New York City Defender Maxime Chanot believes the Boys in Blue are ready to add another star to the badge in the 2022 MLS Playoffs.
The longest-standing member of the squad having joined the Club back in 2016, the Luxembourg captain played every minute of our 2021 MLS Cup success – an achievement he says he will treasure forever.
Having competed in all seven of our playoff campaigns, the 32-year-old asserts the team are fully-equipped to face the unique challenge of the post-season tournament, using every ounce of experience gained from previous editions.
As the reigning Champions prepare to kick-off our defense of the trophy on home soil at Citi Field against Inter Miami CF on Monday night, Chanot says the team are excited, and eager to make the City fans proud.
“I think it’s time to buy a ticket!” he smiled. “The playoffs are so exciting – we’ve been waiting the whole year long and now we start the playoffs next week! It’s something very important for the Club and we want to try to write the history for this Club again and again.
“The other day, I was in front of my TV and I watched last season on YouTube – the behind-the-scenes video against Portland, the MLS Cup Final. It gave me so many emotions to watch it again – the images of that game. We had the chance to win the trophy, and I was thinking: 'We have to do it again this year!'
“We definitely won the MLS Cup Final last year because of all of the the support we received from the fans. We love them and we’re going to try our best to make them proud again. Stepping onto the pitch in front of our fans is something very emotional for me, every time I have had the chance to do it.
“I can guarantee that without their support at home, in Philadelphia, in New England, in Portland – there was such a crazy amount of people who traveled – we would not have won. They have to understand how important they are on the pitch for us – feeling their support gives us an extra motivation, the extra chance to win games, and win Cups.
“I was very happy last season obviously to help the team to reach a trophy, and I do believe experience in this kind of game is very important. I'm looking forward to doing the same this year too.
“Personally, I feel great. Playoff time is very interesting, very exciting and especially when you've been in this Club, this league for such a long time – I understand what the playoffs mean for the fans, for the clubs.
“I want to be part of the history of this Club. I'm so proud of what I have achieved. We won the MLS Cup last year, the Campeones Cup this year and obviously if I could help this team to reach back-to-back MLS Cups, it will be something amazing.
“It’s something very special when you start winning trophies. It's an experience I will remember all of my life and obviously as a player and as a Football Club, you want to win again and again.
“Year after year, we have learned how to play the playoffs and the fact we’ve been playing with the same core of players for four or five years, we’ve learned a lot about the experience all together.
“Every year, we have had more experience and this year, I do believe we’re ready for that. The reason we won last season is because of the previous four, five years – we were ready to play this kind of game. You learn that you can be as good as you want during the regular season but when you end in a playoff game, everything is forgotten.
“I remember in 2019, we had a fantastic year when we finished on top of the Eastern Conference but lost against Toronto in the semi-final of the playoffs... That was a very good lesson: it’s not necessarily about the quality of the game – it’s more important to win the game. You have to be smart.
“I can’t tell you what the secret is because that would be too easy but I can tell you that we are ready again.”
Passionate, dedicated and driven, Chanot is highly-regarded as an inspirational leader in the dressing room – his desire to win a key component in our recent success.
It is a trait he is proud to hold and one that can prove crucial in the battle for silverware, with a strong mentality needed to handle the pressure of the playoffs – evident in last year’s success as City negotiated three away games, a comeback win, extra-time and the drama of penalty shoot-outs.
“I think my fighting spirit is my best quality,” he reflected. “When you put me on the pitch, you know what to expect – I hate losing, and I try to bring a fighting spirit to this team.
“To be a successful team, you need a little bit of everything – technical players, physical players and a fighting spirit is also part of that success.
“The mental side of this kind of game is so important. We showed that last year when we won the Cup and we are ready to face this kind of adversity again.
“I believe there is a special feeling in this squad. Most of the players have been playing together for a long time and we’re like a family – we like each other very much, we all win together, we lose together.
“Winning with all these guys – we’ve been working so hard for such a long time – is a special feeling. Believe it or not, in that streak of games where we didn’t win, we understood that we were not good enough on the pitch but nobody was stressed, nobody was worried. It’s because we trusted each other, we have a nice togetherness.
“We really love each other as brothers. Nobody put the blame on anybody. We still had so much confidence and we knew at some point that things would change. We had faced exactly the same situation last year so we knew how to deal with it.
“Winning the last four games has given us a lot of confidence, which will help us start this game in a good position, but we know it’s not going to be easy – we’re going to face a very good team, who have so many quality players.
“We didn’t change anything, we just started winning. Lifting the Campeones Cup against Atlas F.C and having the opportunity to be happy all together was maybe the key moment, and today we feel more comfortable and confident.
“We hope we can bring Nick [Cushing] his second major trophy as a Head Coach because he deserves it for all the hard work he has put in over the two years. Every player was very happy and very pleased to work with Nick. He’s a great manager, a great guy and he’s proven for the last five games he has been right.
“It's very interesting and exciting for us to be part of the playoffs for 2022. I hope this year is going to be another successful season by winning a trophy at the end.”
NYCFC host sixth seed Inter Miami on Monday, October 17 at Citi Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm ET, with coverage on FS1 and Fox Deportes.
You can purchase tickets for the game here.
