One week ago, Nicht was watching the Impact in a bar in Indianapolis. Now he might start for them in their decisive final leg.

MONTREAL — Until very recently, Kristian Nicht was a name that nobody in Montreal outside the ambit of the Montreal Impact soccer club and its beat reporters had ever even heard of, but on Wednesday night, he could very well start in goal for the Impact in the biggest game they've ever had.

Inevitably, on Tuesday, in the last press conference held before the Impact’s CONCACAF Champions League final second leg with Mexican giant Club América, identity was one of the main themes of the questions posed by the reporters assembled inside the Olympic Stadium. If this was going to be the goalkeeper who would be tasked with the huge responsibility of guarding the Impact’s net in such a historic game, then everyone ought to at least know who this man was (for better or for worse).

In the few minutes he had to explain, Nicht, who stands at 6-foot-5, carried an air of tranquility, an easily identifiable German accent, and an inclination for humor.

On one occasion, Nicht replied to one of the more personal enquiries saying, “There’s a couple videos (of me) on YouTube, so you have 24 hours to check a couple of videos.”

Judging by the stories he had to tell, and the almost incredulous manner in which he told them, the last seven days have brought a large measure of surrealism to the 33-year-old goalkeeper from Jena, Germany.

Just one week ago, Nicht was the solitary customer in a bar in Indianopolis, pleading its irritated owner not to close up shop so that he could watch the remainder of the first leg between the Impact and América at the Azteca in Mexico City. Why he was in a bar to watch the game in the first place, he explains, was because he doesn’t have Fox Sports at home. Why he cared enough to insist on the bar remaining open so that he could watch the game until its conclusion, was because this was an Impact side he had been temporarily a part of four months ago during preseason. At that time, the Impact acquired Nicht on a short-term loan to be the backup goalkeeper for the Champions League quarterfinals in place of offseason signing Eric Kronberg who was, and is still, cup-tied (having already taken part in the Champions’ League group stage with Sporting Kansas City last fall makes Kronberg ineligible to play again in the tournament with another team).

As he watched the Impact earn a 1-1 draw from his seat in the neighborhood bar, Nicht had no idea the Impact would eventually need him for the second leg of the finals too.

The club had initially made other arrangements. For both the semifinals and the finals, Montreal acquired FC Edmonton goalkeeper John Smits on two separate short-term loans to be second fiddle to starting goalkeeper Evan Bush. But when late in the second half of the final's first leg Bush was issued his second yellow card of the knockout stage that would see him suspended for the second leg, the Impact had a serious problem on their hands. They needed yet another goalkeeper, and had less than a week to find one.

The Impact’s initial plan was to acquire a goalkeeper from an MLS club on a one-game loan. A source informed Goal Canada on Saturday that the Impact were in advanced discussions with Chicago Fire to sign goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Concerned with how the move would be perceived, however, MLS eventually pulled the plug on the deal.

“I’m not going to lie to you that we didn’t look at many different options,” Impact coach Frank Klopas said of the matter.

A few days after his night out at the bar, Nicht, who played for Indy Eleven in the NASL, was informed by coach Peter Wilt that the Impact had come calling once again—this time for a transfer.

Nicht was ecstatic.

“It was crazy. I was literally driving back from training when my head coach called me to say ‘Kristian, pack your stuff, the airplane is leaving soon,” Nicht said. “It was great. It was a super happy moment for me,”

As much as the second move to Montreal took him by surprise and the last 48 hours have been chaotic, Nicht says he’s taking the whole experience in stride.

“I was actually planning a trip to Nashville on the weekend, but I cancelled it very happily to come over here and be a part of the game tomorrow,” He said. “Everything that happened to me in the last four months was always kind of crazy and was always kind of short notice, so I’m kind of getting used to it, getting called to Montreal and told ‘Kristian, get ready in four hours’. I can pack my luggage pretty quick now, so business as usual.”

Even if he won’t be taking part on Wednesday, Bush, who at one point accidentally mentioned NIcht as the player who the team would be “getting behind”, said that he still hopes whoever takes his place will do the job well.

Since there will be over 61,000 fans in attendance at the Big O, Bush explained that it will be fundamental for whichever goalkeeper is chosen to be mentally ready for the challenge.

“The biggest part of it is not who’s the best goalkeeper, it’s who can handle the moment the best,” Bush said. “It’s 60,000 people, it’s a Champions League final. There’s more to it than just catching balls, kicking balls and those sorts of things that you do in training. You have to be able to handle the pressures of the moment, and it’s the biggest moment for whoever steps into that position.”

Having already had a long career of performing in large stadiums, Nicht says he’s not fazed by the prospect of starting the game, even if this will be his first time playing in a final of this magnitude.

“I’m a professional since 16 years, I’ve played in Germany in the first Bundesliga so I’m used to that kind of crowd. It’s nothing new for me,” Nicht said. "Obviously I’ve never been in a Champions League final but that happens to all of us. I’m not alone in that non-experience. The fact is that it’s for all of us a once in a lifetime chance. So it will be a great thing to be a part of."

He added: “I’m very confident that I can do the job”.

Not wanting to put too much emphasis on the importance of the goalkeeping role, Klopas insisted that the success or failure of Wednesday’s game will come down to the team’s performance, rather than any individual player.

But one Mexican journalist couldn’t help reminding Nicht that in soccer even one single error from the goalkeeper could make all the difference in a game.

As if that was stating the obvious, the German's reply was simply “I know”.

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