Coming off the first Major League Soccer playoff appearance in team history, The Montreal Impact have a new head coach, a new captain and are looking to build on their success.
wholesale nfl jerseys . TSN soccer analyst Noel Butler tells you everything you need to know about the 2014 Impact, while TSN soccer analyst Jason deVos tells you how they will succeed or fail during the new campaign. Noel Butler: Even with little turnover to the playing squad the off-season was far from quiet down Saputo Stadium way. In mid-December the Impact finally announced it had not exercised Marco Schällibaums option and that ex-Fire head coach, Frank Klopas would take over. Klopas inherited a squad of 21 returning players and by the time camp opened in late January that numbered had been enlarged to 28. Those additions included defender Eric Miller, who was selected 5th in this years SuperDraft. Then came the news Nelson Rivas had signed a new contract - the Columbian missed the entire 2013 campaign. Just before the club departed for the Disney Classic two more recruits were added. Attacking midfielder Andrés Romero, a player who showed much promise in early 2013, returned on another season long loan. Plus the club announced the signing of 21-year old Uruguayan striker, Santiago González. Bonus to those off-season moves evolves round two signings from last July. Hernán Bernadello, the clubs second designated player, was limited to only eight MLS appearances last season. Disrupting and orchestrating as he goes, Bernadello will sit in front of a defense which looked far from sure of itself during the pre-season. The other is central defender Adrián López, who is yet to feature in a league match. A torn ACL, occurring during a collision in training, ended the 27-year old Spaniards season. A fully fit López will feel like a new signing for the club. The move to hire as an assistant coach a defensive specialist, in Nikolaos Kounenakis was further enhanced with the announcement Alessandro Nesta had been added to the backroom staff. Nesta has officially joined as a consultant, tasked to analyze video. Much has been made of the fact Marco Di Vaio will miss the opening three matches. It could have been far worse. For most of last summer it seemed one of the leagues best performers in 2013 would not return for 2014 at all. Di Vaio will not score as freely as he did in 2013. Someone then who must shoulder more responsibility and finally return the faith shown in him by the club, is Andrew Wenger. Appearing in 24 league matches in his second season as a professional it still remains a complete mystery how the first overall pick in 2012s SuperDraft only tallied a solitary goal over that span. The 23-year old must display a more ruthless streak in front of goal. Berniers appointment as captain is the greatest testament any MLS club could make. A local product who commands the respect of teammate and opponent alike, Bernier reflects the very best for an organization entering its 21st season as a professional soccer club. When appointed, Klopas stated his philosophy has always been to look at the long run. Even in a league where parity prevails, only the most optimistic of the Impact faithful can realistically expect an immediate return to the playoffs this season. In a conference which includes the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup winners, then factor in the wholesale changes and upgrades in Toronto, there can be no denying Klopas has his work cut out to build on 2013s achievements. TSN Soccer analyst Jason deVos weighs in on how the Impact will succeed or fail during the 2014 season. Jason deVos: Montreal Impact will succeed if… …they find a partner for Matteo Ferrari at the back, and get goals from anyone not named Di Vaio. With the retirement of Alessandro Nesta (who has moved into a consultancy role with the club), Montreal need to find a starting centre back to partner Ferrari. Every indication was that this player would be Nelson Rivas, but his horrendous injury history has continued this season, and he looks unlikely to be fit to start the season. Wandrille Lefèvre has looked capable in pre-season, and he will likely get the first opportunity. If that fails, expect right fullback Hassoun Camara to slide inside. Up front, Marco Di Vaio is suspended for the first three games, due to his red card in the 2013 MLS Cup playoff loss to the Houston Dynamo. He will continue to score goals for the Impact, but it is supplemental scoring that is a concern for new head coach, Frank Klopas. No other player came close to hitting double digits last season, and unless that is rectified in 2014, Di Vaio will come under immense pressure to continue finding the back of the net. Montreal Impact will fail if… …any of their key players go down with lengthy injuries or suffer a poor run of form. The likes of Ferrari, Di Vaio, Hernan Bernardello and new skipper, Patrice Bernier must remain fit and available if the Impact are to succeed this season. The Impact have problem areas in their team - their entire left flank being one of them - and they simply cannot afford to have the spine of their team go missing. If any of their key players struggles with injury or form, there are very few like-for-like options available. The one with the most pressure on his shoulders is last years leading scorer, Di Vaio, whose 20 goals were the reason that Montreal made the playoffs. If anyone can handle that pressure, though, it is the Italian. If only the Impact could find another like him. 2013 finish: 14-13-7 (fifth in Eastern Conference). Lost to Houston in Knockout Round. Whos In?: F Santiago Gonzalez (transfer from Sud America). Whos Out: M Davy Arnaud (traded to D.C. United), M Paolo DelPiccolo (option declined), D Alessandro Nesta (retired), M Maximiliano Rodriguez (option declined), M Sinisa Ubiparipovic (option declined), D Zarek Valentin (transfer to Bodo/Glimt). SuperDraft: D Eric Miller (1-5), MF George Maliki (2-37).
cheap jerseys . -- Kevin Pangos had 27 points and Drew Barham added 17 to lead No.
cheap nfl jerseys . Bergmann, who came ninth in Bad Gastein a year ago for his only previous top-10 result, defeated Andreas Prommegger of Austria in the final of the single-run format. Aaron March of Italy finished third by beating Sebastian Kislinger of Austria.WASHINGTON - Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder says its time to put some money behind his claim that his teams nickname honours Native Americans. Snyder said Monday hes creating a foundation to assist American Indian tribes, even as some in that community continue to assert that the name "Redskins" is offensive. "Its not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans," Snyder said in a letter to the teams fans. "We must do more." The letter states the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation will "provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities" for Native Americans. The announcement did not state whether Snyder will personally donate any money to the foundation and gave no other financial details. A major opponent of the nickname said Snyders move was "somewhere between a PR assault and bribery." Suzan Shown Harjo, a lead figure in a long-running case that seeks to strip the Redskins of their federal trademark protection, told The Associated Press that Snyder is showing the "same arrogance" that hes shown previously when defending the nickname. "Im glad that hes had a realization that Native Americans have it tough in the United States," Harjo said. "All sorts of people could have told him that, and have been trying to tell him that for a long time." Snyder again gave no indication he plans tto change the teams name.
cheap jerseys from china. . He said he believes "even more firmly" the name "captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honouring the deep and enduring values our name represents." Snyder has come under unprecedented pressure to change the name over the last year. President Barack Obama told the AP in October he would consider changing the name if he owned the team. Harjo said the refusal to budge on the name will offset, at least in part, the good that is done with the foundations money. "Will (the foundation) do much of anything? No. But it probably wont hurt," Harjo said, "except that it will continue the cycle of negative imaging of Native American people in the public arena." In the letter, Snyder said he and his staff visited 26 reservations over the last four months. He listed poverty, illness, drug abuse, violence and lack of basic infrastructure as among the problems faced by Native Americans. "Ive listened. Ive learned. And frankly, its heart wrenching," the letter said. Harjo wondered why Snyder, who has owned the team since 1999, is only just now reaching out to Native Americans. "Its sort of an admission that he was losing the PR battle," she said. "So now hes gone out to find the real story — as if someone was hiding the real story about pressing needs in Indian country."
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