Three hundred and sixty-seven days ago, this website broke down all seven CPL rosters as clubs convened for their first pre-seasons. Discussing Forge FC, we mentioned "talented, young attacking players" such as Marcel Zajac and Chris Nanco, but cautioned that the roster lacked a proven goal-scorer. We did not mention Tristan Borges. This story isn't about Borges, though; the 2019 MVP's rise has been recounted ad nauseam. No, as the CPL champions kicked off their second training camp this week, this story is about the next one. "(Borges) is a great story," Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis told CanPL.ca. "The one thing we talk about is players in the dressing room being able to step up and take a role. Tristan was a guy last year, who at the beginning of the year maybe a lot of people weren't talking about being the player he would be in 2019. "You see it as a player, you say, hey, this can be me." RELATED READING: CPL pre-season roster tracker: How each team is shaping up It's unwise to say definitively that there's another Borges lurking in the Forge camp, but it's not a stretch to think that similarly talented young players might flourish in trying to fill his shoes. This writer offered two names — David Choinière and Marcel Zajac — and Smyrniotis himself offered another. "(Choinière and Zajac) do have the quality for that," he said. "When I look at it statistically — the goals, the assists — they're probably not where they want to be, last year, and where I think they can be. So it's getting that extra production from them this year, because last year in a lot of areas of the game they were excellent." He continued: "Another one is Elimane Cissé, who a lot of times we forget he came straight from playing in a competition in Africa last year." Cissé, the jack-of-all-trades from Senegal, spent a lot of his time in midfield last year, but Smyrniotis hinted that he sees the 24-year-old as more of an attacking player. Someone such as Cissé fits the bill perfectly for what Smyrniotis is preaching in camp. For him, it's crucial that all his players can rotate to help fill in when, for instance, the injury bug hits. Part of what made Borges so special in 2019 was just that; he was able to score from the wing, from the middle of a front three, and even from midfield. "Last year, versatility was a big thing, being able to move these guys around," Smyrniotis said. "Not having the depth sometimes in the squad that you'd want, not having a bigger squad ... We're playing each other this year four times each, so you also need to throw something different out there for the opponents, it not being a regular lineup for you every time you show up to play at York9 or Cavalry." Last year, few Forge players were easy label in one position: Giuliano Frano played all across the defence and midfield, as did Kwame Awuah and Daniel Krutzen; Kadell Thomas and Chris Nanco could play anywhere in the front three. Triston Henry, thankfully, stayed in goal. But still, everyone had a strong enough grasp on the overall tactics that the side's on-paper formation mattered little. Fortunately for Forge, it won't be as difficult for Smyrniotis to instill his comprehensive tactical philosophy this year, with 17 players returning from their championship squad. A year ago, although many of the players had played for Smyrniotis before at Sigma FC, turning them into the big orange machine they'd become was a much longer process. "We're not reinventing the wheel, and I think last year that's what we were doing here, starting from scratch," Smyrniotis said. "This year it's about ... working on the tactical tweaks that we want to make to our game, and obviously we want to evolve." Forge's 2020 roster will be closer to its 2019 squad than any other CPL side. There will be new faces, of course; joining new goalkeeper David Monsalve will be, according to Smyrniotis, some new international signings. The coach also revealed that, in addition to their two U SPORTS picks (Gabriel Balbinotti and Alex Zis), the team has several under-21 players in camp on trial. Right now, Forge has just three of seven international spots filled, with 18 players signed, so they have plenty of room to add in the next month. Forge kicked off its training camp in Hamilton this week, with sessions at various facilities around the city as well as at Tim Hortons Field. Smyrniotis also told CanPL.ca that the club will be spending about 10 days in late March down in Pachuca, Mexico, training at the facilities of Liga MX side C.F. Pachuca. Forge will apparently play three friendly matches while in Mexico. Early signs from Forge's training ground are that the group's fitness is good entering pre-season. Smyrniotis repeated that they're "a few more steps ahead" of where they were this time last year. As the last team standing in 2019, of course, they'll have a target on their backs this season. They're not too worried about that, though. "That comes with the responsibility of being champions," Smyrniotis said. Forge FC opens the 2020 CPL season at home vs. Cavalry FC on April 11 in a rematch of Finals 2019.
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