CFM – Orlando: “It will be very personal for me” – Kamal Miller

MONTREAL – The road to success and recognition has not always been straight and well-lit for Kamal Miller. The pitfalls were numerous and its detractors not always subtle. In a recent interview with a view to his participation in the next Soccer World Cup, the CF Montreal defender told us that following fueling a grudge for several years, he had ended up quitting playing “to prove to himself. others that they had been wrong. »

He will make an exception to his own rule this weekend for the visit of Orlando City SC to Montreal.

Miller was picked by Orlando at the 27^e rank in the 2019 MLS draft. He always believed he deserved to be selected earlier. Soon enough, the relationship with his team soured. At the end of his second season, OCSC officials failed to protect him in preparation for the expansion draft that prepared Austin FC for entry into MLS.

“There wasn’t really any discussion following the fact. I learned that I had been exposed and that was the end of the story,” he said on Friday.

Miller was drafted by Austin, but was immediately traded to Montreal for $275,000 in allocation money and a first-round pick. Two years later, the memory of this affront still serves as motivation.

It is therefore with a little turd on his heart that he will jump on the field Sunday evening when CF Montreal will begin once morest the Lions what he wishes to be a long playoff run.

“I won’t lie, it will be very personal for me,” said the central defender following training. I didn’t leave Orlando in the best way. I arrived here, I regained my confidence. Now, I give everything for Montreal. It would make me very happy to see them return home the same way it ended for us last year. This is a great opportunity to savor some revenge for all of us. »

Miller is referring here to the last game of the 2021 season, a year ago. CF Montreal had its destiny in hand: it only had to beat Orlando, at home, to qualify for the playoffs. His mission failed, his hopes shattered by the embers of a 2-0 defeat.

The Montrealers had the chance to send a first message last May when they crushed the Florida team by a score of 4-1 at Stade Saputo. But there is nothing like the series to erase all traces of ambiguity.

Build new memories

“Of course we think regarding it, approves Samuel Piette. It is an opportunity to be able to take our revenge on them compared to that moment. But on the other hand, we are a different team in a way. The motivation is different too, the objectives are different. What we are going through at the moment is special at the group level and we simply want to win so that it continues. »

With what CF Montreal has left as a calling card in the regular season, it is not far-fetched to imagine it extending its course until November, when only the MLS Cup final remains to be played.

Usually reluctant to extend his field of vision beyond the next match, Wilfried Nancy allowed himself, 48 hours before the first test, to insert the big trophy in his speech.

“In the meetings we had with the staff, we had written down the objectives we had over the last ten games. Of course, we wanted to keep winning, keep playing well, but we also designed the cup in lowercase. And then we started to cross out the stages: qualifying, top-4, top-2… Each time, we put on the small cut. But this time, the cut, we enlarged it, because that’s the objective. »