Montreal Impact
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 07/2015
Full name
Montreal Impact (English)
Impact de Montréal (French)
Founded
2010
Stadium
Saputo Stadium
Montreal, Quebec
Capacity
20,801
Owner
Joey Saputo
Head Coach
Frank Klopas
League
Major League Soccer
2014
Eastern Conference: 10th (last)
Overall: 19th (last)
The Montreal Impact is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as MLS' 19th franchise and third Canadian club replacing the second division team of the same name.
Montreal Impact became the second ever MLS club, and first Canadian based club, to advance to the championship series of the CONCACAF Champions League.
They had also won the Canadian Championship in both 2013 and 2014.
The club plays its home games at the Saputo Stadium and are coached by former MLS forward Frank Klopas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ultimately realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday.
By May 16, 2009, the Montreal Gazette reported Garber and Saputo had resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011.
On May 7, 2010, Garber and Saputo officially announced Montreal as the nineteenth club in Major League Soccer, set to begin play for the 2012 season.
The MLS franchise is privately owned by the Saputo family.
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.
On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their first-ever MLS game, a 2:0 loss against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
A week later, the team made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium, playing to a 1:1 draw with the 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 (58,542).
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.
In their first ever season, they had finished in seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-16-6 (W-L-T).
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.
This victory also gave the Impact its 8th Voyageurs Cup.
In the 2013 MLS season, they had achieved a record of 14-13-7 (W-L-T), earning their first ever birth in the playoffs clinching the fifth seed in the Eastern conference.
Montreal were eliminated by the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round.
By being champions of the 2013 Canadian Championship, Montreal earned their first ever birth as 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.
In the 2014 MLS season, Montreal Impact ended with a 6-18-10 (W-L-D) record ultimately being the worst team in MLS being last in both conference and overall in the league.
FRANCHISE’S HISTORIC CCL RUN
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 fell behind 1:0 on a penalty in the 80th minute by Germán Cano in the second leg, but Cameron Porter equalized the match at 1 and aggregate score at 3 in second-half stoppage time, sending Impact through on away goals. It was Porter's first competitive pro goal.
On April 29, 2015, Montreal became the first Canadian team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League Final where they lost to Club America, 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]
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.
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.
Players