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Montreal Impact

Full name	Montreal Impact
Founded	May 7, 2010; 8 years ago (2010-05-07)[nb 1]
Stadium	Saputo Stadium Montreal, Quebec
Capacity	20,801[1]
Owner	Joey Saputo
Head coach	Rémi Garde
League	Major League Soccer
2018	Eastern Conference: 7th Overall: 15th Playoffs: Did not qualify
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

The Montreal Impact (French: Impact de Montréal) is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Impact competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The team began play in 2012 as an expansion team of the league, being the league's third Canadian club, and replaced the North American Soccer League team of the same name.

In 2015, the Impact became the second MLS club, and first Canadian club, to advance to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, in its current format since 2008, where they had finished runners up in the two game aggregate goal series against Club América. The Impact had won the Canadian Championship in 2013 and 2014. The club plays its home games at Saputo Stadium and is coached by Rémi Garde.

History

Toward the end of 2007, much speculation had been made about a possible franchise move for the lower division Impact to Major League Soccer (MLS). The construction of the expandable Saputo Stadium further suggested an interest on the part of the group to move up to the top level North American league. Although Toronto FC held a three-year Canadian exclusivity deal that did not expire until 2009, they stated in March 2008 that they would gladly welcome the Impact into MLS.^[2]

Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett (former co-owner of Liverpool F.C. and former owner of the Montreal Canadiens) regarding possible joint ownership of a franchise.^[3] On July 24, 2008, MLS announced they were seeking to add two expansion teams for the 2011 season, of which Montreal was listed as a potential candidate.^[4]

On November 22, 2008, the group's bid for an MLS franchise was not retained by commissioner Don Garber. In response to Vancouver's successful bid in March 2009, Impact GM Nick De Santis commented that he expected chairman Saputo to pursue and realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday.^[5] By May 16, 2009, the Montreal Gazette reported Garber and Saputo had resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011.^[6]

On May 7, 2010, Garber and Saputo announced Montreal as the nineteenth club in Major League Soccer, set to begin play for the 2012 season.^[7] The MLS franchise is privately owned by the Saputo family.^[8]

On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal to become their lead sponsor and jersey sponsor in MLS.^[9]

On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their first MLS game, a 2–0 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.^[10] A week later, the team made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium, playing to in a 1–1 draw with Chicago Fire; the match attracted 58,912 spectators, surpassing the previous record for professional soccer in Montreal established in a 1981 Montreal Manic home game against the Chicago Sting (58,542).^[11] On May 12, 2012, the Impact played in front of a crowd of 60,860 spectators during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy, establishing a record attendance for a professional soccer match in Canada.^[12] In the 2012 regular season, Montreal had finished in seventh in the Eastern conference with a record of 12 wins, 16 losses, and 6 ties.

On February 23, 2013, Montreal won the 2013 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, beating Columbus Crew 1–0 in the final during their pre season campaign. Montreal Impact also have won the 2013 Canadian Championship on May 29, being their first major trophy as an expansion team in MLS, second in the club's existence.^[13] This victory also gave the Impact its 8th Voyageurs Cup.^{[citation needed]} In the 2013 MLS season, they had finished the regular season with a record of 14 wins, 13 losses, and 7 ties. Montreal Impact earned their first ever berth in the playoffs by clinching fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. During the playoffs, Montreal were eliminated by the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round. By being champions of the 2013 Canadian Championship, Montreal earned their first ever berth as an MLS expansion team for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League.

In 2014, The Impact became repeated champions of the Voyageurs Cup by beating Toronto FC in the 2014 Canadian Championship final on June 4, 2014.^{[citation needed]}. In the 2014 MLS season, Montreal Impact finished their season with a 6–18–10 (W-L-D) record being the worst team in MLS that season, being last in both Eastern conference and overall in the league. With the chances of appearing in the playoffs gone and still competing in the 2014–15 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, Montreal Impact had placed their focus in the regional tournament, consequently winning their group, advancing in the knockout stage.

2015 CONCACAF Champions League

The Impact played the 2015 CONCACAF Champions League final before of a record 61,004

On March 3, 2015, Montreal became the first Canadian team, and only the second MLS team (after the 2013 Seattle Sounders FC) to eliminate a Liga MX side from the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage when they eliminated Pachuca on away goals. They drew the first leg 2–2 in Pachuca and drew 1–1 at home on the return leg, sending the Impact through on away goals. On April 29, 2015, Montreal became the first Canadian team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League Final where they lost to Club América, after a 1–1 draw at Estadio Azteca and a 4–2 loss in front of 61,004 fans at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.^{[citation needed]}

In their 2015 MLS regular season campaign, Montreal finished third in the Eastern conference with 15 wins, 13 losses, and 6 ties returning to the playoffs. During the summer transfer window, the franchise acquired Didier Drogba who went on an scored 11 goals in his first 11 appearances for the club that season. In the conference knockout rounds of the playoffs, Montreal defeated Toronto FC 3–0 advancing to face Columbus Crew in their two-game conference semifinal series.

Team name and logo

In regards to keeping the name "Impact", Montreal stated its intention "to maintain its name and global team image." The official logo for the team was revealed at the start of a match between the NASL Montreal Impact team and the NSC Minnesota Stars on August 6, 2011.^[14][15][16]

The logo is a shield in blue, black, white and silver containing a stylized fleur-de-lis and four silver stars, overlaid with the Impact wordmark. The fleur-de-lis, which also appeared on the logo of the NASL Impact team, is a globally recognized symbol of French heritage, and features prominently on the flag of Quebec as a reflection of Québécois culture. The four stars represent the four founding communities of Montreal identified on the city's coat of arms. At the top of the shield, the team's motto, "Tous Pour Gagner" (French for "all for victory") is inscribed.

Uniform evolution

Home, away, and alternative uniforms.

• Home

2012–2013

2014–2015

2016–2018

2019-

• Away

2012–2014

2015–2016

2017–

• Alternative

2013–2014

Club culture

Supporters group

Impact's main supporters group is called Ultras Montréal, also known as UM02, and was founded in 2002. They follow the Impact on away games against New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, New England Revolution, D.C. United and Toronto FC. 127 Montréal was formed in 2011 who follow the Impact on occasional away games. The Montreal Impact Supporters Association was created in 2011 to better facilitate the relations between the Club and the Supporters Groups, to promote the supporters culture, and to help with the financing of different supporter group initiatives.

Banner for Ultras Montreal's 10th anniversary at Saputo Stadium before game between Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew on July 8, 2012

Named after the founding year of Montreal, 1642 MTL is a supporters group formed in 2015 and located in section 114 at Saputo Stadium during home games.^[17]

Mascot

The official mascot of the Montreal Impact is Tac-Tik the dog.^[18]

The North Star

The North Star at the Olympic Stadium for the Montreal Impact's 2016 home opener

The North Star is a 5-foot (1.5 m) high, 44-inch (110 cm) wide, 1,576-pound (715 kg) bell acquired by the 1642MTL supporters group as a goal and victory celebration. It was inaugurated on October 25, 2015 by Montreal mayor Denis Coderre where it was rung twice in a Montreal Impact victory against Toronto FC.^[19] Since then, numerous famous Montrealers have been invited to ring the bell such as local radio personalities Tony Marinaro and Jean-Charles Lajoie as well as Canadian soccer player Josée Bélanger and mixed martial artist Georges St-Pierre.^[20]

Rivalries

Montreal Impact's biggest rival is Toronto FC because Canada's two largest cities have rivalries in and out of sport. Montreal and Toronto professional soccer teams have competed against each other for over 40 years. From the original NASL, as well as the Canadian Soccer League and the A-League, the rivalry has continued throughout various leagues they have played up until the past few years where the cities would still regularly meet for the Canadian Championships. Since both teams have joined the MLS, the rivalry has intensified and the matches have become a Canadian soccer classic which has been also named the 401 Derby.^[21]

The following table lists the history of official soccer meetings in MLS and the Canadian Championship between Montreal and Toronto, updated to the most recent derby of October 21, 2018 (Montreal Impact 2-0 Toronto FC).

Affiliations

Ottawa Fury FC

Ottawa Fury FC is the affiliated club of the Montreal Impact, competing in the United Soccer League. The Impact entered into an affiliation agreement on December 9, 2016.^[22] Ottawa Fury FC is owned independently of the Impact by Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, owners of the Ottawa RedBlacks of the Canadian Football League and the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League.

The Impact used to own and operate their own reserve side, FC Montreal, in the USL. FC Montreal operated for the 2015 and 2016 seasons before being disbanded.

Montreal Impact Academy

Montreal Impact Academy is the youth academy and development system of the Montreal Impact, that was established in 2010. The academy consists of various teams, from U8 to U23. The U23 team competes in the USL Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the Canadian soccer pyramid and the U18 and U16 teams both compete in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.^[23]

Stadium

Match of Montreal Impact at Saputo Stadium against New York Red Bulls on July 28, 2012

Montreal plays its home games at Saputo Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium – with a natural grass playing surface – built in 2008 for the second division Impact but designed with expansion in mind with the club anticipating a move to MLS. The Quebec government announced $23 million in funding to expand the stadium to more than 20,000 seats as well as building a training field – with synthetic turf – next door.^[8]

The Impact had hoped Saputo Stadium's expansion would be finished in time for the start of their inaugural 2012 MLS season, but it was announced on July 17, 2011 that the expansion would be delayed. As a consequence, the neighbouring Olympic Stadium was used for the Impact's first six home dates (5 MLS Regular Season, 1 Canadian Championship)^[24] The Impact's first MLS game at Saputo Stadium was finally played on June 16, 2012, a 4–1 win over Seattle.^[25]

Though Saputo Stadium serves as the Impact's primary home, Olympic Stadium is also used for special events which demand a larger capacity or more favourable playing conditions (e.g. the team's home opener, the MLS All-Star Game, playoff games, or fall/winter international games).^[26]

Home stadium

• 
  Saputo Stadium; Montreal, Quebec (2012–present) – capacity 20,801

Other stadiums

• 
  Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec (2012–present) – capacity 61,004

Broadcasting

As of the 2017 season, TVA Sports is the exclusive French-language broadcaster of all Montreal Impact matches, as the team's regional rightsholder, and newly instated national French rightsholder.^[27][28] TVA Sports aired 24 games during the team's inaugural season, with play by play duties currently held by Fréderic Lord and colour commentary provided by Vincent Destouches.^[28] English-language coverage of most Impact games (particularly those against Canadian opponents) is broadcast by TSN as part of its national MLS rights deal, and separate rights to Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.^[28] The Impact do not have a separate English-language rights deal for the games not covered by TSN's other rights packages. Some Impact games were previously televised in French by Réseau des sports before it lost the French national rights to TVA Sports.

CHMP-FM has served as the Impact's French-language radio flagship since 2015,^[29] with Jeremy Filosa on play-by-play and analyst Arcadio Marcuzzi.^{[citation needed]}CKGM serves as the English-language radio flagship of the Impact.^[30]Rick Moffat handles play by play duties while colour commentary is provided by former Montreal Impact player Grant Needham.

Players and staff

For details on former players, see All-time Montreal Impact roster.

Current roster

As of Feb 21, 2019^[31]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Evan Bush	United States
2	Defender	Víctor Cabrera	Argentina
3	Defender	Daniel Lovitz	United States
4	Defender	Rudy Camacho	France
5	Defender	Zakaria Diallo	France
6	Midfielder	Samuel Piette	Canada
7	Forward	Harry Novillo	Martinique
8	Midfielder	Saphir Taïder (DP)	Algeria
10	Midfielder	Ignacio Piatti (DP)	Argentina
11	Forward	Anthony Jackson-Hamel (HG)	Canada
13	Midfielder	Ken Krolicki	Japan
15	Defender	Zachary Brault-Guillard (on loan from Lyon)	Canada
18	Forward	Orji Okwonkwo (on loan from Bologna)	Nigeria
22	Defender	Jukka Raitala	Finland
23	Goalkeeper	Clément Diop	Senegal
27	Defender	Clément Bayiha (HG)	Canada
28	Midfielder	Shamit Shome (GA)	Canada
29	Midfielder	Mathieu Choinière (HG)	Canada
32	Midfielder	Micheal Azira	Uganda
33	Defender	Bacary Sagna	France
37	Forward	Maximiliano Urruti	Argentina
40	Goalkeeper	Jason Beaulieu (HG)	Canada
41	Goalkeeper	James Pantemis (HG)	Canada

On loan

No.	Position	Player	Nation
16	Midfielder	Jeisson Vargas (on loan to Universidad Católica)	Chile
25	Defender	Daniel Kinumbe (on loan to Ottawa Fury)	Canada
26	Defender	Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (on loan to Ottawa Fury)	Canada

Retired numbers

12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man)

20 – Mauro Biello, forward (1993–98, 2000–09)

Management

As of January 28, 2019^[32]

• Owner — Joey Saputo
  


• President, chief executive officer — Kevin Gilmore


• Vice-president, director of technical development and international business expansion — Nick De Santis
  


• Administrative director of soccer operations — Patrick Leduc
  


• Director of academy — Philippe Eullaffroy
  

Coaching staff

• Head coach — Rémi Garde
  


• Assistant coach — Wilfried Nancy


• Assistant coach — Joël Bats
  


• Goalkeeping coach — Rémy Vercoutre
  


• Fitness coach — Robert Duverne

Head coach records

As of November 17, 2018^{[citation needed]}

Coach	Nation	Tenure	Record1
			G	W	L	T	Win %
Jesse Marsch	United States	October 1, 2011 – November 3, 2012	7001360000000000000♠36	7001120000000000000♠12	7001170000000000000♠17	7000700000000000000♠7	07001333300000000000♠33.33
Marco Schällibaum	Switzerland	January 7, 2013 – December 18, 2013	7001430000000000000♠43	7001170000000000000♠17	7001170000000000000♠17	7000900000000000000♠9	07001395300000000000♠39.53
Frank Klopas	United States	December 18, 2013 – August 30, 2015	7001830000000000000♠83	7001250000000000000♠25	7001310000000000000♠31	7001270000000000000♠27	07001301200000000000♠30.12
Mauro Biello	Canada	August 30, 2015 – October 23, 2017	7001930000000000000♠93	7001360000000000000♠36	7001340000000000000♠34	7001230000000000000♠23	07001387100000000000♠38.71
Rémi Garde	France	November 8, 2017 – present	7001360000000000000♠36	7001150000000000000♠15	7001170000000000000♠17	7000400000000000000♠4	07001416700000000000♠41.67

• 1.^ Includes league, playoff, Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions League games.

Honours

Continental

CONCACAF Champions League

• 
  Runners Up: 2014–15
  

National

Canadian Championship

• 
  Winners (3): 2008, 2013, 2014
  


• 
  Runners Up: 2015, 2017
  

Prior to MLS, the previous team had competed in USL and the NASL which has been recognized by the franchise.

Friendly

CapCity Cup

• 
  Winners (1): 2018 CapCity Cup|2018^[33]

Team records

Year-by-year

Note: Only MLS regular season goals counted
DNQ = Did Not Qualify

All-time continental competition win/loss

As of April 29, 2015^{[citation needed]}

Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
L.D. Alajuelense	2	1	0	1	4	4	0
Club América	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2
C.D. FAS	2	2	0	0	4	2	2
Heredia	2	1	0	1	2	1	1
New York Red Bulls	2	1	1	0	2	1	1
C.F. Pachuca	2	0	2	0	3	3	0
San Jose Earthquakes	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2
Total	14	6	4	4	19	19	0

International results

As of April 29, 2015^{[citation needed]}

International results
Year	Competition	Club	Nation	Venue	Result	Attendance
2012	Pre-season Friendly	C.D. Guadalajara	Mexico	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	D 0–0
2012	Pre-season Friendly	Estudiantes Tecos	Mexico	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	W 1–0
2012	Pre-season Friendly	ITESO	Mexico	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	W 7–0
2012	Pre-season Friendly	Club Atlas	Mexico	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	D 1–1
2012	Pre-season Friendly	BK Häcken	Sweden	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States	W 1–0
2012	Friendly	Olympique Lyonnais	France	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	L 1–2 (P.K.)	19,225
2012	Post-season Friendly	Bologna F.C. 1909	Italy	Bologna, Italy	L 0–1	1,839
2012	Post-season Friendly	ACF Fiorentina Primavera	Italy	Florence, Italy	W 4–1
2012	Post-season Friendly	ACF Fiorentina	Italy	Florence, Italy	W 1–0
2013	Champions League	San Jose Earthquakes	United States	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	W 1–0	15,115
2013	Champions League	Heredia	Guatemala	Guatemala City, Guatemala	L 0–1
2013	Champions League	San Jose Earthquakes	United States	Santa Clara, California, United States	L 0–3	6,128
2013	Champions League	Heredia	Guatemala	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	W 2–0	13,703
2014	Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic	Fluminense FC U23	Brazil	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States	W 1–0
2014	Champions League	C.D. FAS	El Salvador	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	W 1–0	9,209
2014	Champions League	C.D. FAS	El Salvador	San Salvador, El Salvador	W 3–2
2014	Champions League	New York Red Bulls	United States	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	W 1–0
2014	Champions League	New York Red Bulls	United States	Harrison, New Jersey, United States	D 1–1
2015	Pre-season Friendly	Cruz Azul	Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	L 0–1
2015	Pre-season Friendly	Cruz Azul	Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	W 1–0
2015	Pre-season Friendly	Cuautla FC	Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	W 6–0
2015	Champions League	Pachuca	Mexico	Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico	D 2–2	12,000
2015	Champions League	Pachuca	Mexico	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	D 1–1	38,104
2015	Champions League	Alajuelense	Costa Rica	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	W 2–0	33,675
2015	Champions League	Alajuelense	Costa Rica	Alajuela, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica	L 2–4 ag. W 4–4	17,895
2015	Champions League	Club América	Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	D 1–1	56,783
2015	Champions League	Club América	Mexico	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	L 2–4 ag. L 3–5	61,004
2016	Friendly	AS Roma	Italy	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	L 0–2	20,801

Player records

Top appearances (MLS Regular Season games only)

As of May 14, 2018^{[citation needed]}

#	Pos.	Name	Nation	Career	Appearances	Ref
1	Midfielder	Patrice Bernier	Canada	2012–2017	151	[34]
2	Defender	Hassoun Camara	France	2012–2017	134	[35]
3	Goalkeeper	Evan Bush	United States	2012–	121	[36]
4	Midfielder	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	2014–	102	[37]
5	Forward	Andrés Romero	Argentina	2013–2017	95	[38]

Bolded players are currently on the Montreal Impact roster.

Top goalscorers (MLS regular season games only)

As of May 6, 2018

#	Pos.	Name	Nation	Career	Appearances	Goals	Ref
1	Midfielder	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	2014–	100	52	[37]
2	Forward	Marco Di Vaio	Italy	2012–2014	76	34	[39]
3	Forward	Didier Drogba	Côte d'Ivoire	2015–2016	33	21	[40]
4	Midfielder	Patrice Bernier	Canada	2012–2017	151	15	[34]
5	Forward	Dominic Oduro	Ghana	2015–2018	86	15	[41]

Bolded players are currently on the Montreal Impact roster.

Top Assists (MLS Regular Season games only)

As of May 6, 2018

#	Pos.	Name	Nation	Career	Appearances	Assists	Ref
1	Midfielder	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	2014–	100	27	[37]
2	Midfielder	Patrice Bernier	Canada	2012–2017	151	25	[34]
3	Midfielder	Felipe	Brazil	2012–2015	93	24	[42]
4	Midfielder	Justin Mapp	United States	2012–2015	82	21	[43]
5	Midfielder	Marco Donadel	Italy	2014–2018	66	10	[44]

Bolded players are currently on the Montreal Impact roster.

Giuseppe Saputo Trophy

The Giuseppe Saputo Trophy is awarded to the club's Most Valuable Player.

Year	Name	Nation	Ref.
2012	Patrice Bernier	Canada	[45]
2013	Marco Di Vaio	Italy	[46]
2014	Andrés Romero	Argentina	[47]
2015	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	[48]
2016	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	[49]
2017	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	[50]
2018	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	[51]

Golden Boot

Montreal Impact's Golden Boot is awarded to the club's leading goal-scorer.

Year	Name	Nation	Goals	Ref.
2012	Patrice Bernier	Canada	9	[52]
2013	Marco Di Vaio	Italy	20	[53]
2014	Marco Di Vaio	Italy	9	[54]
2015	Didier Drogba	Côte d'Ivoire	11	[55]
2016	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	17	[56]
2017	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	17	[57]
2018	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	16	[57]
2019

Note: Only MLS regular season goals count.

Defensive player of the year

Awarded to the club's best defender.

Year	Name	Nation	Ref.
2015	Laurent Ciman	Belgium	[58]
2016	Hassoun Camara	France	[59]
2017	Daniel Lovitz	United States	[59]
2018	Evan Bush	United States	[59]

Club captains

Dates	Name	Nation	Ref.
2012–2013	Davy Arnaud	USA	[60]
2014–2017	Patrice Bernier	CAN	[61]

Average attendance

As of October 21, 2018^{[citation needed]}

DNQ = Did not qualify

Footnotes

References

External links

• 
  Official website