CF Montreal hires Hernan Losada as head coach

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 21, 2022

Argentine coach Hernan Losada (left) is back in MLS.

Losada, who was fired six games into his second season with D.C. United, was named the head coach of CF Montreal’s first team, replacing Wilfried Nancy, who left after the 2022 season to become the new Columbus Crew head coach.

In Losada's first season after moving from Belgium's Beerschot, D.C. United finished in eighth place in MLS's Eastern Conference in 2021, missing the playoffs by one point with a 14-15-5 record. When he was fired, United had a 2-4-0 record. It finished last in the overall MLS standings with a 7-21-6 record.

 “We were looking for a coach who could continue the sporting project we have been building since my arrival in 2020 and we are convinced that Hernan checks all the boxes at this level,” said CF Montréal vice-president and chief sporting officer Olivier Renard. “With the philosophy put forward at the club over the past few years, both on and off the field, we are very pleased with our choice.”

Losada, 40, takes over a team in transition. CF Montreal finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 20-9-5 record -- its best record ever -- but Djordje Mihailovic, Alistair Johnson and Ismael Koné were transferred to European teams , while Kenyan captain Victor Wanyama is out of contract and unlikely to be re-signed.

In its first two offseason moves, Montreal acquired central defender George Campbell from Atlanta United and outside back Aaron Herrera from Real Salt Lake in deals that includes upwards of $1.4 million of General Allocation Money.