By The Canadian Press

CF Montreal rebuild put to the test with season opener against San Diego FC

Feb 20, 2026 | 1:25 PM

MONTREAL — Following a historically bad 2025 season, CF Montreal faces an uphill climb towards sustainable success in Major League Soccer.

After promising fans a rebuild in July and then targeting several weak points in the squad’s depth, the club will now get its first competitive test on Saturday, opening its season at San Diego FC.

“It was a long pre-season, but I think it was very good work on and off the field. We used our time perfectly (…) this is like a brand-new experience,” said head coach Marco Donadel. “I’m very satisfied with our current situation, but also curious about our first real test. We’re happy with training and pre-season games, but San Diego is a different challenge.”

Any rebuild will inevitably have significant arrivals and departures, most notably that of Dante Sealy, who was sent to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for US$2.5 million in General Allocation Money after a breakout first season.

With significant roster space and GAM to spare, the club opted to return to the inter-MLS trade market, an arena in which they have become known to thrive.

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“When we speak to teams about players we have an interest in, we feel like there’s a bit of a back off because of the success we’ve had with some of the trades,” said managing director Luca Saputo. “Some teams see an opportunity with us because of what we’ve been able to do with players coming and eventually being sold elsewhere or doing really well here.”

As a result, the club brought in forwards Daniel Rios and Noah Streit, midfielders Wiki Carmona and Ivan Losenko, and defenders Brayan Vera, Thomas Aviles, and Dangur Thorhallsson over the winter, addressing several of the most problematic areas that resulted in the dismal 2025 finish.

“I’m really positive about the training camp as a whole and optimistic about the challenges ahead of us,” said goalkeeper Thomas Gillier, who, along with a new-look backline, will hope to shore up a defence that struggled with inconsistency.

“Our preparation has gone really well and focused a lot on helping the new players adapt, and I’m convinced that it’s gone very well both as part of the group but also understanding the identity of the club and our style of play.”

One of the common threads that the club was looking for — especially after clocking in as the youngest squad in MLS last season — was MLS experience. Rios, Carmona, Vera, Aviles, and Thorhallsson have all played at least three full seasons in the league.

Donadel added that he was impressed with how quickly the new players took to his system and tactics. It is all the more reassuring for the club, given that the Italian coach employs relatively unconventional, high-risk, high-reward tactics without the ball, aiming to win possession in advanced areas of the pitch and convert it into meaningful scoring chances.

Montreal’s attacking efficiency was the biggest sore point all season as the club ranked towards the bottom of the league in both goals scored and efficiency. However, Prince Owusu scored 17 goals and added six assists across all competitions on his way to winning club MVP and proving to be an invaluable member of Donadel’s system.

He continued his good form throughout the pre-season, leading the line as Montreal scored in all five of its tune-up games, thanks to contributions from across the attack, and won both against MLS opposition.

“It makes life a lot harder for other teams to not just focus on one or two, but multiple players. It’s already more difficult to find a solution to defend against us,” said Owusu. “We have our own motivation and our own goals that we talked about as a team, and those things are more important (than the media’s unfavourable predictions).”

As designated player Ivan Jaime is fit to start the season, he will be heavily relied upon to be the driving creative force in attack alongside youngsters Hennadiy and Olger Escobar, who have shown promise in limited minutes last year.

They will be joined by Carmona and winger Noah Streit, who was acquired from FC Basel, adding more technical quality to the attacking core.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2026.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press