CF Montréal possess a range of proven performers and big personalities they can look to at crunch time, a term quite likely to apply to at least some phase of their Eastern Conference Semifinal clash with New York City FC Sunday at Stade Saputo (1 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN3 in US; TSN4, TVA Sports in Canada).
Their roster is rife with rising Canadian national teamers like Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller and Sam Piette. Midfield general and Designated Player Victor Wanyama is a distinguished veteran of the English Premier League. Well-traveled striker Kei Kamara ranks third on the all-time MLS goalscoring chart. Playmaker Djordje Mihailovic, bound for the Dutch Eredivisie at season’s end, is one of the league’s top domestic creators. Honduran international Romell Quioto has been a revitalized attacking force since his arrival in Quebec.
It was a 20-year-old rookie who applied the crucial final touch on a flowing team move as CFM broke through for the opener in their Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One victory over Orlando City SC, though. And notably, no one who’s been watching Montréal closely was excessively surprised to see Ismaël Koné in that spot – despite his age, despite the fact he signed his first professional contract barely a year ago, seemingly rising out of local youth-league obscurity with little warning.
“He's a player who has qualities,” said CFM head coach Wilfried Nancy in French after last Sunday’s emotional 2-0 win at a feverish Stade Saputo, “and everyone sees it, it's not difficult.”
"A special player"
There’s some understatement there. Even in the increasingly play-your-kids norm of Major League Soccer, it is still striking to see a legitimate Cup contender entrust so much faith and responsibility in a player this young, this unheralded. A modern box-to-box presence, Koné typically works the front end of Montréal’s engine room, linking defense to attack just ahead of Wanyama and Piette, combining with Mihailovic and Kamara, probing on the dribble, wading into duels and racking up touches in key areas.
“He's a special player,” said Mihailovic of Koné this week. “We have two very experienced players behind us in Vic and Sam, and there's a lot of freedom between me and Ismaël – a lot of similarities between us too, and it shows, the way we move with each other.
“I think I assisted three out of his four goals, so he’s got to take me to dinner,” joked the Chicago Fire FC academy product of his younger colleague. “It’s a joy to play with a player like Ismaël, he’s full of confidence, he plays like he’s happy and those are the best players, when they play happy."
Koné announced his arrival on the national and continental scene with a goal in his CFM debut. And it was no small moment: a Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 second leg vs. Mexican heavyweights Santos Laguna at Stade Olympique, where Montréal had to overcome a 1-0 aggregate deficit to advance. Advance they did, with a 3-0 win capped by Koné’s cool finish and illuminated by his bravery and cleverness on both sides of the ball.
Now he aims to produce in the clutch again as CFM seek to knock off the defending champs, flashing the easygoing optimism of youth in the lead-up to Sunday’s much-anticipated affair.
“As a club, I think it’s huge for us,” said Koné after Montréal’s training Friday. “We have a chance to put our name in the history books, we have to do it. You don't get to play those games [often], it's not easy to play those games, we want the chance to play those games. We have to go out there and perform and give everything we got.
“Personally, I've never been in a playoff run like this. I've never been to a club where we've done so good in the year. So I think why stop now, you know? And like I said, it's the same, put my name in the history books for this club and do well for this club. So last game I scored, so why not score in this game?”
"Fearless mindset"
That’s the “fearless mindset” hailed by CanMNT coach John Herdman, who recognized Koné’s dramatic progress with call-ups in the final stages of Les Rouges’ successful World Cup qualification campaign and their recent preparatory friendlies. European clubs are watching keenly from afar, with seven-figure transfer bids from English Championship sides Norwich City and Sheffield United over the summer coming close, but not quite dislodging him from CFM.
“It was a case of identifying players with potential, players with the attributes we think can go to another level and we can improve. And Ismaël fit that profile,” Sheffield manager Paul Heckingbottom said after the Blades’ efforts fell short, acknowledging his club will probably return to try again this winter.
Koné’s postseason exploits, combined with the high likelihood of a World Cup adventure in Qatar with Canada next month, make it appear quite likely SUFC won’t be alone in that pursuit.
“This could take my career to another level, going to the World Cup. I'm aware of this, but I don't let it distract me,” Koné told CBC last month.
An unusual recruitment
CFM might easily have missed out on this diamond in the rough in their own backyard. Born in Cote d’Ivoire, Koné emigrated to Quebec with his mother at age 7 and wasn’t part of the club’s system growing up, spending most of his early years at youth club CS Saint-Laurent. It was Montréal sporting director Olivier Renard’s network back in Europe that tipped him off to Koné’s promise.
Koné traveled to Belgium for trials at KRC Genk and Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium in 2020, only to be stymied by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. An acquaintance of Renard’s at Genk reached out to him to ask if he knew anything about this unheralded young Ivorian-Canadian prospect. Within a year Montréal had signed him to a homegrown contract, fast-tracking him up to their first team.
They know he won’t be around for too much longer, further fueling the urgency to achieve in these playoffs.
“When you have a big talent like that, we are proud if we can help him to reach to a good contract, to play in a bigger, higher competition,” said Renard of Koné in a conversation with MLSsoccer.com last week. “Already now, I hope for him that he will go to the World Cup – that’s a crazy story, one year ago he was playing on the street in Montréal. That's a great story.”
Koné’s dream tale is one of several compelling storylines around MLS Coach of the Year award finalist Wilfried Nancy’s impressive side. Another will also feature on Sunday, as the special guest asked to ring the iconic bell in the 1642 Montréal supporters’ group section at Stade Saputo will be Giulia Garofano, mother of Jason Di Tullio, the beloved CFM assistant coach who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year, robbing the club of one of its biggest and most influential personalities.
Montréal have posted an 11W-1L-3D record since Di Tullio’s passing, and will battle in his name again vs. NYCFC.
“They’re a good team, the reigning champions, the defending champions. So they’re going to have good moments, we’ll have good moments, tough moments, they will too,” said Koné, who worked closely with Di Tullio upon his signing last year. “So at the end of day, just come in there and just be ready to leave it all out there, just being compact, being a unit, just showing that we're a better team and we want it more than them. Because we have so many reasons.
“Jason will be with us.”
