MONTREAL — For a team that only managed to muster a meagre two wins away from home last season, the Montreal Impact’s 1-0 victory in its season opener away to the Seattle Sounders felt almost surreal.
For Impact president Joey Saputo, who through his Twitter account expressed his nerviness prior to Saturday’s match, a quick positive start on what is one of the toughest grounds in MLS must surely have brought both relief and positive expectancy for the team’s prospects this year.
You never quite know what you’re going to get from a newly appointed coach, but Swiss native Marco Schällibaum, who joined the Impact in January, has had an immediate and positive effect on the Impact so far.
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The changes under Schällibaum haven’t been by any means radical – they’ve been small and measured – but they already seem to be making a considerable difference.
One change of note has been the repositioning of Patrice Bernier in midfield. Bernier was the Impact’s leading point earner last season, as he was given the freedom to get involved in the team’s attacks in the final third. Under Schällibaum, however, Bernier now sits in front of the back four as a sort of defensive cushion instead.
Bernier explained following Saturday’s win that by playing deeper he can help the Impact in transition, especially as opposing teams attempt to press high and win the ball back quickly like Seattle tried to do.
"The coach wants me to play there [in front of the defence] at least for now, because he feels that he has confidence in me and confidence that I can play out of pressure no matter what. It’s a way of limiting the risk of losing the ball [in deep positions]. Offensively, that’s where it all starts," Bernier said.
Another change has been Davy Arnaud playing in the centre of midfield rather than on the outside as a winger. This move was also made in order to facilitate the integration of Italian winger Andrea Pisanu into the roster. But Arnaud’s qualities of being able to track down balls, break up plays and aggressively attack the opponent’s box with well timed runs makes him much better suited to a central midfield position.
"I enjoy playing in that spot, I really do," Arnaud said.
Arnaud’s goal in the first half against Seattle was the difference and he almost added to the team’s tally in the second half with a header which struck the Sounders’ crossbar.
One area where the Impact had a particularly hard time last season was defending set pieces and dealing with crosses, an area which Bernier described during the off-season as having been a constant ‘nightmare’ for the team.
Against the Sounders, the Impact had nine corners and over 25 crosses to deal with and rarely ever looked troubled in the process. Italian veteran centre backs Alessandro Nesta and Matteo Ferrari were especially impressive on the night as they made countless clearances, tackles and interceptions to keep the Sounders’ from finding the back of the net.
"We stood strong. We got Alessandro and Matteo back there and when balls come in the box they win a lot of stuff and they’re well positioned. Guys were coming back into the midfield and doubling back on the ball as well, "Arnaud said.
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The most encouraging thing for the Impact concerning Nesta and Ferrari’s performance was that they were able to play 90 minutes without those physical lapses which were so common last year. How long they’re able to stay fit and sharp remains to be seen, but the Seattle performance certainly bodes well for the Impact – they aren’t done yet, that’s for sure.
The most noticeable improvement in the Impact’s performance against the Sounders was that they never panicked, even when the hosts stepped up the pressure and came close to equalizing. Players such as Hassoun Camara and Jeb Brovsky have matured a great deal since the start of last season and looked very cool and collected in Seattle. Arnaud himself noticed the change in his teammates.
"We’ve taken a big step. There was a lot of pressure on us, but we stayed organized and, I don’t think there was a real panic about us. They had a few chances, but that’s going to happen. Last year we might have been a little nervous, but at the end of the game I didn’t sense that, and that’s good," Arnaud concluded.
It wasn’t by chance that most of the things that went wrong for the Impact on the road in 2012 went extremely well against the Sounders. It’s still early days, but Schällibaum’s doing something right.
Nick Sabetti is a Montreal-based writer who covers the Montreal Impact for Goal.com. Follow Nick on Twitter.