Hernán Losada named head coach of CF Montreal

CF Montreal announced on Wednesday the appointment of Hernán Losada as head coach for the 2023 season.

Losada succeeds Wilfried Nancy, who left the Montreal organization at the beginning of December to join the Columbus Crew.

He becomes the ninth head coach in the history of the Montreal organization since joining Major League Soccer.

CF Montreal will hold a press conference Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. at Center Nutrilait. Losada will then meet the media in the company of Gabriel Gervais, president and chief executive officer of the team, and Olivier Renard, vice-president and chief sports officer.

The 40-year-old Losada served as DC United’s head coach for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Before moving to North America, he trained as a coach with Belgian club Beerschot VA, while first with the U21 team, in 2018-2019.

He then took the reins of the first team in October 2020 with which he won the Belgian second division championship, allowing to reach the Belgian first division the following season. In 2020, he was a finalist for the league’s Coach of the Year. “We were looking for a coach who could perpetuate the sports project that we have been building since my arrival in 2020 and we are convinced that Hernán fills all the boxes at this level,” said Renard, in a press release. .

“With the philosophy put forward at the club over the past few years, both on and off the pitch, we are very happy with our choice. »

In the same press release, Losada said he was excited, motivated and grateful for this new opportunity. “I really want to put all my energy, my enthusiasm and my abilities into this superb project. It is all the more special to be able to join a working group made up of people with great experience, such as Olivier, Gabriel and Vassili [Cremanzidis]who have built, with the participation of the whole club, an identity and a work philosophy focused on the development of young talents, offering them opportunities for growth on and off the pitch, » he said. first mentioned.

“My mission is to continue in this same direction, offering an offensive and positive style of play, while creating an energizing work environment in order to continue to grow together to accomplish our goals. »

As a professional player from 2003 to 2018, this attacking midfielder scored 101 goals and had 55 assists in 370 games.

Losada made his professional debut with Argentina’s Club Atlético Independiente in 2003. He then had a brief stint with Chilean club U. de Chile in 2005 before making the leap to Europe, mainly in Belgium, where he spent the next 15 years, interspersed with a short spell in the Dutch Eredivisie, in 2009-2010.

Losada has notably participated in international competitions such as the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana, the Europa League, as well as the qualifications for the UEFA Champions League.

A new defender is coming

CF Montreal also acquired defenseman Aaron Herrera from Real Salt Lake for $350,000 general allocation in 2023, $150,000 general allocation in 2024, first draft round (25^e in total) from the club in the annual MLS Draft and a foreign player spot in 2023.

The team announced the news in a press release on Wednesday morning.

Real Salt Lake will also keep a percentage of a future transfer for Herrera, should the deal reach a certain threshold, CF Montreal executives said.

“We are very happy with Aaron’s arrival with the club. This is a player who will contribute with his quality on the field, but also with his experience in the league. He can occupy various positions, as much as a central defender in a line of three as on the sides, on the right or on the left, ”said CF Montreal vice-president and chief sports officer, Olivier Renard, in the press release. the team.

“We had contacted Real Salt Lake in the past to acquire it, but without success. We are therefore very pleased that this transaction has materialized today. »

The 25-year-old Herrera played 27 games for Salt Lake in 2022, including 25 as a starter, recording three assists in 2,267 minutes.

The defender signed his first professional contract with Salt Lake in 2017 as a trained player at the club.

Since then, he has played in a total of 124 games, including 119 starts, and 10,581 minutes of play, recording one goal and 19 assists in MLS with the Western Conference team. He also played in eight playoff games in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

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