Belgium international Laurent Ciman (left) joined the Impact de Montreal on January 22, 2015. (Photo: FIFA via Getty Images)
MONTREAL -- The Impact de Montreal announced Thursday that it has come to terms with central defender and Belgium international Laurent Ciman on a three-year contract.
The 29-year-old has spent his entire career in the Belgian first division, playing a total of 286 regular season games, including 269 starts from 2004 to 2015.
"I'm very excited to join the Montreal Impact and MLS. This will be a new adventure for me and my family,” said Laurent Ciman. “I can't wait to meet my new teammates, the city and the fans.”
In the Belgian League, Ciman has played for Royal Sporting Charleroi, Club Brugge, KV Kortrijk and Standard Liège. Over the past six seasons with Standard, he’s played a total of 151 regular season games, helping it lift the Belgian Cup in 2011, finish first in the regular season in 2013/2014 and runner-up in the “playoffs 1” in 2011 and 2014.
“We are very pleased to acquire a player of Laurent’s quality and we are very excited that he has decided to continue his career with our club,” said Impact head coach and director of player personnel Frank Klopas. “We were looking for a quality centre back with a lot of experience. He is a key addition to our defence and will be a leader within the group.”
In continental competitions, Ciman took part in four qualifying matches for the UEFA Champions League, 16 games in the Europa League, two Europa League qualifiers and five matchups in the UEFA Cup. He also played 25 matches in the Belgian Cup and 39 games within the Jupiter League’s playoff system.
At the international level, Ciman has won nine caps for Belgium since making his debut on May 19, 2010, against Bulgaria. He was also on the roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Ciman has also participated in the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship and suited up for his country at the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament.
Ciman will play his final game for Standard on Sunday against Anderlecht.
Montreal will kick off its preseason training camp on Friday and will train in Montreal for two weeks. It will then head to Mexico on February 8 in preparation for the first game of the home-and-away CONCACAF Champions League series against Mexico’s Pachuca on February 24.
