Diego Mejía never hid how much he believes in his Atlético Ottawa team.
So, in what is likely his final CPL press conference, following a 2-1 home victory over the top team coming into the weekend, Forge FC, it's no surprise that he had a lot of praise for his players.
"I am pretty happy to win," said Mejía. "We showed that we are the best team in the league last season. So now the leader of this league in points, they just arrive here defending in a low block, just to watch one team on the pitch."
On Saturday, it was announced that Mejía will be departing Ottawa at the end of the month to pursue another professional opportunity abroad. Receiving a yellow card during Sunday's match, he is expected to miss what would have been his final game in charge next weekend at Starlight Stadium against Pacific FC through suspension.
After a season and a quarter in charge, one where Atleti shattered league records, and won a famous CPL championship in Ottawa, complete with David Rodríguez's icicle kick against Cavarly, Atleti players felt like they owed their coach one last victory.
Mejía never lost at the club's home stadium of TD Place in his entire tenure in the nation's capital, going an incredible 21 matches unbeaten in Ottawa.
Add in this season's 3-1 victory over Toronto FC in the TELUS Canadian Championship at BMO Field, and Mejía's legacy in the nation's capital is clear.
"As a winner," said defender Noah Abatneh. "He won the league, he's constantly beaten teams that have historically been good in the league, he's beaten MLS teams, so just as a winner. And someone that's changed, honestly, soccer in the Canadian Premier League. Nobody's ever really seen soccer played the way he plays it, so I think that's the legacy he leaves."
Mejía won while trusting young Canadian talent, with Atleti leading the league by a significant margin in U-21 Canadian minutes last season, and near the top of the leaderboard in that category again this season.
It is fitting, then, that in his final match in charge, it was 21-year-old Noah Abatneh and 19-year-old Joaquim Coulanges who scored the goals.
"He always pushed us young players to be the best that we can be," said Abatneh. "Ever since he came here, he's really believed in us, and the talent that we have, and just tried to improve us every single training, every single game. He put so much faith in us, so Joaquim and I paying him back with goals, I'm happy we could do that."
If there was any concern among Atlético Ottawa supporters that the team might slip up once Mejía departs, he won't hear it. He believes that there is a "masterplan" in place, and he has just been part of it.
"I've said before here that this team is going to be better than last season's team. It's going to be better," said Diego Mejía. "As I always say, the future of Canadian soccer is Atlético Ottawa."
He told the media that Ottawa is the best city that he has ever lived in, and that he and his family are incredibly thankful for the way that the city and country embraced them.
He departs the nation's capital incredibly proud of this chapter of his career.
"First of all, of my players, the Canadian players are coachable; they always try to improve, they always try to learn," said Mejía. "I am really proud of even the league, I think the league improved from last season to this season, so I grew a lot as a coach, I learned a lot of new tactics here, I learned a lot of good things from the other coaches.
"All my life, I will always say that I lived in Canada, that I managed in the CPL, and this league, this country, this city, is going to be in my heart all the time."
