Djordje Mihailovic continued to prove he’s worth the million dollars’ worth of General Allocation Money CF Montreal traded to Chicago in exchange for their young homegrown player. Mihailovic scored the first of Montreal’s goals and engineered the second in a 2-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday afternoon.
This is Montreal’s third win a row, after having beaten Cincinnati and NY Red Bulls earlier in April. The win now sits them in the middle of the table in the Eastern Conference, thanks in no small part to the team’s recent commitment to young North Americans.
In addition to Mihailovic (a USMNT candidate), other anchors this year have included the likes of Kamal Miller, Alastair Johnston, and Ismaël Koné, who have all featured for the Canadian men’s national soccer team. Not to mention other CanNMT players and hopefuls like Samuel Piette who is dealing with an injury, Zachary Brault-Guillard who did not feature in Saturday’s game, and the young Zorhan Bassong who hasn’t featured for Canada since 2020.
A critical look at this approach to team-building may not be what CF Montreal fans may want to hear, however. Team management has signaled that they are investing in young North Americans with the intent of developing them and then selling them at a profit in the near future. While this may be a good recipe for financial viability of the team in Montreal, it may never equate to sustained success, as it would place the team in a constant state of re-building.
For now, at least, fans can bank on watching a young team empty the gas tank every week
The match wasn’t without its drama, however, as Montreal conceded a late equalizer which was eventually overturned. CF Montreal fans will know that seemingly every iteration of their team, year over year, has had the habit of conceding late equalizers in stoppage time on crosses flung into the box. Perhaps this video review could be the curse-breaker they needed.
They’ll need it in next Saturday’s matchup against a very strong Philadelphia Union team.