LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crpeau on his MLS comeback: Youre learning everything again from zero

With 10 minutes remaining in the MLS Western Conference semifinal on Sunday, Seattle Sounders midfielder João Paulo found himself with space on the edge of the box. The Brazilian whipped in a fierce shot with his left foot that looked set for the top right corner of Maxime Crépeau’s goal to put the home side on level terms.

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At full stretch, the LAFC goalkeeper dove towards his right side and tipped the shot over the bar with his trailing left hand. It was one of seven saves the Canada international made that night, including a one-on-one in the opening minutes to deny Jordan Morris, proving with avoidance of all doubt that the 29-year-old is back to his best after the most challenging year of his professional career.

“I was looking through some old photos and videos on the plane back from the game, and I was telling (Crépeau), ‘Remember when you couldn’t jump?’ after he’d pulled off so many big saves,” Jason Han, LAFC’s head of rehabilitation tells The Athletic. “We’ve been on so much of a journey together.”

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The conference semifinal game made last year feel like a distant memory, but it was only a year ago that Crépeau’s footballing dreams felt as though they were crushed. After the best season of his career, he was not only competing for the 2022 MLS Cup but was also part of Canada’s squad for the World Cup, the first time the men’s national team had qualified for the tournament since 1986.

To make it on the plane to Qatar and cap off his impressive year, all he had to do was make it through the final. But in extra time, with Philadelphia Union forward Cory Burke bearing down, Crépeau had a decision to make: retreat into position and allow the striker a clean run on goal, let him go through and score into an open net, or attempt to win the ball with a sliding tackle and risk a red card. He opted for the latter and ended up much worse than he’d bargained for.

Crépeau saved his team from conceding a goal but suffered a fractured leg in the process. Backup goalkeeper John McCarthy replaced him, delivering a penalty shootout-winning performance and MVP honors. Meanwhile, Crépeau was in an ambulance, keeping up with the game on his phone on the way to the hospital.

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“I was in the ambulance when Ilie (Sánchez) scored the game-winning penalty, so it was a mix of emotions,” Crépeau tells The Athletic. “There was the happiness and disbelief that we really pulled it off, winning Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in the same year, but on the back end, the sadness of realizing your World Cup had gone, just like that. Three days later, I was supposed to be on the plane to Bahrain, with the World Cup happening a week later.

“It’s the apex of the football world. It took 36 years for Canada to finally make it to that stage, and for me, 11 years in the national program and all the sacrifices I had to make. It’s a build-up over that time and all of those emotions, and then suddenly, it’s just gone. So, at the moment, it’s difficult to understand why the hell it could happen.”

Canada could not translate their CONCACAF table-topping performances in qualifying into tournament play and were knocked out in the group stages. Despite Crépeau not having a starting role for his national team, and the eventual struggles once getting there, the opportunity to travel as a squad member and be a part of the world’s biggest party weighed heavily. The emotion was felt by everyone in Crépeau’s close circle, not least Han and the performance and medical staff, who formulated and executed his nine-month recovery plan.

“I remember a couple of days before the start of the tournament, it was either Milan (Borjan), the goalkeeper, or the goalkeeping coach, that WhatsApp video-called him into a Canada training session where they sat around in a circle and did a ritual,” says Han. “I was treating him at the time and could see how emotional he was. That was the moment when it hit me even more so. From that point, it was a case of ‘How can I be here for this guy during that moment.’”

After the first game, a 1-0 defeat to Belgium, which Crépeau watched in the reception of Han’s clinic with a box of pastries and a coffee, he tuned into the rest of the tournament on his sofa at home with his daughter and pregnant wife. Though Canada exiting the World Cup on such disappointing terms after such a long wait was saddening for the 15-time international, it meant he could shift his attention solely to rehabilitating the broken shin and fibula in his right leg.

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As a natural competitor, Crépeau was eager to go above and beyond to expedite his healing process, but ensuring he followed the pathway laid out by the medical staff was as important as putting in the extra work. Rushing back from long-term injuries can reaggravate the problem, and it was Han’s responsibility to ensure Crépeau had faith in the process back to fitness through the positive moments and inevitable setbacks.

“It’s always about planning forward; we knew the big goal, but if you look too far ahead, you forget what’s in front of you,” says Han. “He was very disciplined, and for the most part, it was very positive, but it’s rarely that way throughout, especially with the big injuries. There was one time when I gave him a couple of days off, and he watched TV, sat on his couch, and chilled like anyone does on their off days. But then he came in really stiff and said, ‘Oh my god, I can barely walk.’ So we learned more about what his body could do and tailored his exercise program to that.”

As Crépeau was approaching the halfway point in his recovery journey, his wife gave birth to their second child. The MLS season was just getting underway and his previous understudy McCarthy was impressing in his absence. For McCarthy and Crépeau, however, the competition has built a special relationship that transcends positional rivalry.

“It was an instant connection between him and I,” says Crépeau. “From minute one, we felt comfortable with each other and shared the same values as human beings. I was so happy for him because I knew how much work he put in. He pushes me every single day to get better, and I was the same for him when I was coming back from the injury. If the goalkeeper group is healthy, it will only benefit the organization, and he’s an amazing character.”

As the road to recovery progressed and Crépeau could get back on the grass, it took a while to get a feel for the position again. Some aspects of his game developed more quickly than others. After a few sessions, he felt at home in the distributional aspect of his game, reflected in a 78.3% pass completion rate since his return to the first team, the fifth highest among MLS goalkeepers with seven or more starts this season. On the other hand, he noticed initial complications in dropping low to his right side. Working on refinding his natural body mechanics took time, diligence and direct communication between Crépeau and the medical staff.

“You’re learning everything again from zero,” says Crépeau. “I went through eight or nine months of not even seeing the ball, so I had to get my rhythm and find my cues again. For the first few sessions with the team, I had no idea where I was — it was going so fast because everyone was in rhythm. But after that, with a lot of training and repetition, I got there.”

Nine months after his injury, Crépeau took to the field again for LAFC’s second team, LAFC2, helping them to a 2-1 win over MLS Next Pro opponent Tacoma Defiance. It was one of five matches he played for the reserve side — keeping two clean sheets and conceding three goals — before returning to the senior fold to face rivals LA Galaxy on Sept. 17. Crépeau followed the 4-2 win in El Trafico with consecutive clean sheets, enough for head coach Steve Cherundolo to confidently continue with the Canadian as the clear No 1.

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With the Western Conference final on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo, and more than a year on from a potential career-altering injury, Crépeau proved last weekend that he’s returned to his best form. For Han, who has been there through the recovery process, there was no better time to reflect on how far they’ve come together.

“First and foremost, I was happy for him,” says Han. “He’s a good dude, and I think of him as one of my close friends. To see what he’s been through and the glory he’s getting now — he deserves it.”

(Photo: Bill Barrett/Getty Images)

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