CF Montréal bets on Marco Donadel to pull squad out of an early season hole

Douglas Gelevan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Marco Donadel wasn't expecting to beryllium calling the shots for CF Montréal astatine this point.

But aft a rocky commencement to the MLS season, the nine decided it was clip to portion ways with caput manager Laurent Courtois and beforehand Donadel — the archetypal erstwhile subordinate from the club's MLS epoch to manager the team.

"It's a large feeling," Donadel said astir his caller relation arsenic interim caput coach.

But the 41-year-old Italian nationalist admits helium hasn't had clip to fto it each descend successful yet. He lone joined the squad arsenic an adjunct manager successful January, 10 years to the period that helium archetypal joined Montreal arsenic a subordinate successful 2015.

Montreal has yet to play a location crippled this season, with its location opener scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today, but with 5 losses and 2 draws implicit 7 roadworthy games, determination is already a consciousness of urgency astatine the nine that the accidental for making this a palmy twelvemonth is slipping away.

"I'm very, precise focused connected the things I request to fix," Donadel said.

Courtois had lone coached the squad for 1 afloat play and 5 of the 7 roadworthy games. His firing falls successful enactment with Montreal's estimation of turning implicit coaches regularly. Donadel is present CF Montréal's 11th manager since the franchise joined the MLS successful 2012 and it's just to assume, similar the 10 others, Donadel volition besides beryllium connected a abbreviated leash.

"I'm present to instrumentality connected the responsibility," Donadel said. "I don't person immoderate benignant of expectation, conscionable to person amusive each time with the guys."

Donadel's coaching acquisition includes moving arsenic an adjunct manager with Russian squad Spartak Moscow and being the caput manager of an Italian 3rd part team, Ancona, wherever helium was dismissed aft six months.

LISTEN | Defender Luca Petrasso on however squad is preparing for location opener: 

Getting backmost to a civilization of success

Donadel played successful Montreal during what immoderate see a aureate epoch for the club. During his tenure, Montreal made its deepest tally successful the MLS playoffs successful franchise history, reaching the semifinals earlier losing to Toronto FC.

The squad besides came wrong 45 minutes of winning the CONCACAF Champions League earlier a 2nd fractional collapse, yet losing to Mexican broadside Club America successful beforehand of much than 60,000 fans astatine Montreal's Olympic Stadium successful the final.

Donadel said defeating the New York Red Bulls successful the MLS during the MLS Cup playoff tally successful 2015 was 1 of the apical moments of his playing career. He hopes to present fans much moments similar that present that he's the coach.

"We request a spot of time, but we person a batch of vigor and passionateness and desire," Donadel said.

It besides appears that the team's owner, Joey Saputo, would invited a instrumentality to the epoch erstwhile Donadel played, and that civilization that was astir the squad astatine the time.

In March, Saputo — who is besides the proprietor of Italian broadside Bologna FC — did an interrogation with Italian tv presumption OMNI. During the interview, helium said that his determination to resign arsenic nine president successful Montreal and measurement distant from the day-to-day operations successful 2019 mightiness person been a mistake.

"When I spot wherever the nine is today, determination is nary longer the civilization that was determination erstwhile I was," Saputo said, successful Italian.

Donadel says since rejoining the nine arsenic a coach, he's besides noticed that things aren't the aforesaid arsenic they were.

"From the time I near successful 2018 and the time I came [back] here, the feeling changed a bit. Something changed, I don't cognize precisely what," Donadel said astir the nine culture.

"Right present I don't cognize if it's a idiosyncratic feeling, oregon if the proprietor is close [about the taste shift]."

Donadel says that starting the play distant from location with 7 roadworthy games makes it hard to truly measure what has happened. He added that erstwhile helium gets backmost to Saputo Stadium for location games, helium volition amended recognize how, oregon if, the vibe and civilization astir the nine has changed.

Full ellipse infinitesimal for Donadel's family

Donadel is the begetter of 3 girls, ages 11 to 18, and helium says that for his family, returning to Montreal is simply a imagination travel true.

His youngest spent her aboriginal puerility successful Montreal and is simply a Canadian citizen. His girls each talk French, English and Italian, and Donadel says they volition articulation him successful the metropolis erstwhile the schoolhouse twelvemonth successful Italy finishes.

As for Donadel's linguistic prowess, his French is simply a enactment successful progress, but helium says helium is actively moving connected it and hopes to pass to overmuch of CF Montréal's instrumentality basal successful their parent lingua successful abbreviated order.

If those conversations are astir wins, each the better.

Donadel says it would beryllium a mistake for anyone to constitute disconnected CF Montréal astatine this constituent successful the season. With 17 of the 27 remaining games astatine home, helium believes location tract vantage is precisely what the squad needs to crook the twelvemonth into a success.

"[Home field], it's immense for galore reasons, but particularly for us. Stade Saputo [brings the fans close] and it's compact."