“Now that we are entering the last stage of our preparation for the February 25 game, we are going to use two different teams for our two final preseason games in Italy,” explained Impact assistant coach Marc Dos Santos. “We’re going to stretch the playing time of our players to a minimum of 75 minutes, in order to get as close as possible to our maximum of 90 minutes.”
Fieseole Caldine (Division Eccellenza) is based at the OSA Soccer Academy, which is the organization that prepared the Impact’s Italian tour this year. Thanks to OSA, the Montreal club had the opportunity to play these high level preseason games, while benefiting of high-end facilities for its training sessions.
The OSA Soccer Academy, a training center for international student players, has expanded to various cities, including Florence, Lisbon and Barcelona. Giuseppe Pezzano, general manager of the United States head office, and Andrea Magherini, the manager in Florence, touched base with Impact executives last September in Montreal.
“We wanted to bridge Italian and North American soccer,” said Andrea Magherini. “It’s an honour to greet the Montreal Impact here. This is a great club that has received international attention with to its quarterfinal qualification in the CONCACAF Champions League.”
Thanks to its contacts in Italian soccer, OSA Academy gave Impact players the chance to watch a Serie A game, Sunday, between Fiorentina and Lazio. On Monday, the Impact will be greeted by local officials, including the Mayor of Fiesole, Fabio Incatasciato, at the Soccer Museum, located in Coverciano, where the Italian National team train.
« Since our arrival in Florence, we only have good things to say about the OSA academy,” said Impact technical director Nick De Santis. “We have been warmly greeted and our hosts have worked hard to organize the preseason games, including the one against Pisa. We hope to continue working with them in the future, perhaps by sending young players representing the Impact abroad to take part in their clinics.”
-30-
Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 227)
