MONTREAL – Ahead of the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final Wednesday against Club América (8 pm ET, Fox Sports 2, UniMás in US; Sportsnet World, TVA Sports 2 in Canada), the Montreal Impact’s team selection still raises two question marks.
The first one is injury-related: the status of right backs Victor Cabrera and Hassoun Camara (above, right), who both have lower-body injuries, was classified as “day-to-day.” Progress, it seems, has been minimal and neither of them trained on Tuesday.
The next 24 hours, head coach Frank Klopas indicated, will provide a better look on how he could shuffle things around.
“If Cabrera’s out, if Camara, for some reason, isn’t able to go, we have some guys within the team that can play that role, that are familiar with playing in that role and that have done so in the past,” Klopas told reporters. “I’ll have a better idea today, and then we’ll wait until tomorrow. Some of these decisions, we have to wait. It’s not a fitness thing. A lot of the guys have been fit and playing. It’s just to see the comfort level on the field out there when they’re playing.”
Camara, who went down injured in the second half at Estadio Azteca in the first leg last Wednesday, was then replaced by Eric Miller. Klopas could also turn to Nigel Reo-Coker; in 2013, he put in an exceptional 90 minutes at right back for the Vancouver Whitecaps in an Amway Canadian Championship semifinal against the Impact. The final score? 0-0.
The other question is tactical. Klopas has used different forwards for different purposes during their CCL run. Dominic Oduro, who started up top at Azteca, has also played on the right wing. Jack McInerney scored a valuable goal in Alajuela. Kenny Cooper just arrived.
Asked about what he was leaning toward, Klopas smiled and had a laugh with the rest of the room.
“I’m going to sleep good tonight, and I'm going to say, ‘Please, tell me who’s going to score the goals tomorrow,’” Klopas said. “Then, tomorrow, I’m going to put them in there.”
