Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By DAN KARELL
The Montreal Impact didn’t reportedly have to look very far when they decided to hire a new coach for next season.
According to a report in Sports Illustrated, Alessandro Nesta is set to become the next head coach of the Impact, replacing Marco Schallibaum after one season in charge. The 37-year-old Nesta announced last month that he would retire at the end of the season, which came on Thursday in a 3-0 defeat to the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
The report states that Nesta was a favorite of Impact owner Joey Saputo and in interviews earlier this year, the legendary Italian defender admitted that he wanted to go into coaching when he eventually retired from playing.
Nesta surprised everyone in Italy when, instead of retiring in 2012, he joined the Impact in July of that year on an 18-month contract. Despite his level of experience and talent, it was clear to see that Nesta wasn’t the same player who graced the pitch for Lazio, AC Milan, and the Italian National Team at the highest level.
During his time with the Impact, Nesta played 34 times in all competitions, failing to score a goal but recording one assist. This season, the Impact had the best record in MLS all the way into August, but had a torrid finish to the season, losing seven of their last ten games to crash out of the playoffs.
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What do you think of this report? Do you believe Nesta is the right choice? Do you see him being successful as a manager in MLS?
Share your thoughts below.