Laurent Courtois was hired as head coach of CF Montreal on Monday after two seasons as head coach of Columbus Crew 2 in the third team MLS Next Pro.
The 46-year-old Courtois replaced Hernan Losada, who was fired on Nov. 9 after Montreal failed to reach the playoffs. Courtois was MLS Next Pro coach of the year in 2022 after his team won that league’s title. The team lost to Austin in this year’s final.
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Courtois was a midfielder who played for Ajaccio (1998-99), Toulouse (1999-2001), West Ham (2001-03), Istres (2003-05), Levante (2005-08), Grenoble (2008-11), Chivas USA (2011-13), the LA Galaxy (2013) and LA Galaxy II (2014).
Courtois was a Galaxy II assistant in 2014, coached in Lyon’s academy from 2015-18 and then joined the Crew academy.
Losada was hired in December 2022 after Wilfried Nancy left to become coach of the Columbus Crew. Montreal finished 10th among 15 teams in the Eastern Conference with 12 wins, 17 losses and five draws. The top nine teams in each conference reached the playoffs.