinals and a hard fought win over Toronto in the first leg of the Conference finals meant that Montreal headed into the final half hour of their second leg clash with one foot in the MLS Cup only for Toronto to push the game into extra time where they won 5-2 in the end. Despite the near miss, Biello will be delighted with how the campaign progressed for his side. The Montreal coach has some decisions to make in the off-season especially with Drogba's departure leaving the club a bit light in the attack while Lucas Ontivero, Johan Venegas and Shipp's exit means that they will have to improve on their depth in the midfield as well if they are to repeat their successful campaign next season

Player of the Season: Ignacio Piatti