MONTREAL IMPACT

The 'Montreal Impact' (French: 'Impact de Montréal') are a Canadian soccer team in the North American USL First Division.
Founded in 1993 by the Saputo family, following the demise of Montreal Supra and its league (the Canadian Soccer League), the 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 Raging Rhinos and (prior to their move to the Premier Development League), the Toronto Lynx.
The Impact play their home games at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, who's capacity was been recently increased to 9,500 to reflect the ever increasing demand for tickets. The team is building a new soccer-specific stadium, Saputo Stadium, which should be completed by July 2007.
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.

Contents

Club history

Historical Stats

Club data

All-Time Leaders

Most appearances for Montreal Impact

Most goals scored for Montreal Impact

Coaches:

Titles:

Outdoor year-by-year

Indoor year-by-year

Supporters

Average attendance

Current squad

Notable former players

External links

Club 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.

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)

Club data

'Current stars':'
Mauro Biello (Captain), Gabriel Gervais, Nevio Pizzolito, Patrick Leduc

All-Time Leaders

Most appearances for Montreal Impact

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals
1	'Mauro Biello'	1993-1998, 2000- present	264	65
2	Nick DeSantis	1993 - 2003	219	21
3	Lloyd Barker	1993 - 1997, 2001 - 2004	190	34
4	Patrick Diotte	1993 - 1998, 2000 - 2001	186	0
5	'Nevio Pizzolito'	1995-1998, 2000- present	185	8
6	John Limniatis	1990 - 2002	150	2
7	'Patrick Leduc'	2000 - present	127	6
8	Guiliano Oliviero‎	1997 - 2002	115	18
9	'Gabriel Gervais'	2002 - present	101	6
10	'Darko Kolic'	1997-1998, 2000- present	100	17

Most goals scored for Montreal Impact

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals
1	'Mauro Biello'	1993-1998, 2000- present	264	65
2	Eduardo Sebrango	2002 - 2005	83	36
3	Lloyd Barker	1993 - 1997, 2001 - 2004	190	34
4	Nick DeSantis	1993-1998, 2000-2003	219	21
5	Grant Needham	1993 - 1998	87	19
6	Guiliano Oliviero‎	1997 - 2002	115	18
7	'Darko Kolic'	1997-1998, 2000- present	100	17
8	'Zé Roberto'	2001 - 2007	100	15
9	Ali Gerba	2000, 2003, 2005	32	12
10	Onandi Lowe	1996 - 1998	29	12

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'

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.

★ Can Am Cup: 1998, 2003, 2004.

★ Montreal Cup: 2001

Outdoor year-by-year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Voyageurs Cup
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	Qualified	Champion

Indoor year-by-year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Voyageurs Cup
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''

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.

Average attendance

★ 1994: 3,215

★ 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

Current squad

''As of August 5, 2007''

Notable former players

:''See also .''

'Brazil' ★ Paulinho'Canada' ★ Eddy Berdusco ★ Patrice Bernier ★ Adam Braz ★ Paolo Ceccarelli ★ Nick Dasovic ★ Nick DeSantis ★ Patrick Diotte ★ Rudy Doliscat ★ Jason deVos ★ Patrice Ferri ★ Carl Fletcher ★ Ali Gerba ★ Sandro Grande

★ Lyndon Hooper ★ Pat Harrington ★ John Limniatis ★ Grant Needham ★ Guiliano Oliviero‎ ★ Greg Sutton'Cuba' ★ Eduardo Sebrango'Jamaica' ★ Lloyd Barker ★ Onandi Lowe'Serbia' ★ Darko Kolic'USA' ★ Jean Harbor

External links

★ Montreal Impact official site

★ Impact Soccer fan site

★ Ultras Montréal supporters' site