CF Montreal has taken important steps in restocking after a turbulent offseason.
The Major League Soccer club announced on Wednesday that former DC United head coach Hernan Losada will succeed Wilfried Nancy on the sidelines for the 2023 season.
News of Losada’s hiring came shortly after Montreal reached an agreement with Real Salt Lake to acquire defender Aaron Herrera.
Losada will take over a team in transition after Nancy left for Columbus and key players Djordje Mihailovic, Alistair Johnston and Ismael Kone have moved to European clubs.
Losada, along with CF Montreal president and CEO Gabriel Gervais and vice-president and athletic director Olivier Renard, were scheduled to appear at a press conference Thursday.
“We were looking for a coach who could continue the sporting project we have been building since my arrival in 2020 and we are convinced that Hernan ticks all the boxes at this level,” Renard said in a statement. “With the philosophy that has been put forward at the club in recent years, both on and off the pitch, we are very happy with our choice.”
Joined coach after 16 years of playing career
Losada was hired by DC United to replace longtime manager Ben Olson, who was let go after the 2020 season.
The Argentine was 38 at the time and entered MLS as the league’s youngest active head coach.
United went 14-15-5 and missed the playoffs in 2021. Losada was let go at the start of the 2022 season with United sitting last in the Eastern Conference at 2-4-0.
Losada had been manager of Beerschot before moving to North America. He joined the Belgian club for the 2018-19 season and managed the Under-21 side before taking charge of the first team and guiding them to promotion from the Second Division to the top tier.
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He became a coach after a 16-year playing career as an attacking midfielder for clubs in Argentina, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Nancy was a finalist for MLS Coach of the Year after leading Montreal to a franchise-best 20-9-5 record. But he reached an agreement with Montreal earlier this month to terminate his contract, allowing him to take over as coach of the Crew.
Nancy’s departure was another step in an off-season of change in Montreal. Star midfielder Mihailovic has joined Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, while defender Johnston and midfielder Kone, who were part of Canada’s World Cup squad in Qatar, have signed deals respectively with Scottish Celtic and English Watford.
Montreal began the process to fill the void by acquiring Herrera from Salt Lake for US$350,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money, $150,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money, Montreal’s first-round pick (25th overall ) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and a spot on the 2023 International Roster.
Salt Lake may also retain a percentage of future transfer fees for Herrera, if his fee reaches a certain threshold.
“We had contacted Real Salt Lake in the past to acquire him, but without success. We are very happy that this transaction is taking place now.”
Herrera, 25, played 27 games for Salt Lake last season, including 25 as a starter, collecting three assists in 2,267 minutes played.
The defender signed his first professional contract with Salt Lake in 2017 as a local player.
Herrera played a total of 124 games, including 119 starts and 10,581 minutes of play, totaling one goal and 19 assists in MLS. He also played in eight playoff games in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
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