MIAMI, Florida – There has been no shortage of brothers either competing with or against each other in Concacaf tournaments and the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League has the potential to offer the latest ‘battle of brothers’ between David Choiniere of Forge FC and Mathieu Choiniere of CF Montreal.
David and Forge take on 2013-14 SCCL champions Cruz Azul in their Round of 16 match-up, while Mathieu and Montreal are up against two-time SCCL finalists Santos Laguna. Should the two Canadian sides advance, it would set up a Forge-Montreal quarterfinal and potentially MF David versus DF Mathieu.
“Just talking about it gives me goose bumps. Playing Champions League against my brother would be unreal,” said Mathieu in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
“I hope I get to play against him, simple as that. I hope they’re going to do well and he’s going to do well so we can play against each other and have a good rivalry, just like when we were kids in our garden. It would be great for the family to see us two brothers going against each other. It would be amazing for our family,” added Mathieu.
It would mark the first time in their professional careers that David and Mathieu will have played against each other, and would evoke memories of the countless 1v1s in their parents’ garden or basement, which, as often happens with brothers, ended with tempers flaring.
“We played in the backyard a lot or in the basement. The wall in the basement would get destroyed. I’m older by two years, so I would be physical and he would get angry at me because I didn’t give him a chance. I didn’t want to lose against him!” said David in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
“We had many fights when we would play, but they were good times when I think about it. I kind of miss those times, to be honest. We both like to compete so much that when we played just for fun, it would become serious and most of the time end up in a fight,” added David.
Yet it was there in their parents’ basement or garden where a competitive fire took root, and it is mindset that they have both taken into their respective careers.
“Everything that we were doing was competition. He has a competitive mindset and so do I,” said Mathieu. “We would play FIFA and he would beat me, or if I was beating him, it would get serious. After a defeat, I was punching him sometimes! Playing in every aspect of my life against him, he helped me a lot with that and brought both of us to another level.”
“It built us for our careers,” said David. “When you play against your brother, you always have that chip and you want to prove that you’re the best, even if you’re older and I think that stayed with us. We’re big competitors and want to win every time.”
The relationship between the two brothers has evolved and grown over time. David, 24, is usually the first person who Mathieu, 22, calls whenever he needs counsel about something and vice-versa. It is easy to see that there is a lot of mutual respect.
“What I admire most about Mathieu as a footballer is his IQ. He knows how to adapt to any situation. You can play him in any position, he finds a way to adapt and he makes everyone him better,” said David.
“I think what makes David so good is how he attacks, how he goes at players. As someone who plays as a left back, someone who is coming at you all the time is really hard as a defender. He wants to pass you and go forward. His dribbling capacity is very good, he’s quick, so it’s tough for a defender to stop him. He knows his qualities,” said Mathieu.
For all the desire to play against each other in a SCCL quarterfinal, there is still very much the matter is overcoming big hurdles in the Round of 16. Both brothers are acutely aware that a near-perfect 180 minutes of football will be required in their respective duels versus a pair of Liga MX giants.
“Cruz Azul is a good team, probably the best team we have ever played,” said David. “To play against those kinds of teams is exciting. You want to play against the best and test yourself against the best and it’ll be a really good challenge for the guys. They have a lot of experienced players, but we have nothing to lose. We’re hungry and we’re going to try to shock everybody.”
“We know it’s going to be a good challenge for us,” said Mathieu. “We have some history with Santos [2008-09 SCCL QF] that can bring us motivation. They are a good team, but we are more focused on ourselves at the moment, trying to build chemistry, to have a good connection so we can go in there and be fit and tactically sound,” said Mathieu.
As for now, David and Mathieu are on different teams, but the hope is someday they can combine forces and wear the same shirt, whether it be for a club side or the Canadian National Team. Not only would that be a great triumph for the two brothers, but also a tribute to their parents.
“Everything that my brother and I are today is because of our parents. They made so many sacrifices. They did everything for us. We never missed something. They gave us everything so we could be the best versions of ourselves and I think that’s why we are here today,” concluded Mathieu.
