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MLS PLAYOFFS MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 16, 2016Patrice BernierMauro BielloQ. Patrice, if you could please give an opening statement about playing against Toronto FC, clearly a rival north of the border in Canada. What are your thoughts about playing an Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Championships playoff game against a clear rival in Toronto FC? PATRICE BERNIER: Well, first and foremost it's very good for the club in terms of establishing historical moments to be at the Eastern Conference final. To play it against Toronto, even better. And second of all, also as Canadian, it's great for Canadian soccer, because two clubs now out of the three are reaching the Eastern Conference final, and one will be able to attend the final. So it shows the growth of, I guess, club soccer, professional club soccer here in Canada. And just looking forward to a big game, and there's going to be a lot of crowd support on both sides. So I’m looking forward to that. These are the types of games that you want to play. Q. For Mauro Biello, what are your thoughts playing against Toronto, clearly a big rival in Canada? MAURO BIELLO: Yeah, I think obviously it's a special game. I think history is being made here in Canada in terms of a soccer series, being two clubs in the MLS that are in a conference final, especially for us as a club to reach this part in the playoffs, but at the same time it's a great opportunity for Canadian soccer to grow, and for us to play against our rival, Toronto, we're hoping for a great game and all the support that we could get. Q. There have been Impact games before, as you guys know, that have drawn really big crowds in the CONCACAF Champions League. David Beckham came, which was sort of a spectacle in its own right. This one seems a little bit different from that in part because of the short notice and in part because there's not necessarily sort of the same one-game appeal as there was for some of those past games. What does it feel like up there for you guys now as you watch the buzz for this? And what does it say that a game like this in particular can now draw 60,000 to Olympic stadium? PATRICE BERNIER: It's a great game, great venue to have the Olympic Stadium at this stage of the season, and like you said, before it was one game and now this is an Eastern Conference final. And you're looking at, yeah, this is not like Champions League where it was the beginning of the season, so people didn't quite get the factor of CONCACAF in two different years. Well, this is the accumulation of 34-game season plus playoffs and now we're in a short turnaround, and yeah, you see the people of Montreal responding very well, Toronto also, for this game to be watched and supported. Yeah, so this is going to be special. And like I said, it's a historical moment because the club has been in the league since 2012 and now in the fifth season to be able to get to this stage and hopefully move on to other moments, but it is a great moment and just to appreciate and enjoy it. But it's great to see that the crowd has really responded and we're able to fill out the stadium with 60,000 seats. MAURO BIELLO: Yeah, I think definitely there's a big buzz in the city here about this game. I think to have possibly 60,000 fans pushing us, obviously for us it could help us and motivate us even more to get the results that we want versus a very good team. And like I said, it's great for soccer in the city and also in this country. Q. Is it any different than the last previous games you've been a part of, that draw crowds like this? MAURO BIELLO: Yeah. Obviously it's different. We were in the final against Club America. Again, there was a big buzz about that game being obviously playing in a CONCACAF final. It's huge after we went into Mexico and tied and came back here. For us it was tremendous to be a part of that. Unfortunately, we didn't get the results that we wanted, but nonetheless, it was a great experience for everybody that was involved, the players, the coaches, to be able to learn from that. And I think that's what's important. And now going into a game of the same magnitude, hopefully we can learn from the experience that we had against America in managing emotions and staying concentrated for 90 minutes. Q. Patrice, given the struggles with the Canadian Men's National Team, how important is it for the Canadian club teams to really sort of seize these moments and these opportunities in the spot light? PATRICE BERNIER: As we've said before, this is a big moment for Canadian soccer, and I think, yeah, we always want the national team to have a stellar performance that could ignite soccer in Canada. Now you have two clubs that have met before and they're meeting again at the biggest scale game. And so this is for Canadian soccer a big moment, and so this is a game also that kids could look upon that if you are in Montreal, if you are in Toronto, as the type of games you want to play. Club soccer in terms of professional is probably where now most men's national teams from youth and to see that this will be where the pool will be coming from, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. So this game can be looked upon by younger generations and looked at as something that they want to aspire to and play. They know they can play for their hometown team or a local club team and be in a final or get to a final stage and look at it as, yeah, in terms of professional environment we can go and dream about playing a game like that on Canadian soil. Q. Just your thoughts on playing the game on artificial turf and what challenges that presents to you as a player. PATRICE BERNIER: The turf is the turf. So it's always you have to get accustomed to it, because of course, most of our games in the season are on grass and you train on grass most of the season. But we are at home, so we'll have time to adjust to the turf with the few days that we have to prepare. I think after that as a professional, you just have to make sure that you are fine tuned body wise, and then after that it's one of the conditions that you have to play on. But I don't think it makes it any different. It's just one game, but we'll have a few days to get on the turf and prepare properly. Q. Mauro, what have you made of the way that Matteo Mancosu has adapted to Major League Soccer thus far in this short period of time, and how do you think he has helped the impact down the season stretch, and especially in the playoffs? MAURO BIELLO: Yeah, I think he's adapted very well in the group. Sometimes it's not easy coming in halfway point of the season and adapting to a group, to a culture, to a city, but he's responded well. Whether he came off the bench and gave us that added spark, whether he started games, he's given us a different look up front in terms of his profile, in terms of his qualities, to be able to get in behind, being able to constantly be in movement. These are all things that have benefited our team and our play, but at the same time we're very happy the way he's adapted. He's a good guy. He's very quiet, somebody who's been able to fit in in the room and be very productive on the field at the same time. Q. I'd like to speak to both gentlemen about Bernardello, who played for Montreal before and then came back. Both Mauro and Patrice, how has he helped to kind of force that midfield that looked so good in the playoffs and is obviously going to be very important going up against Toronto in this next round? PATRICE BERNIER: Different circumstances from the first time, but this time around he came, he already knew the city because, of course, when you come in the first time, you have to adapt, and that's always something that plays in the factor of a player's performance, but this second time around he already knew Montreal, knew the club very well and came in. And you saw after a few games, he got adjusted very well. And you know that you see he's feisty, he's very good in defensive one-on-ones and also good at passing. So this time around it's just a question of his adaptation you have to put it aside because he already knew the club and the city and just came in and fit right away and helped the team. And more and more you saw a glimpse, the more and more you saw him fitter, better. So he had a good connection on that side, and then I think we saw the true Bernardello this season compared to when he came in 2013 where there was, like I said before, just the time that he had to acclimate and then he had injuries at that time also. It was very hard for him to get into stride, while this year he's played through, and now we've seen him at the end of this year and very important in the midfield in terms of breaking up play and to be able to restart the attacks also. MAURO BIELLO: I mean basically adaptation for Bernardello obviously the second time around, knowing the city, knowing some of the staff members, the adaptation was easier, and you know, we're very happy with his contribution to the team in terms of what he brought in the midfield and being able to close down and win balls, win duels, and having that ability to start attacks at the same time. I think the more he got comfortable, the more he's been able to play as a starter within the group, the better he's become; and we saw a very good performance in New York in what he could bring just in the ability of closing down certain key players, but at the same time having that intelligence to keep the ball and allow the team to be in possession. Q. Ignacio Piatti was not called into the Argentina camp for this past international break. Do you think that's going to give him some extra motivation for these upcoming games, the fact that he was snubbed by Argentina and do you think he should be in the conversation or do you think he deserves the call to the Argentine National Team? MAURO BIELLO: I know for a fact it's a big dream for him to play for his national team, that's for sure, to be able to represent his country. I've spoken to him on different occasions about how much it would mean to him to get an opportunity. At the same time we know how many good Argentines there are worldwide and how many players there are to choose from, but I think his play has been outstanding this year. He's been able to unbalance opposition with his ability to dribble, his ability to pass. I mean he's had a tremendous year, and I hope he can continue into these last few games here and maybe get that selection. That would make him very happy. Q. Staying on the Ignacio Piatti track, do you think that Piatti was maybe under appreciated for the season that he had this year, he wasn't really too much in the conversation for MVP? And what is it about Piatti that makes him so special and makes him work so well and be so effective in your system? PATRICE BERNIER: I think that Ignacio plays -- we play in a medium market that's not necessarily all we see in the States because our games are more often on local channels. So sometimes people get to see him now towards the end of the season where we're more talked about because we're headed closer to the playoffs and in the playoffs, and Ignacio is just a tremendous player to play on because he's an X factor in the game. Just takes him a few seconds, a minute to change the whole factor of the game. So fortunately for me he's top in the league, he's top league. It's one of those players that it's very hard to -- even in training -- it's very hard to stop him. It's pretty much when he wants to, he's able to create space for himself and for others, which is great and we're happy to have him. It's been tremendous to play with him for the last two years, in training and games, because you know that he can just create a spark out of nothing during the game. MAURO BIELLO: Yeah, I think obviously Ignacio had an incredible season. I think a lot of people need to understand he plays as a wide midfielder where he had responsibilities to help out defensively, so that's what makes it even more remarkable the season that he had in terms of his offensive output. And obviously he's very good in transition and his ability to anticipate the play and being in the right spot to go forward and then his ability to dribble and unbalance it, I think, is one of the best in the league, if not the best. And for us having Ignacio helps us in terms of if we're sitting lower, but at the same time it's a guy that is a very good passer that if you give him that space, he could play that ball that makes the difference. So for us, like Patrice said, it's someone that could change the outcome of the game at any moment, like Giovinco, and we're hoping that he can continue in this form right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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