MONTREAL – A defender, an extra man in midfield and a goalscorer rolled into one dominant package. That’s Laurent Ciman.
With his header on Marco Donadel’s late free kick on Saturday night, Ciman broke the deadlock as the Montreal Impact won 1-0 against the Seattle Sounders. It felt right that it was him. It was the apex of yet another masterful showing for the man MLSsoccer.com’s own Matt Doyle named his defender of the half-season – and it’s hard to argue with him.
“I struggled in my first [MLS] game,” Ciman told reporters postgame. “I questioned myself. Then, I worked, and there’s no other secret. I’ll keep doing everything to take it to the next level.”
Ciman diving into the hard defensive work is a given. But he does it with elegance, drawing cheers with his every move. He’d put in some impressive performances, but this one was off the charts.
The scary thing is, he might just top it some time soon.
“With the ball, he’s very comfortable,” said head coach Frank Klopas, who also saluted a great team win. “He’s a very experienced player. He jumps very well, so he’s a weapon for us in set pieces. And I think that the moments that he finds, throughout the game, one or two moments when he gets forward in each half, that's good.”
Those are the moments that Montreal fans relish. Ciman, with the ball at his feet, prompts reactions similar to when Designated Player Nacho Piatti embarks on a dizzying dribble. Ciman slips into the midfield seamlessly, leaving his younger partner Victor Cabrera to cover while he attempts to get past a line of defense.
“If I start doing whatever and not go by the tactics, we’ll be 2-on-1 at the back with Victor,” Ciman said. “I have to be disciplined even though I want to go forward, lend a hand to the team. We struggled to get past the last line [tonight].”
There will be times when that exposes the Montreal backline, but the team’s fans don’t hold it against Ciman. He became an MLS All-Star because he’s playing his own game.
“I’m really happy,” Ciman said of the selection. “It’s an honor. I’ve worked hard thus far, and I’ll keep doing so. I have to be talked about here to perhaps remain with the [Belgium national team].”
Hopefully, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots will see this game one way or another. If not, he’ll have missed quite a show.
