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The Montreal Impact () was a Canadian professional
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. Founded in 1993, the team played in various leagues in the second tier of the United States soccer league system, beginning with the
American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...
. They later played in the A-League/
USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...
, the USSF D2 Pro League, and the North American Soccer League. Following the 2011 season, the Impact were replaced by a team of the same name which joined
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
in 2012. The team played its home games at until 2008 when it moved to the new
Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...
where it played until its move to MLS. The team's colours were blue and white. The Impact also operated a reserve team, the Trois-Rivières Attak, from 2006 until 2010 which played in the Canadian Soccer League until 2010 when the Impact created their own Montreal Impact Academy. They also used to operate an indoor team (of the same name) in the NPSL (at the Bell Centre, then at ) with many of the same players, from 1997–1998 to 1999–2000. On May 7, 2010, Impact owner Joey Saputo was granted a Major League Soccer expansion franchise set to begin play in Saputo Stadium in 2012. Although, in a legal sense, the MLS team is an entirely separate legal entity, the new team (now known as
CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...
) retained the name Montreal Impact until 2021 and maintains the team's legacy in MLS.


History

The Impact club was founded in 1992 by the Saputo family, as the owners of the Montreal Supra of the Canadian Soccer League did not pursue an APSL franchise by the deadline set by the U.S. league. The Montreal ownership and front office split with their main financial sponsor announcing the start of a new APSL club on December 13, 1992, with the Supra coach. In 1993, the APSL was trying to gain the USSF Division 1 sanctioning required by FIFA with the award of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the estimated $60 million in World Cup profits; it was seen as a league with much more upside than the CSL. They became a dominant club in the APSL (1993–1996) and the A-League (1997–2004), renamed the USL First Division (2005). The team did not compete during the 1999 A-League season. Their main rivals were the Rochester Rhinos and the Toronto Lynx prior to the latter's move to the
USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
. Following a lacklustre first year, the Impact surprised the defending champion Colorado Foxes (1–0) on October 15, 1994, at home in front of a sold out Montreal crowd 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 en 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 from 2003 to 2008. In 2009, the Impact were crowned at home for their third title, beating the
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
by an aggregate score of 6–3 in a Cinderella ending to a tumultuous season. 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 in Montreal saw an all-time-record 13,648 fans at Stadium (whose
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
for the day was adjusted from 10,100). The MVP was
Mauricio Vincello Mauricio Vincello (born August 19, 1977, in Salto, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentina, Argentine former Football (soccer), football defender. Playing career Vincello began his career in his native country in Argentina with the youth teams ...
who scored the winner at the 33rd minute of play. Frederick 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 was the 55,571 fans in attendance for the 2009
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
quarter-final against
Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...
(Mexico) at
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
in Montreal. In 1999, the owners had a conflict with the league and withdrew the team from competition, but did play
indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...
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 nonprofit organization owned by the
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
government,
Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...
, and Saputo. It also attracted many big-time sponsors such as the National Bank of Canada,
Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, in Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in the province ...
and
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
, among others. The team's mandate is to develop local talent and to serve as a representative of
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
for tourism. Since the Impact's renaissance in 2002, Quebec-born players have played a much more central role in the Canada 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. 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, Soccerplexe Catalogna before travelling 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. In 2008, the Montreal Impact won the Canadian Championship, gaining the chance to represent Canada in the
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
. The tournament features the best teams in all of North and Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The Impact won two legs against Real Estali 1–0 and 0–0 to secure a spot in the tournament. Montreal competed then in the group stage where they defeated Joe Public FC of Trinidad 2–0 and 4–1 and CD Olimpia of Honduras 2–1 and 1–1. They finished off against Atlante FC of Mexico which they tied 0–0 and then lost 2–1. On February 25, 2009, the team won the first leg of the quarterfinals match 2–0 against
Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...
from Mexico. The match was played at Montreal's
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
in front of a club-record crowd of 55,571. The second leg was held on March 5, 2009, at Corona Stadium, in Torreon, Mexico, where the Impact led 2–1 at the half (4–1 on aggregate). With the Impact only a few minutes from a semi-final berth, Santos Laguna's Carlos Quintero scored twice in stoppage time to rally the homeside to a 5–2 victory, thus eliminating the Impact from the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League 5–4 on aggregate. Following the match, head coach John Limniatis commented that his side "should have done better", noting that it was "unfortunate to finish this way". For the 2009 Canadian Championship, the Montreal Impact were eliminated early to the disappointment of fans. In the final match of the Voyageurs Cup, with the Impact already eliminated, Head Coach Marc Dos Santos decision to field a number of reserve team players drew controversy from fans of both the Impact and
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
. The team went on to suffer its worst defeat in history, by losing 6–1 to archrival
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
.
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
needed to win by 4 goals to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10 preliminary round. As a result, the
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
were eliminated on goal differential, despite holding the same record as
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
. The Montreal Impact won their third championship in its history, Saturday October 17, 2009, in front of a sellout crowd of 13,034 at Saputo Stadium, defeating the
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
3–1, (6–3 on aggregate goals), in the First Division USL final championship, which was the first all Canadian First Division USL Final. All three of Montreal's championships have been won at home. Montreal had an up and down year that involved firing their coach and struggling early on, so winning the championship was a pleasant surprise to their fans. All the players agreed this championship was more special than their first two because they were expected to win those ones, while the 2009 edition was a surprise finalist, that most experts thought wouldn't advance out of the quarterfinals. In November 2009 the Impact announced their intent to leave the USL First Division to become the co-founders of a new North American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010. The league, which has yet to be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation or the Canadian Soccer Association, would also comprise the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore,
Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...
,
Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...
,
Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
, Vancouver Whitecaps and a brand new team led by St. Louis Soccer United. After lawsuits were filed and heated press statements exchanged, the USSF declared they would sanction neither league for the coming year, and ordered both to work together on a plan to temporarily allow their teams to play a 2010 season. The interim solution was announced on January 7, 2010, with the USSF running the new USSF D-2 league comprising clubs from both USL-1 and NASL.


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 The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...
to
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
. The construction of the expandable
Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...
further suggested such an interest on the part of the Impact to move up to the top level American-Canadian league. Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett (former owner of
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
and co-owner of
Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...
) regarding possible joint ownership of an MLS 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 team'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 Joey Saputo to pursue and ultimately realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday. On May 16, 2009, the
Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...
reported that MLS commissioner Don Garber and Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo have resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011. On May 7, 2010, it was officially announced by MLS commissioner Don Garber that Montreal had been granted the league's 19th franchise, and will begin play in the 2012 season.


Colours and badge

The team's colours were blue and white, and the team's logo featured a stylized
fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
in blue and silver, overlaid with the Impact wordmark and a traditional hex-stitched soccer ball in flight. The fleur-de-lis is a globally recognized symbol of French heritage, and features prominently on the
flag of Quebec The flag of Quebec (), called the in Quebec French, French, represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleur-de-lis, fleurs-de-lis. It was the first provincial flag officially ...
as a reflection of French-Canadian culture. The badge featured
star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
s to represent the league titles it won. Titles won in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
and 2004 resulted in the addition of the first two stars. A third star was added after the club won the
USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...
in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
.


Stadium

* ;
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
(1993–2007) * Stadium at
Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
;
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
3 games (2003–2005) * Stadium at ;
Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
2 games (2004–2005) *
Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...
;
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
(2008–2011) The Impact played its home games at
Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...
, a
soccer-specific stadium A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...
which opened in May 2008. As the name suggests, the stadium was funded privately (mainly by the Saputo family), and cost $14.1 million CAD to build, with one-half of the cost paid by the Saputo family, and the rest coming from other private-sector contributions. Saputo Stadium was also the Impact's administrative headquarters and also includes a training field, 20 corporate boxes and full player welfare areas. Prior to its 2012 expansion, Saputo Stadium seated 13,034 supporters in three main stands, and was expanded to seat 20,341. It is located just east of
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
in the city's east end. Prior to moving to the new stadium, the Impact played their home games at mainly , with a handful of games also being held in stadia on University campuses at
Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
and .


Club culture


Supporters

The Montreal Impact had one of the most vocal groups of supporters in the USSF D-2, the UM02, which stands for Ultras Montréal 2002. 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. Since their start in 2002, the group had grown from a handful of friends to a group that regularly numbers in the hundreds. The largest number of people within the group was during the February 25 match against
Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...
. Their slogan is "Toujours Fidèles" which is French for ''"Always Faithful"''. The UM02 has a rivalry with the supporters of the Rochester Rhinos which was at that time the Rochester Stampede, as well as the organized support of rival
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
. The UM02 were located in section 132 of Saputo Stadium, the designated supporters section before the stadium was reconfigured for MLS.


Rivalries

Montreal Impact had a rivalry with the Rochester Rhinos, when the two were in the USL's First Division. In games between the two franchises, it was not uncommon for supporters of the two teams to travel to the opposing sides' stadium. The Impact also had a rivalry with MLS side
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
. Toronto FC and Montreal Impact both participated in the
Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...
annually along with Vancouver. On June 18, 2009, the Impact suffered its worst defeat, losing 6–1 to Toronto FC. The lopsided loss by the Impact eliminated the Vancouver Whitecaps from the 2009
Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...
, thus causing resentment among some Whitecaps fans towards the Impact. As a result, another chapter was added to the rivalry between the Whitecaps and the Impact.


Broadcasting

The Montreal Impact had a French language television deal with Radio-Canada that ran through the 2011 season. Philippe Germain did the play-by-play and Guillaume Dumas was the colour commentator. Pre-game, post-game and half-time shows featured Marie-José Turcotte and former Impact star Gabriel Gervais. CKGM (The Team 990) was the Impact's English language radio broadcaster. Brian Wilde handled the play-by-play while Noel Butler was the colour commentator.
CKAC CKAC is a Canadian French, French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial travelers' information station, traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. ...
is the Impact's French language broadcaster with Jean-Philippe Bertrand is the play-by-play announcer, Francis Millien is the colour commentator and Jeremy Filosa reports from the sidelines.


Players and staff


Final roster

''as of September 25, 2011''.


Notable former players


Staff

* Joey Saputo – ''President'' * Richard Legendre – ''Executive Vice President, Montreal Impact & Saputo Stadium'' * Claude Pinard – ''Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales'' * John Di Terlizzi – ''Vice President, Sales'' * John Papadakis – ''Vice President, Finances'' * Nick De Santis – ''Sporting Director'' and ''Head Coach'' * Matt Jordan – ''Director of Soccer Operations'' * Mauro Biello – ''Assistant Coach'' * Gil Orriols Jansana – ''Assistant Coach'' * Youssef Dahha – ''Goalkeeper Coach'' * Adam Braz – ''Team Manager'' * Dr. Scott Delaney – ''Team Physician''


Retired numbers


Head coaches

* Eddie Firmani (1993) * Valerio Gazzola (1994–1997) * Paul Kitson (1998) * Tasso Koutsoukos (1998–2000) * Zoran Jankovic (2000) * Valerio Gazzola (2000–2001) * Bob Lilley (2002–2003) * John Limniatis (2008–2009) * Marc Dos Santos (2009–2011) * Nick DeSantis (2001, 2004–2008, 2011)


Achievements

*USL First Division#top, USL First Division **Winners (2): 2004, United Soccer Leagues 2009, 2009 **Northeast Division Champions (2): 1997, 2003 **Eastern Division Champions (2): 2004 * APSL **Winners (1):
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
*USL First Division#Regular season champions (Commissioner's Cup Winners), Commissioner's Cup **Winners (5): 1995, 1996, 1997, United Soccer Leagues 2005, 2005, United Soccer Leagues 2006, 2006 **Runners-up (2): 2003, 2004 * Voyageurs Cup **Winners (7): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Canadian Championship, 2008 *Can Am Cup **Winners (3): 1998, 2003, 2004 *Montreal Cup **Winners (1): 2001


Record


Year-by-year

This is a complete list of seasons for the USL/NASL franchise. For a season-by-season history including the successor Montreal Impact (MLS), Montreal Impact MLS franchise, see List of Montreal Impact seasons.


Outdoor team

1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goal scorer includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs,
Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...
,
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

3. Points and PPG have been adjusted from non-traditional to traditional scoring systems for seasons prior to 2003 to more effectively compare historical team performance across seasons.


Indoor team


Historical stats

Seasons: 18 (1993–1998, 2000–2011) First Official Game: May 14, 1993 (against the Los Angeles Salsa) First Game: April 22, 1993 (against Ponte Boggianese, Italian football league system, Italy) First Home Game: May 21, 1993 (against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993), Tampa Bay Rowdies) Best Finish: Champion (1994, 2004, 2009) Titles: 3 (1994, 2004, 2009) Voyageurs Cup: 7 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Attendance record: 55 571 spectators (February 25, 2009, against the
Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...
CONCACAF) Most Goals Scored: 58 (in 28 matches in 1997) Fewest Goals Allowed: 15 (in 28 matches in 2004, 2005 and 2006) Largest Victory (h): 6–0 (against Worcester Wildfire, Worcester in 1997) Largest Victory (a): 0–5 (against Crystal Palace Baltimore in 2010) Worst Defeat (h): 1–6 (against
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
in 2009) Worst Defeat (a): 6–0 (against Rochester Rhinos, Rochester in 1998)
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
: First Canadian participant in 2008, reached quarterfinals Most goals in a game: Ali Gerba 3 goals August 21, 2010 (against Crystal Palace Baltimore) Earliest goal at the start of a game : Ali Gerba 18 seconds August 27, 2010 (against Rochester Rhinos)


Awards year-by-year


All-time leaders


All-time continental competition win/loss

''Last updated March 22, 2010''


See also

*Montreal Manic *Montreal Olympique * Montreal Supra *CF Montreal *Philadelphia Fury (1978–80)


References


External links

*
Impact Soccer fan siteUltras Montréal supporters' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montreal Impact (1992-2011) Montreal Impact (1992–2011), CF Montréal, M American Professional Soccer League teams USL First Division teams North American Soccer League (2011–2017) teams Association football clubs established in 1993 Soccer clubs in Montreal, Impact Hydro-Québec National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) teams Canadian indoor soccer teams United Soccer League teams based in Canada American Professional Soccer League teams based in Canada 1993 establishments in Quebec 2011 disestablishments in Quebec Association football clubs disestablished in 2011 1992 in Montreal