Montreal Impact Sign Nelson Rivas As First MLS Player

Since missing the NASL playoffs, the Montreal Impact did not waste time by making a splash and have signed their first official player for their first MLS Campaign: ex-Inter Milan defender Nelson Rivas. Other players, some with MLS experience, have been invited to a mini-camp by Jesse Marsch including Bratislav Ristic, Jeremiah White, Wes Knight, Jamie Watson, Jose Javier Del Aguila and Alexis Zywiecki.

During a media scrum on the edge of the Saputo Stadium pitch, Jesse Marsch was happy to see “a lot of energy and excitement” in the camp. With a clean sheet to implement his type of soccer and methods on the pitch, Marsch made the contrary clear during the NASL season when he said: “I was very careful not to implement my kind of methods while Nick (De Santis) still had the team”.

The Montreal Impact made their first MLS signing on Monday, inking ex-Inter Milan defender Nelson Rivas to a contract. Contrary to earlier reports, Rivas will not qualify as a Designated Player.

According to Sports Station RDS and Patrick Leduc , the Montreal Impact have signed their first ever Designated Player for when they enter Major League Soccer, central defender Nelson Rivas. The Colombian international and ex-Inter Milan central defender should like a strong building block for the Impact’s defence ahead of its entry into MLS.

Jesse Marsch did not waste time after his hiring before signing a big-name player after taking over at the helm of the MLS team. A press conference is expected later this afternoon at Saputo Stadium, during which Marsch is expected to talk about the new signing and the upcoming evaluation mini-camp.