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Updates after the jump
Part of an initial long list of Italian strikers rumored to come to Montreal (that included Alessandro Del Piero and Luca Toni) , Marco Di Vaio bid farewell to the Bologna fans and Serie A in a press conference earlier this morning.
Marco Di Vaio says ciao tutti to Bologna
I am here to announce that these will be my last two games with Bologna. I told the coach on Wednesday, the president tried to keep me yesterday, but the decision has been made.
Showing true class by going out the right way with a press conference, Marco Di Vaio shows his love towards the city and the fans that gave him another chance after he lost his way (at Valencia and at Monaco ).
These are my last two games against Bologna. I spent 4 years beautiful, I will not feel a burden to this society and for the fans
No official signing have been confirmed yet but Philippe Germain @SoccerPlusFR did confirm that Marco Di Vaio was the Montreal Impact first Designated Player earlier this week. Even though Impact Sporting Director, Nick De Santis, denied the official aspect of the signing, he did say on Wednesday in response to questions about Di Vaio
Di Vaio is one possibility we're looking into.There's no confirmation, and again, those are rumors. ... Di Vaio is under contract. We're interested in him, as well as in three or four other players. We'll see who manages to come to Montreal
The right fit?
Still under contract with Bologna until the summer of 2013, it has been reported that Marco Di Vaio will get a release from his current contract to be able to sign freely elsewhere via France Football .
At this point, we are not sure how much of Jesse Marsch's input is in this decision but it has been said by Joey Saputo since the team joined the MLS that a Designated Player will come to Montreal by the month of May. It's an interesting pick and the player fits an interesting profile being a striker with excellent finishing skills and can play around a central striker in a pivot role. For now, the profile of Di Vaio is interesting and like for any other older DP , as long as the fitness level follows and the injury bug stays away, his contribution will be more than positive
Update from the Montreal Impact
The Montreal have setup a conference call to address Marco Di Vaio's comments
Club statement: Impact to address Marco Di Vaio's comments bit.ly/J3QDEN #IMFC #MLS
— Impact de Montréal (@impactmontreal) May 4, 2012
Impact Sporting Director. Nick De Santis , addressed the media from Kansas City to address comments made by Italian forward Marco Di Vaio this morning in a press conference in Bologna, Italy. As I as listening to the conference call, a few questions were asked to the sporting director and he gave us a few interesting statements.
Nick De Santis About Marco Di Vaio's press conference in Italy
The Montreal Impact is very pleased that the club is in consideration for Marco Di Vaio's next career move.We made an offer to him for a year and half, plus two more at a club option. He will come to Montreal at the end of May to visit the club and see the city. There is still work to be done
He is also confirms that Marco Di Vaio will be visiting Montreal between May 25th and May 30th as Joey Saputo will perform his presidential and owner functions to charm Marco into making the move a permanent one. An offer was sent to Marco Di Vaio's people that comprised of a 1 year and half contract plus 2 options at the club's discretion. Nick De Santis continued to praise the qualities of Marco Di Vaio and promoting his fit in Major League Soccer. It was an interesting statement as it seemed that NDS was speaking as if the player was already signed, unless he was talking hypothetically.
He's a fighter. A forward in MLS has to be able to move, find space and be strong physically and mentally. He is very intelligent in his movements to create space for himself and his teammates
The Twitter-Sphere and Blog-O-Sphere has been buzzing since @SoccerPlusFR got the Marco Dui Vaio confirmation scoop and this is great news for the team with more coverage, more buzz and for an increasingly better team on the field.