Montreal Impact
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| Montreal Impact | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Impact de Montréal FC Montreal Impact FC |
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| Nickname(s) | Impact | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Stade Saputo (Capacity 13,500) |
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| Chairman |  Joey Saputo |
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| Manager | Nick DeSantis |
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| League | USL First Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | in progress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Montreal Impact (French: Impact de Montréal) is a Canadian professional soccer team, founded in 1993. The team is a member of the USL First Division, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
They currently play at the Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec. The team is currently coached by Nick DeSantis. The team's colors are blue and white.
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[edit] 2008 Roster
as of May 25, 2008
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[edit] Club Information
Impact was founded in 1993 by the Saputo family, following the demise of Montreal Supra and its league (the Canadian Soccer League). Impact became a dominant club in the American Professional Soccer League (1993–1996) and the A-League (1997–2003), renamed the USL First Division (2004). The team did not compete during the 1999 A-League season. Their main rivals are the Rochester Rhinos and the Toronto Lynx prior to the latter's move to the USL Premier Development League.
The Impact play their home games at Saputo Stadium, a purpose built facility opened in May 2008. As the name suggests, the stadium was funded privately (mainly by the Saputo Family). Seating 13,500 supporters in three main stands, Saputo Stadium (FR: Stade Saputo) is located just east of the Montréal Olympic stadium in the city's east end. Prior to moving to the new stadium, the Impact played their home games at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard.
The Impact also operated an indoor team (of the same name) in the NPSL (at the Bell Centre, then at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard) with many of the same players from 1997–1998 to 1999–2000.
[edit] The Impact and Major League Soccer
Towards the end of 2007, much speculation had been made about a possible franchise move from USL First Division to Major League Soccer. The construction of Stade Saputo, a Soccer-Specific facility further suggests an interest on the part of the Impact's ownership to bring the club up to the top level North American league. If allowed entry into Major League Soccer, the Montreal Impact would be the second Canadian franchise of the league after Toronto FC. Although Toronto FC currently holds a three-year Canadian exclusivity deal, they have stated that they would gladly welcome the Impact into MLS. [1] Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett (owner of Montreal Canadiens and co-owner of Liverpool F.C.) regarding possible joint ownership of a MLS franchise.[2] Such a bid would involve paying the MLS expansion fee (USD $40M as of 2008), and would probably also require increasing the new stadium capacity to the 18-20,000 seat range (estimated to cost C$10-15M).
[edit] Competition History
Following a lackluster first year, the Impact surprised the defending champion Colorado Foxes (1-0) on October 15, 1994 to claim their first league title. Subsequently, the team finished first or tied for first during the regular season in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2003 without making it back to the final. The Impact lost to archrivals Rochester in their first four playoff encounters, in 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2003, before finally defeating them in 2004 on route to their second title. The club was favoured to repeat in 2005, but after a near-flawless season (3 losses in 28 games) the Impact were ousted in the semi-finals by the eventual champions, the Seattle Sounders (2-2, 1-2). The team also won the inaugural Voyageurs Cup in 2002 and successfully defended this title in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
In 2004, the Impact finished first in the A-League's Eastern Conference before disposing of Rochester (1-0, 1-0), Syracuse (2-0, 1-1) and Seattle (2-0) in the playoffs to capture their second championship, 10 years after their first. The final, held in Montréal, saw an all-time record 13,648 fans cram into Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard Stadium (whose seating capacity for the day was adjusted 10,100). The MVP was Mauricio Vincello who scored the winner at the 33rd minute of play. Fredrick Commodore sealed the game with a goal at the 78th minute.
At the gate, the Impact had always been solid within the league before 1999 with average crowds of 4,000-5,000. After disappointing seasons in 2000 and 2001 (where the average gate was between 2,000 and 3,000 people), the team had new record attendances in 2002 (over 5,000 on average), 2003 (over 7,000 on average), 2004 (over 9,000 on average) and 2005-2006 (over 11,000 on average). The all-time single game high is the 13,648 fans in attendance for the 2004 final.
In 1999, the owners had a conflict with the league and withdrew the team from competition, but did play indoor soccer that year in the National Professional Soccer League. After resurfacing in 2000, the club went bankrupt during the 2001 season when the then-owners were Ionian. Administered until the end of the season by one of the original pillars, Joey Saputo, the club rose from its ashes in 2002, set up as a non-profit organization owned by the Quebec government, Hydro-Québec and Saputo. It also attracted many big-time sponsors such as the National Bank of Canada, Bell Canada and Coca-Cola, among others. The team's mandate is to develop local talent and to serve as a representative of Montreal for tourism. Since the Impact's renaissance in 2002, Quebec-born players have played a much more central role in the Canadian national team, after many years of non-selection. For the 2005 Gold Cup, players Gabriel Gervais, Sandro Grande Patrick Leduc, Adam Braz and Ali Gerba, as well as former player Patrice Bernier and Quebec-born Olivier Occean were all called to the national team and did well by most accounts. The visibility helped Grande and Ali, who both transferred to Scandinavia shortly after the tournament. On July 15, 2006 the team won the 200th victory in its history.
In 2007, the Montreal Impact introduced a reserve franchise/farm club in the Trois Rivieres Attak, which participates in the Canadian Soccer League.
For the first time in its history, the Montreal Impact contracted players to 10 months out of the year in 2008. This extended training camp was a first for the Montreal Impact and many in the media have stated that it is a move to next level in professional soccer. They began the year at the soccer training centre, "Catalognia Soccerplex" before traveling to Italy for more training and three exhibition games against Italian clubs. They drew their first match 0-0 against third division Arezzo, lost their second match 1-0 against second division Frosinone and finally won their third encounter 1-0 against fourth division Cassino.
[edit] Historical Stats
Seasons : 13 (1993-1998, 2000-2006)
First Official Match: 14 May 1993 (against the Los Angeles Salsa)
First Match: 22 April 1993 (Against Ponte Boggianese)
First Home Game: 21 May 1993 (against the Tampa Bay Rowdies)
Best Finish: Champion (1994, 2004)
Titles : 2 (1994, 2004)
Voyagers Cup: 6 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Attendance record: 13,648 spectators (18 September 2004, against the Seattle Sounders)
Most Goals Scored: 58 (in 28 matches in 1997)
Least Goals Allowed: 15 (in 28 matches in 2004, 2005 and 2006)
Largest Victory (h) : 6-0 (against Worcester in 1997)
Largest Victory (a) : 0-6 (against Toronto in 1998, played in Ottawa)
Worst Defeat (h) : 1-4 (against Cincinnati in 2002), 0-3 (against Seattle in 2000)
Worst Defeat (a) : 6-0 (against Rochester in 1998)
[edit] All-Time Leaders
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[edit] Coaches
- Eddie Firmani: 1993
- Valerio Gazzola: 1994–1997
- Paul Kitson: 1998
- Zoran Jankovic: 2000
- Valerio Gazzola: 2000–2001
- Nick DeSantis: 2001
- Bob Lilley: 2002–2003
- Nick DeSantis: 2004–Present
[edit] Titles
- League Champion: 1994 (APSL), 2004 (A-League).
- Regular Season Champion: 1995, 1996, 1997 (A-League), 2005, 2006 (USLD1).
- Voyageurs Cup: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
- Can Am Cup: 1998, 2003, 2004.
- Montreal Cup: 2001
[edit] Outdoor year-by-year
| Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Voyageurs Cup |
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| 1993 | APSL | 7th | Did not qualify | N/A |
| 1994 | APSL | 3rd | Champion | N/A |
| 1995 | A-League | 1st | Semifinals | N/A |
| 1996 | A-League | 1st | Semifinals | N/A |
| 1997 | USISL A-League | 1st, Northeast | Division Finals | N/A |
| 1998 | USISL A-League | 2nd, Northeast | Conference Semifinals | N/A |
| 1999 | Did not participate | |||
| 2000 | USL A-League | 4th, Northeast | Did not qualify | N/A |
| 2001 | USL A-League | 4th, Northern | Did not qualify | N/A |
| 2002 | USL A-League | 2nd, Northeast | Conference Semifinals | Champion |
| 2003 | USL A-League | 1st, Northeast | Division Finals | Champion |
| 2004 | USL A-League | 1st, Eastern | Champion | Champion |
| 2005 | USL First Division | 1st | Semifinals | Champion |
| 2006 | USL First Division | 1st | Semifinals | Champion |
| 2007 | USL First Division | 3rd | Quarterfinals | Champion |
[edit] Indoor year-by-year
| Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Voyageurs Cup |
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| 1997/98 | NPSL | 3rd, North | Division Finals | N/A |
| 1998/99 | NPSL | 3rd, Central | Conference Semifinals | N/A |
| 1999/00 | NPSL | 2nd, Central | Conference Semifinals | N/A |
[edit] Supporters
The Montreal Impact have one of the most vocal groups of supporters in the USL First Division, the UM02, which stands for Ultras Montréal. The group was created in 2002, after the re-opening of the Montréal Impact, when a group of fans decided to bring organized and vocal support to Impact games. Their slogan is "Toujours Fidèles" which is French for Always Faithful. The UM02 is the subject of much animosity by the rival Rochester Stampede. The UM02 are located in the bottom half of section 114, the designated supporters section.
[edit] Average attendance
- 1994: 3,216
- 1995: 5,075
- 1996: 4,868^
- 1997: 5,066
- 1998: 4,008
- 2000: 2,338
- 2001: 2,103
- 2002: 5,178
- 2003: 7,236
- 2004: 9,279
- 2005: 11,176^
- 2006: 11,554^
- 2007: 11,035^
^led league
[edit] Notable Former Players
- See also Cat:Montreal Impact players.
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
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| Canadian Soccer Competitions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Championship
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