TRANSFER LATEST - Garde’s Impact Continues with Camacho!!

Lots of activity at the Impact these days, as Remi Garde continues to form his charges into a competitive MLS outfit, capable of challenging for post-season football.

Not unlike with Alejandro Silva, this week’s previous new arrival, the rumor-mill had been hot with stories of Rudy Camacho’s impending transfer. And as in the case of the Uruguayan, Montreal, this morning, closed the deal successfully.

Camacho arrives on a 4-year contract from Belgian First Division “A” club, Waasland-Beveren.

OPTIONS & DEPTH

Bleu/Blanc/Noir now looks on paper to have an embarrassment of riches in the central defensive positions. Not to mention depth.

With a fully fit contingent, they will have no fewer than 5 recognized centre-backs, in addition to Jukka Raitala, a left-sided defender who can deputize centrally. The other four? Rod Fanni, Zakaria Diallo, Victor Cabrera and Kyle Fisher.

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USA TODAY Sports

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY Sports

Clearly of course, it may never come to pass that all 5 will be available at the same time. Diallo looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, and Rod Fanni may not have his short-term contract with the club extended. It is a possibility though, if he continues to perform as he did last Saturday.

FRENCH BEGINNINGS

Camacho (27) from L’arbresle in eastern France’s Rhone region, had his early footballing education in the lower pro-leagues in France, beginning in League National 2 (fourth tier) with Nancy “B”, before moving onto AS Lyon Duchere and onto CS Sedan Ardennes, where he was part of a successful promotion winning side, amassing an impressive 24 wins and 3 ties in 30 matches.

BELGIUM

Rudy had one more season with Sedan at the higher level (they consolidated in 12^th out of 18 clubs), and was soon on the move to Belgium’s First Division A where he’s spent the last 2 seasons with Waasland-Beveren, a club I once watched defeat Ballymena United of the Irish League, 3-0, in the UEFA Cup. That wasn’t yesterday, I can tell you! In fact, it was in the late seventies during a period in which the small Belgian club (then known as SK Beveren-Waas) was a regular qualifier for the UEFA international club competitions.

In two seasons in east Flanders, Camacho played 56 out of a possible 60 First Division games, 6 more in the qualification competition for Europa League, and 5 Belgian Cup ties.

CAPTAIN

Most recently, he captained the side in their last 8 league games, as the club’s season petered out to a disappointing conclusion (they are currently playing Europa League qualifying; games that Camacho would have been involved in, had he remained).

Although the record over those last 8 games of Camacho’s captaincy included only one victory and three reverses, it should be noted that two creditable draws were secured against the league’s top two clubs, reigning champions, RSC Anderlecht and Club Brugge.

Montreal’s new acquisition is very much in the mould of a solid central defender, comfortable with bringing the ball out of defense, a footballing center-back, if you like. Something that will fit perfectly, Remi Garde’s footballing philosophy.

Standing six-foot-one, Camacho was acquired on a permanent transfer from his Belgian club using targeted allocation money, so he does not have designated player status.