Impact glad to have options in Mancosu, Piatti if Drogba too sick to play

MONTREAL — Goal-scoring star Didier Drogba missed training Thursday with an undisclosed illness and the Montreal Impact are not sure he will be available for the weekend.

It may only be something minor, like indigestion at the thought of having been scheduled for one of his occasional scrums with the media, or it could be a virus. Not even coach Mauro Biello knew.

“He called in saying he wasn’t feeling good, a bit under the weather,” Biello said. “We’ll see exactly where he’s at.

“The doctors will have a look and hopefully it’s not that serious and he could be back at training (Friday) and ready to go.”

With a run of three matches in eight days about to begin, Biello is not about to call on Drogba when the last-place Chicago Fire visit Saputo Stadium on Saturday night if he’s under medication. He’ll want the 38-year-old fresh for tougher matches next Wednesday at home against D.C. United and Aug. 27 away to Toronto FC.

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And the Impact tend to rally when he sits out, going 5-2-2 when he is not in the lineup. 

In the nine matches Drogba has missed with injuries or from his disdain for artificial surfaces, he has eight goals and five assists in 14 appearances. It’s not quite the pace of 11 goals in as many games the Chelsea legend maintained when he joined the Impact late in the 2015 campaign, but Biello is not worried.

“We’ve seen it in different moments that he’s able to bring that to the game,” the second year head coach said. “With the long season, it gets harder with the travel and the everyday grind of this league.

“But overall, he’s been a threat in games and that’s what we want. If he’s able to find the rhythm and cohesion down the stretch like he did last year it will be a bonus, but you can’t take away what he brings on the field in attracting opposition.”

Biello points to the lone goal Montreal scored in an otherwise feeble 3-1 loss away to the New York Red Bulls last Saturday. Drogba drew the defence away to allow newcomer Matteo Mancosu room to take the ball in the New York zone and set up Ignacio Piatti’s 13th goal of the season.

The Ivorian was upset after the match with what he felt were uncalled fouls against him, especially at not getting a penalty shot when he was tripped inside the 18-yard box. Biello agreed.

“I know it evens out, but Didier attracts a lot of attention. We want the respect he should be getting,” the coach said.

It pleases Biello that the Impact are not totally reliant on Drogba for goals. Piatti is fourth in Major League Soccer in goals, while Mancosu has been hot since he joined the club on loan from Bologna in Italy’s Serie A in early July.

In five appearances that add up to fewer than three full games played, the 31-year-old has two goals and two assists. The last match saw Mancosu and Drogba start a match together in a two-forward formation for the first time. 

“I like playing with him and Didier,” said Piatti. “He came from Serie A and he was ready. That’s big for us.”

Piatti has played mainly on the left side this season and has already surpassed his goals and point totals from his first two MLS campaigns.

“What a lot of people don’t understand is that Nacho (Piatti) is a midfielder and he’s putting up those numbers,” said Biello. “He’s not a forward like (David) Villa and (Sebastian) Giovinco that he’s fighting (for the scoring league). He has defensive responsibilities.”

Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press