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Twenty-four hours after being told that his services were not needed with the Montreal Impact, Matteo Ferrari held a press conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal to explain his situation and how he sees his professional career. Joining the club in 2012 , under Jesse Marsch, Ferrari spend 3 full years with the club.
Insisting on the fact that he enjoyed his stay in Montreal, Ferrari wanted to thank the fans that have supported him and his family during their stay in Montreal. Leaving Montreal tonight to come back in December, Ferrari had a few things on his mind and did not call it quits as per his professional career as a player ; but did not confirm whether it will be in MLS or elsewhere.
I come from a school that teaches you to win. In MLS, no matter where you are in the standings, we close the books. I couldn't go on-Matteo Ferrari
He revealed that he asked to be traded a few months ago as he wanted to move on and go elsewhere. But Frank Klopas refused to do so saying that he was still important for the club, as per the player.
This brings an interesting point as the club seems to have lost an opportunity to get something back for a player that was willing to leave, a player that the Impact ended up not re-signing, citing salary cap issues among other factors.
MF: Je viens d'une école où on nous enseigne a gagner. En MLS, peut importe le classement, on ferme les livres. Je pouvais pas continuer.
— Philip Harmeling (@PhilipHarmeling) November 1, 2014
During the press conference, Ferrari added that he did not agree with the lack of leadership comments made by some of his teammates and insisted that there were enough leaders in the room. As he fought hard to keep a good ambiance in the locker room, he did not appreciate the way the story ended with the Impact, not appreciating the 10-minute post-mortem meeting with Klopas when he was told that his option will not be picked up.
Fiorentina was interested in his services 2 years ago but the Impact said no and he added that Patrice Bernier's situation (negotiation) with the club is a difficult one.
Ferrari is known to be outspoken, if you remember his 2014 pre-season gloomy comments, and did not disappoint this time.
Thank you to Arcadio Marcuzzi and Philip Harmeling for the tweets and a big thank you to Gianni Cristiano for organizing and coordinating the press conference.