2021 CPL regular season (The Kickoff) — Match #1
FC Edmonton vs. Atlético Ottawa
June 26, 2021 at 2:00 pm ET/ 1:00 pm CT
IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

At long last, the Canadian Premier League is back.

FC Edmonton and Atlético Ottawa will open proceedings at The Kickoff on Saturday, as the two sides that finished at the bottom of the table in 2020 look to get off on the right foot in 2021. They’ve met just once before — a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Island Games that saw Edmonton erase a two-goal deficit in the dying stages — although the two cities have a strong soccer history of competing against one another.

The Eddies, last year’s Wooden Spoon winners after taking just one point from seven games in PEI, have a new lease on life with a revamped squad and a brand new coach in Alan Koch. Led by stalwart returnees like Amer Didic and Easton Ongaro, as well as some key newcomers like Shamit Shome, this team has plenty of talent and will be hoping to finally break into the upper echelon of CPL contenders.

“We’re trying to build an identity,” Koch told reporters on Thursday. “We’re a club in transition and it’s very important that we play in a certain way.”

Meanwhile, Atlético Ottawa enter just their second-ever season after making their maiden voyage at the Island Games. The league’s youngest club has also undergone a lot of change over the offseason, with 12 new faces in the side. Most of their key players in 2021 will be new to the club — Ryan Telfer, Chris Mannella, and Drew Beckie might form the spine of this team — but they’ve had plenty of time to prepare under coach Mista with a two-month training camp at the Atlético Madrid facilities in Spain. Returnees like Viti Martínez and Brandon John will also be crucial to the side’s leadership group, Mista revealed on Thursday.

“This season we’ve signed some new players more specific for our system, for our philosophy,” Mista said in his own pre-match press conference. He added that he sees his side as the “little brother” to parent club Atlético Madrid, and as such he intends for his team’s playing structure to reflect that of the La Liga giants (with the help of some actual Atlético Madrid academy players on loan, in Alberto Soto and Rafael Núñez).

With both sides so different from last year, it’s impossible to predict how this one might go down, particularly so early in the season. Nonetheless, both sides have pledged to deliver an entertaining contest to kick off the campaign.

“[Ottawa] are favourites on Saturday. We have to be the underdogs,” Koch admitted. “They’re probably the best prepared, and are probably going to play at the highest tempo and intensity of any team right now, so why not go play at a high tempo, high intensity in your first game? It’s going to help prepare us for the rest of the games.”

RELATED READING: The Kickoff: FC Edmonton 2021 CPL season preview || The Kickoff: Atlético Ottawa 2021 CPL season preview

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• New-look Eddies tactics: As mentioned previously, FCE enters this season with Alan Koch at the helm rather than Jeff Paulus. So, it’s hard to guess how exactly he might set up his team — last year, they frequently played in a 4-3-3, but they also experimented with a three-man backline at times early on. Expect Shamit Shome to be the main creative force in midfield, and Easton Ongaro to be the primary target in the 18-yard box. With such strength in midfield, the Eddies may opt to keep the ball centrally. Koch explained on Thursday that, while he will likely depend on a lot of his returning players (like Ongaro and Didic) off the bat because of the truncated preseason, he expects to give every player in the squad an opportunity to play in Winnipeg.

• Ottawa chemistry: Much has been made of Atlético Ottawa’s preseason camp in Spain, and now we’ll finally see just how much of an advantage it may have been. For his part, coach Mista doesn’t think it’ll put them too far ahead of the pack, with some other CPL sides having robust preseasons of their own back at home. Still, the chemistry Ottawa will have formed over two months in Spain will certainly give them an edge — and something they didn’t necessarily have last year. Mista admitted that 2020 was difficult for his side, which came together quickly, but that’s long forgotten. In tight matches, the team that’s more in sync and able to work together to methodically break down an opponent will often come out on top, which means Ottleti could well come out of the gates hot.

• Rivalry renewed? Former Edmonton coach Jeff Paulus used to say that he considered Ottawa a greater rival to his side than even Calgary. That, of course, stems from Paulus’ time with the NASL version of FC Edmonton years ago, who had some very heated clashes with the Ottawa Fury — both in league play and in some nail-biting Canadian Championship ties. This year, both rosters will have a handful of players that will remember that old rivalry: Chris Mannella and Drew Beckie, new to Atleti but certainly not new to the Ottawa soccer scene, won’t have forgotten, nor will longtime Eddies veterans like Allan Zebie, or even the returning Shamit Shome. Could a game like this create a new spark for one of Canadian soccer’s best rivalries?

ALL-TIME SERIES
FC Edmonton wins: 0 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 0 || Draws: 1

Previous match:
August 23, 2020 – FC Edmonton 2-2 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“If I used the words how I really felt about starting games on Saturday I’d probably get myself in trouble, but it’s pretty wild. We’re chomping at the bit; we’re buzzing, we’re excited.” — Alan Koch, FC Edmonton coach

“We’re not afraid for the first game, because every team couldn’t play competitive games for a long time. I think we will be a very competitive team when we’re competing again.” — Mista, Atlético Ottawa coach

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2021 CPL Final!