Montreal Impact Interested in Gilardino and Riquelme
Per a report by SBI Soccer, the Montreal Impact are interested in Italian international star Alberto Gilardino. They have reportedly made an offer for Gilardino to be their second designated player. There have also been rumors they are interested in Argentinian international, Juan Roman Riquelme although they have not made an offer to him.
The Montreal Impact currently have one designated player on their roster, Ignacio Piatti, who they signed towards the end of the Summer transfer window last year. Piatti did not play too much last year, but in the games he did play, he impressed a lot of people with his creative ability in the Montreal midfield.
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The Montreal Impact are looking for another DP forward with Marco Di Vaio retiring at the end of last season. Di Vaio enjoyed a very successful career and stint with the Montreal Impact, scoring over 30 goals for the Impact. In 2014, Di Vaio had trouble getting off to the hot start he did in 2014, but he still managed to put up decent numbers.
With Di Vaio’s career now behind him, the Impact have a hole to fill up front. They seem to have liked their previous Italian international DP so now they look to another Italian international in Gilardino. Gilardino’s previous club was Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande where he arrived from Genoa.
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Gilardino has appeared 57 times for Italy and has scored 19 times for them. He was also a part of the World Cup winning side in 2006. Gilardino has a lot of experience in Serie A where he enjoyed success and is currently 13th on the all-time goal scoring charts in Serie A, third among active players.
The Montreal Impact are looking to make a splash this offseason as they come off a very disappointing season, coming dead last in the Eastern Conference with only 28 points. The Impact are hoping to replace Di Vaio and his production and are looking to Gilardino to fill that hole.
Now Gilardino would certainly score goals for the impact, but they have plenty of other holes they will need to fill if they want to be contenders in the Eastern Conference. The Impact have a defense that will definitely need to be improved upon before the 2015 season. The defense gave up 58 goals last season and that will need to be fixed.
Whether or not Gilardino ends up playing for the Impact will remain to be seen, but he would definitely fill the hole left by Di Vaio. What do you think of the rumored interest by Montreal? Let us know below!