MONTREAL – It’s funny how pro soccer works out some times.
The Montreal Impact head into Wednesday’s second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final against Mexican side Club America—the biggest game in franchise history—with the advantage of having secured a valuable road goal in a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg at Azteca Stadium.
A Canadian pro soccer attendance record of 61,004 fans are expected to jam into Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for the return match as the Impact try to become the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF tournament.
And yet, Montreal will play this historic match without their starting goalkeeper Evan Bush, and instead must rely on one of two backups in either John Smits or Kristian Nicht, both of whom have not only never played a single game in MLS, they have yet to play for the Impact.
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This takes some explaining.
Installed as Montreal’s starting goalkeeper last season, Bush, 29, has played a key role in the Impact’s run to the CONCACF final. But he picked up a caution in last week’s game in Mexico City, ruling him out for Wednesday’s return match due to yellow card accumulation. The Impact appealed the suspension but CONCACAF rejected it Monday.
“I wasn’t happy about (the appeal being denied), but you have to move on,” Bush said. “I can’t feel sorry myself. I have to help these guys get ready for the game because it’s not about my situation—it’s about what this team has done to get to this point, and there’s a massive opportunity for every single guy in that locker-room tomorrow.”
The denial of Bush’s appeal left Montreal with a major dilemma, as normal backup Eric Kronberg is cup tied, having previously played for Sporting Kansas City earlier in this year’s competition. Montreal called in Smits, a 26-year-old goalkeeper with FC Edmonton in the second-tier NASL, on emergency loan.
There was still a problem, though. Third-stringer Maxime Crepeau a 21-year-old native of Quebec, only recently returned from injury and is inexperienced, having yet to make his professional debut.
So on Monday night, right before an 8:00 pm ET deadline imposed by CONCACAF, the Impact acquired Nicht via transfer from NASL club Indy Eleven. Nicht, 33, has played the majority of his career in the German first and second divisions before making the jump to the NASL in 2012. The German spent time with the Impact earlier in the tournament as an on-loan emergency goalkeeper when Smits was unavailable.
Got all that?
Montreal coach Frank Klopas didn’t tip his hand as to who’ll start in goal for the second leg when speaking to reporters before the team’s practice on Tuesday. But you’d have to think Klopas will go with Nicht, as he’s more experienced than Smits.
While Smits has yet to play a single minute of NASL action this season, Nicht made 13 saves in his four starts and boasted the league’s second-best goals-against average at 1.00. The German was named to the NASL team of the week for Week 3, helping Indy Eleven beat the San Antonio Scorpions 2-1. He also trained with the Impact as part of its MLS pre-season preparations.
“I’m not going to lie to you that we didn’t look at a lot of different options. But in the end, we acquired him and he’s someone who knows and fits in well within our group,” Klopas said.
Assuming Nicht starts, it’s not an ideal situation for the German, being thrust into the spotlight like this as part of the biggest match in Montreal’s history. Klopas, though, thinks he will rise to the occasion if called upon.
“He’s an experienced guy. It’s difficult to replace your starting goalkeeper with anyone you put in there. But (Kristian is) very familiar with our group, a very experienced player who’s been in big games. Whoever you put in there you can’t put the pressure on one guy. That would be very unfair,” Klopas stated.
Nicht said he was planning a weekend trip to Nashville when he was informed of his transfer to Montreal. The German showed great comedic timing during his introductory press conference on Tuesday, delivering a string of one-liners that had reporters laughing out loud. The Impact can only hope he’s just as calm and collected during Wednesday’s pressure cooker of a contest.
Asked to describe what kind of goalkeeper is for the benefit of fans who may never have heard of him, Nicht answered: “YouTube. There’s a couple of clips of me on YouTube. They have 24 hours to watch the videos.”
He also had reporters in stitches with an amusing story of how he watched last week’s first leg in Mexico City in a bar in Indianapolis because he was unable to watch it at home.
“It was quite annoying for the pub owner because he wanted to close up, and I was the only guy sitting there and told him to wait until the game is over,” Nicht said.
Looking beyond Wednesday’s game, Bush feels he should still be the club’s No. 1 goalkeeper, despite the arrival of Nicht on a full-time basis.
“I’ve been a big part of this (CONCACAF) run. I’ve been a big part of this team. I still feel like it’s my team,” Bush stated.
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