Enzo Concina The Unheralded Coach Has Arrived

Enzo Concina was a central defender that specialized in "man marking" and that played in Italy for teams like Cesena, Pavia, Piacenza, Monza, Forli and in 1994 the Montreal Impact.

His playing career in Italy is one of his most valuable assets in a time where many of the best players in the world were playing in Italy, that alone was deemed an incredible experience for Concina to progress technically and tactically.

Even more credit to him is his assistant coaching career with Serie A team Naples from 2010-2013 and then to Inter Milan. He helped Milan advance in the UEFA Champians League to the knock out phase beating Barcelona 2-0 but then eliminated by Bacelona on an aggregate of 4-2. None the less, a crucial point in his career with a team that experienced world class playing.

Before coming to the Impact, Concina was hired to help last place D.C. United (2013) improve their defence. DC went to the top of the charts in 2014 with a total of 59 points to the number 1 position their conference, im betting he can help us!

An interesting point i should bring up is that during Concina's time at Napoli, he was approached by the Montreal Impact to coach the team. This was before Marco Schallibaum came to the Impact, most likely after Jesse Marsch left. This leads us to conclude that he is eligible and certainly capable of being a Head Coach should things not work out with Klopas.

So the Impact now has Concina as a Defensive Coach and a fresh crop of skilled defenders. Joining the ranks are Dony Toia from folded team Chivas USA, Bakary Soumare , an imposing 6 foot 4 experienced central defender who played for French team US Boulogne gathering a wealth of experience and then moving on to play for Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire.

Then we have Victor Cabrera on loan from one the most prestigious clubs in Argentina, River Plate. His development by River Plate's Academy will be a valuable asset, we must see what his capabilities are and how Concina evaluates him.

Finally on the backline is recently acquired central Defender Laurent Ciman from Belgium's first division team Standard Liege who played a total of 286 regular season games and 269 starts. A player with a vast experience taking part in four qualifying matches for the UEFA Champions League, 16 games in the Europa League, two Europa League qualifiers and five matchups in the UEFA Cup.

A lot of work is expected from Concina and Frank Klopas to see the Impact's defence improve significantly, based on Concina's record we can only expect this to be true. This breaths renewed optimism and fans should certainly be excited about his arrival.