Montreal looks to move on from chaotic first half of season as archrival TFC visits

Toronto FC's Theo Corbeanu (7) breaks away from CF Montreal's Dawid Bugaj (27) during second half MLS soccer action in Montreal, Saturday, May 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL — After nearly a month off, CF Montreal is returning to Major League Soccer action looking to move on from a chaotic first half of its campaign.

First up is a showdown at Stade Saputo on Thursday against archrival Toronto FC

Montreal had suffered its worst start in history (1-7-0), fired head coach Marco Donadel and appointed Philippe Eullaffroy in the interim.

Now 4-8-2, Montreal managed to crawl out of MLS basement and move within four points of a playoff spot at the break.

The second half of this season will prove even more challenging, but a congested schedule with higher-level opposition and two competitions to juggle has done little to temper Eullaffroy’s enthusiasm for forging his team’s identity.

“Identity and values are two words that are unfortunately losing a lot of prominence in the world,” Eullaffroy said. ”Identity is something incredibly powerful.

“There are almost nine billion people in the world, and except for pure twins, there are just as many individual identities out there. The tricky part here is taking 30 players and making sure they have the same DNA, and if we want them to have that, we can’t change who we are.”

With the time off, except for a two-leg victory over Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC in the Canadian Championship quarterfinals, Eullaffroy was able to make headway into turning this team into the side he wants.

A few weeks into his tenure, he said the team only resembled 25 per cent of his vision. Now he puts that number has reached 45 per cent as his methodology, philosophy, and tactics are increasingly taking root.

That progress will be immediately put to the test as Montreal prepares for their most important regular-season game of the year when it hosts Toronto in the 66th iteration of the Canadian Classique.

As one of the most fiercely contested soccer rivalries in MLS, victory in the Canadian Classique has often been considered an additional trophy, with bragging rights almost being as valuable as silverware.

“We’re getting mentally prepared … It’s important for the fans, and it’s very important for us as a group,” said forward Daniel Rios, who will be participating in his first Canadian Classique. “It’s the biggest (derby) in Canada.”

The height of the rivalry came in the 2015 and 2016 seasons when both teams were among the best in MLS. In back-to-back years, the two clubs met in the playoffs and delivered instant classics, with each team winning one meeting.

Both teams have recently struggled to find consistent success and rediscover past glory. That has not, however, dampened the intensity of the games or the passion from either fan base.

“A balance needs to be found. You have to get the players to understand the situation, as most of them have played in rivalry games before. So you have to get them to remember how important games like this are, but also understand that there are other games after that are also worth three points,” said Eullaffroy. “This rivalry isn’t just soccer, it’s hockey, it’s Canadian football, and there’s a cultural element that also has a lot to do with the history of our province.”

Eullaffroy enters the match with a thin depth chart. With the departure of Ivan Jaime and the long-term knee injury of Wiki Carmona, the two most heavily relied upon wingers from the first half of the season are unavailable.

Additionally, striker Prince Owusu will be suspended for the game and is currently playing through a nagging knock to his right knee that saw him substituted off at halftime against Vancouver. Not only does this complicate life for an already streaky attacking core, but it also puts more pressure on any potential recruits.

“It’s a good opportunity for players like Noah (Streit), Danny (Rios), and (Hennadiy Synchuk), but they’re not juniors. They’ve played a good number of minutes, and it comes back to identity; we’re going to play the same way,” said Eullaffroy. “It doesn’t change anything; we’re counting on them, they’re going to make the difference on Thursday, and we’re going to win the game because of them.”

Montreal has already made a splash this month by bringing in proven MLS midfielder Dani Pereira from Austin and will be looking to do more in the summer transfer window.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2026.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press