With core intact, Impact look to go farther than East final in 2017
MONTREAL — On the surface, the only noticeable change in the Montreal Impact this season is the absence of superstar Didier Drogba.
But the Chelsea legend who tore up Major League Soccer when he joined the Impact late in 2015 campaign had been reduced to bench duty by the end of last season and was no longer the centrepiece of the attack.
The starting 11 that got on a roll last September and took the Blue and Black to their first Eastern Conference final is back in full and there were only a few changes to the supporting cast in the off season.
Whether that group can do that well again, or go even farther, will be the main question when the regular season opens Saturday in San Jose.