Feb 10 Idriss Ech-Chergui and Kevin Hatchi to Join the Montreal Impact

The Montreal Impact announced today the signing of two French players for the 2011 season, midfielder Idriss Ech-Chergui and defender Kevin Hatchi.

In Ech-Chergui, the Impact hope to replace the gap left by the departure of offensive midfielder, Tony Donatelli who joined the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS and with Hatachi, look to shore up their central D.

With these two signings, the total number of import players on the active roster has reached the league maximum of 7. However speculation has it  that Leonardi Di Lorenzo may be attaining his Canadian citizenship soon which could change that total.

As per the Impact website:

Ech-Chergui, a 25-year-old offensive midfielder, was trained by AS Saint-Étienne. He played 22 games in France’s Ligue 2 with Nîmes Olympique, during the 2008-2009 campaign. He also scored 20 goals at the national level (3rd division) with Aviron Bayonnais (2005-2006) and FC Sète (2006-2007). Last season, he wore the colours of JS Kabylie, a first division club in Algeria.

Hatchi, a 29-year-old central defender, played over 100 games in Ligue 2 with US Créteil (2001-2002), Grenoble Foot 38 (2002 to 2005) and Tours FC (2008-2009). Hatchi was also a member of AJ Auxerre’s B-team in the CFA, from 1997 to 2001. He has also played first division soccer in Belgium, South Korea, Romania and Cyprus, last year, with Olympiakos Nicosia.

Tags: 2011 \ Idriss Ech-Chergui \ Kevin Hatchi \ MLS \ Montreal Impact \ NASL \ soccer

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