CF Montréal bets on Marco Donadel to pull squad out of an early season hole

Marco Donadel wasn't expecting to be calling the shots for CF Montréal at this point.

But after a rocky start to the MLS season, the club decided it was time to part ways with head coach Laurent Courtois and promote Donadel — the first former player from the club's MLS era to coach the team.

"It's a great feeling," Donadel said about his new role as interim head coach.

But the 41-year-old Italian national admits he hasn't had time to let it all sink in yet. He only joined the team as an assistant coach in January, 10 years to the month that he first joined Montreal as a player in 2015.

Montreal has yet to play a home game this season, with its home opener scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today, but with five losses and two draws over seven road games, there is already a sense of urgency at the club that the opportunity for making this a successful year is slipping away.

"I'm very, very focused on the things I need to fix," Donadel said.

Courtois had only coached the team for one full season and five of the seven road games. His firing falls in line with Montreal's reputation of turning over coaches regularly. Donadel is now CF Montréal's 11th coach since the franchise joined the MLS in 2012 and it's fair to assume, like the 10 others, Donadel will also be on a short leash.

"I'm here to take on the responsibility," Donadel said. "I don't have any kind of expectation, just to have fun every day with the guys."

Donadel's coaching experience includes working as an assistant coach with Russian team Spartak Moscow and being the head coach of an Italian 3rd division team, Ancona, where he was dismissed after six months.

Donadel played in Montreal during what some consider a golden era for the club. During his tenure, Montreal made its deepest run in the MLS playoffs in franchise history, reaching the semifinals before losing to Toronto FC.

The team also came within 45 minutes of winning the CONCACAF Champions League before a second half collapse, ultimately losing to Mexican side Club America in front of more than 60,000 fans at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in the final.

Donadel said defeating the New York Red Bulls in the MLS during the MLS Cup playoff run in 2015 was one of the top moments of his playing career. He hopes to deliver fans more moments like that now that he's the coach.

"We need a bit of time, but we have a lot of energy and passion and desire," Donadel said.

It also appears that the team's owner, Joey Saputo, would welcome a return to the era when Donadel played, and that culture that was around the team at the time.