Rochester to play in USL Pro in 2011?

Apparently, Rochester Rhinos owner Rob Clark has made the decision to leave the NASL and to self-relegate his team to the 3rd division USL PRO for the 2011 season.

What do you know I have a blog?!!

Ok..I know i haven't posted in awhile (45 days to be exact). But as I was perusing over my list of soccer blogs that I regularly have a look at, I came across this video on Some Canadian guys writing about soccer:

I had to post it seeing as it is so rare to see such an awesomely pro-Canadian crowd for a footy match.

Eddie Berdusco scores the equalizer in a 1-1 game against Brazil in a 1994 friendly at Commonwealth stadium in Edmonton:

Peter Byers released by Impact (Update: He is still with the club but has been suspended)

Apparently Gulls striker Peter Byers was released from the team today. More info to come..

Update: According to Quebec Soccer he is still on the club's roster and has been suspended indefinitely for breaking a team rule.

Feuerstein's Fire Radio Show August 3rd 8:00pm

I will appear on Feuerstein's Fire internet radio show tomorrow at 8:00pm, I will be discussing the Impact, anything and everything concerning Montreal's 2012 MLS debut and Canadian soccer.

Also appearing on the show will be Seattle Sounders play by play announcer Arlo White and Miami FC's public relations manager Ignacio Rodriguez. Have a listen here.

Inside Minnesota Soccer interview with new Impact striker Marco Terminesi

Inside Minnesota Soccer's Brian Quarstad interviews newest Impact player Marco Terminesi. He talks about his past health problems and being thrilled to play for the Gulls. A good read.

Blogging vacation coming to an end..

Since I know a lot of you have been concerned with my lack of posts lately , rest assured I will be returning to the Montreal footy blogosphere as of tomorrow...

Real life, work and other petty disturbances were piling up, so I had to take a leave of absence for the month of July. It was really hard to separate myself from the piles of money I was earning writing for Soccer Montréal..

So there it is. Montreal's most famous blogger is back!! Tomorrow (well,today.. since it is 1am)! (WARNING: Might be slight Hyperbole)

Impact news and quick hits

- John Jonke and Anthony Le Gall are no longer on trial.

- Ali Gerba is still practicing with the team. We will soon find out if he will accept an offer from the club on, or shortly after July 15th, when the transfer window opens. If he does decide to move on elsewhere expect it to be in the English lower divisions or Scandanavia.

- Our strikers are really bad. Peter Byers is totally inept and MDS should revert back to using him as a late game sub when he could be most effective against tiring opposition defense.

- Apparently the Gulls are in discussions with much loved midfielder Antonio Ribeiro. Fixing past mistakes are we?

- What an incredibly heart-wrenching way to lose a game last night. The defense looked like pylons standing around like slack-jawed yokels as the Caps scored the winner in stoppage time to win 2-1 and take a 7 point lead atop the NASL division albeit with a game in hand.

746 people witness the Impact's inability to find the net

A raucous crowd of 746 in Minnesota yesterday, witnessed how totally inept the Gulls actually are at doing the one thing that will bring you to victory. Scoring a goal. Obviously a change is needed, what that change is could be one of many things. If I knew exactly what to do, well, I would probably be sitting in Nick De Santis's chair instead of writing this blog post.

So I'll throw out a few ideas:

- Sign Ali Gerba. He's a hometown boy and has definitely shown he can score at this level as evidenced by his 17 goals in 32 appearances with the legendary Toronto Lynx in 2004-2005. The question is, does he want to play here? Not likely, seeing as we are stuck in D2 until 2012. He will most probably be waiting to see what kind of offers he can get from Europe when the transfer window opens up on July 15th.

- Sign ???. Scout out another striker that could be available at the transfer date. The only problem with that strategy is that talented forwards don't usually want to play on a 2nd division team in Canada and receive the kind of pay that goes along with that.

- Change formations to try and make the most of what we have. We did score 14 goals in 6 playoff games last year, with many of those coming off the feet of Byers, Brown and Sebrango so obviously there is some scoring ability up front.

Has Sebrango really slowed down that much? Is Brown resentful and unmotivated because some of his teammates have shunned him for his bonehead move in the NCC vs TFC? Has Byers.....?

For the Impact to lose against a rag-tag team that was put together in 3 weeks is unacceptable.

Thoughts? Ideas?

New Whitecaps MLS Kits

This will be their primary jersey:



Secondary jersey:

I personally really like them, especially the navy blue one. Seeing as they moved away from the royal blue, we won't be seeing 2 teams with the same colors in next year's Voyageurs cup. I'm hopeful the Impact will bring in a less cartoonish logo and follow suit with a sharp and simple looking kit for 2012.

1986..A look back.

The first and only time Canada ever qualified for the World Cup.



Allez les rouges!! 2014.

A friendly Wednesday

So, the Impact is set to take the field against European giant AC Milan tonight in a "friendly" match at Olympic Stadium. I have never been a fan of friendly/meaningless games. Sure they can be "fun" and you get to see big names and what not, but they attract a certain kind of "spectator/fan" that I find extremely annoying and arrogant. Lets call them the "one-of-my-grand-parents-was-born-in-Italy-and-I-can't-even-speak-Italian-yet-I-will-go-to-the-stadium-and-cheer-against-my-local-team" crowd (You can pretty much replace Italy with whatever country is involved with the game).

Obviously, some of the people who will be there cheering for AC Milan are genuine fans of the squad and may have been following the team for years. I've got no problem with them. It is with that second category of "fans (as I pointed out in the first paragraph)" that smugness and stupid comments will come from, to which eye-rolling will be the only proper response. They will show up with their freshly bought AC Milan jerseys and their snarky sense of superiority and make comments like:

"The Impacts really suck!! Were gonna kill them like 9-0 bro!" (Notice how they will refer to AC Milan as "we")

"My cousin said his garage league team could beat the Impact"

"Oh shit! Look up there, I didn't even know they had fans, haha heh"

Those type of game watchers and bandwagoners are a standard at pretty much every international match or friendly played in Canada involving a Canadian team. The worst part (or the best part depending on which way you look at it) is many of those same douchebags will inevitably show up at Stade Saputo in 2012, looking to show us supporters how to "really support a team like in our country bro! " and will be quick to proclaim themselves life-long Impact fans as soon as the team wins 2 games in a row. Alright, I think that's all I got for now..

Rant over. Bon match tout le monde!

New Major League Soccer Ad "90 minutes"

I like.

Thoughts?

A lose-lose situation..

I will be at the Impact's final Canadian Championship game tomorrow and it will feel weird, awkward and demoralizing. Let me explain; As a good supporter of my team, my duty is to cheer on my team to victory no matter the circumstances, right?! However, if the Impact come away with the win against the Whitecaps, Toronto FC our biggest rivals will be crowned champions. We don't want that. If we lose, well...we lose and that still kinda sucks!

Unfortunately, these are the type of problems that can happen with a 3 team "tournament". With the "Gulls" (new team nickname for the Impact that fellow blogger/supporter Curtis Mesher is trying to push) already eliminated, anything less then a Vancouver win tomorrow night will hand the trophy to that team down the other side of the 401. It also causes the last game of the NCC in Toronto to be well, meaningless.

The Canadian Soccer Association briefly mentioned that the format of the V-cup will be changed next year as FC Edmonton (very original name) is scheduled to make their NASL debut, thus making it a 4 team competition. I'm not a proponent of any particular format for 2011, but something must be done to eliminate these "useless" matches where B-teams are fielded and fans feel cheated.

So either way, when I leave Saputo Stadium tomorrow evening, it will be with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Bush league tales : AC St-Louis to fold?

It seems that another chapter in the book of bush leagueism is about to be written in North American 2nd division soccer, as it was reported that AC St-Louis is on the brink of folding.

Apparently the USSF and the NASL are presently in talks about how to insure they can play out the 2010 campaign. Usually a bond has to be deposited to the league by each team prior to the season to keep a team afloat in this type of situation. If they were to fold now it would be a huge black eye for the NASL, as AC St-Louis was looked at as being one of their flagship franchises in their bid to gain official D2 status in 2011. Jeff Cooper, who is supposed to be the interim-commissioner of the proposed league has been unreachable and appears to have disappeared. Perhaps that explains why Nike backed out at the last minute and sold the USL to Nurock over Cooper and certainly goes a long way towards proving that Don Garber was right on when he stated that the Cooper led MLS bid for St-Louis did not meet the financial requirements back in 2008.

I feel for the fans in St-Louis. I really do. We've been there before in Montreal, what with that whole Ionian fiasco in 2000-2001. But unfortunately for St-Louis, it doesn't appear that there's a white knight waiting in the shadows to take over.

All the more reason to be thankful Impact fans, we have a healthy team to support and these garbage league stories will soon be a thing of the past.

2010 Concacaf Champions league Preliminary Round Pairings

Concacaf held the draw today to determine the match-ups for the 2010 Concacaf Champions League preliminary round.

Interesting matchups:

The Puerto-Rico Islanders will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy. Can Bill Gaudette stand on his head again?

And a much tougher then expected opponent for the lone Canadian Representative, as either Toronto or Vancouver will face CD Motagua of Honduras. If the 2008 edition of the tournament can be taken as an example, Motagua is a tough but ultimately beatable opponent. As we all remember, the Impact faced CD Olimpia in the group stages and came out with a win in Tegucigalpa and a tie at Stade Saputo.

You can check out the complete pairings here.

Thoughts, ramblings and other stuff..

I'm back! Not that any of you noticed or were overly concerned that I was missing in action.. I am in the process of working with an outside company/sponsor to relaunch my online presence with a more professional site with extra bells and whistles (everyone loves advertisers) and possibly a new domain name. I also have a few radio appearances lined up for the World cup starting next month, so you'll all have ample opportunity to listen to my babbling and praise/criticize/make fun of my predictions.

All is not well in Impact land, with the "Montreal Eleven" (Hey, it sounds good in french o.k.!) already eliminated from the Canadian Championship following their 1-0 loss to TFC, leaving them with a dismal 1 point in 3 games. So far, most of the action in the tournament this year has been in the stands, as supporter groups from both teams battled it out at Stade Saputo with smoke bombs, flares and the usual 90 minutes of chanting (at least from the Montreal supporters) :





Ok, the Toronto supporters put forward an awesome flare display as well, but since this is Soccer Montréal you'll have to look elsewhere for those vids. Being in section 114 that evening with UM02, I couldn't help but think that this rivalry will be absolutely insane come 2012. It will probably be up there with Seattle-Portland as the 2 biggest and most intense derbies in MLS.

Speaking of the Timbers, the Impact is set to kick off in Portland tonight at 10:00pm ET and you can catch this game live on the Portland Timbers website. The "Boys in blue" ( trying to find an alternative to that Montreal eleven thing) are undefeated in USSF D2 competition since that opening day loss on that vomit-inducing pitch in Austin. Ironically, it is also their first game on artificial turf since that loss so it should be interesting to see how the team responds. Looking forward to hearing the Timbers Army, the only other supporters group worth noting in USSF D2 outside of Canada.

More later.

Montreal to be announced as the 19th MLS franchise (Finally!!!)

Montreal will be announced as Major League Soccer's 19th franchise tomorrow May 7th at 10am. The team will begin play in the North American 1st division in 2012.

The press conference will feature MLS commissioner Don Garber, Quebec finance minister Raymond Bachand and obviously Joey Saputo. The press conference will make clear all details in regards to the franchise, stadium expansion and an indoor training facility.

The press conference can be followed live at mlssoccer.com or at radio-canada.ca.

Montreal MLS 2012.

Roberto Brown suspended for 2 games

The CSA suspended Impact forward Roberto Brown for the next 2 games of the Canadian Championship for punching much appreciated Toronto FC defender Nick Garcia in the face.

So in addition to the automatic 1 game suspension he will be serving on Wednesday against Vancouver, he will also be unavailable for the following game Vs TFC on May 12th at Saputo.

Despite being a huge homer at times, even I must admit this is more then well deserved.

Feuerstein's Fire Radio Show: Canadian Soccer Special

I have been invited to appear on Feuerstein's Fire blog talk radio show on Tuesday May 4th at 2:00pm. So if your unemployed, bored or like the sound of my voice, tune in and give it a listen ( my segment featuring the Impact starts at 2:30pm).

Daniel Feuerstein of Major league Soccer talk and Impact supporters favorite blogger Duane Rollins of the 24th minute,will be asking me questions related to the Montreal Impact and Montreal soccer.

You can access the show here.

And the award for geekiest fan base goes to??

TFC supporters!!


Yoda. Need I say more?

Montreal To MLS to be announced next week?

According to the french language Montreal footy blog Histoires de Foot, the much drawn out expected announcement that Montreal will become Major League Soccer's 19th team will be made next week.

Here is the direct translation:

" A rumor is worth what it's worth. But this one, without saying where I heard it from specifically, indicates that an announcement will be made next week in regards to Montreal joining MLS. That is what the Impact players seem to be mentioning to certain people who gravitate very closely to the club's day to day affairs. "

This would seem to make sense considering that the Impact's home opener is scheduled next Sunday against Portland, also joining MLS in 2011.

For myself, an ideal scenario would be for the announcement to take place prior to game time so as to benefit from the atmosphere of the Montreal supporters.

Kick This! Radio show USSF D2 season preview

I was invited to participate this morning on The Soccer Sam- Kick this! radio show USSF D2 preview.

The show features interviews with Carolina Railhawks Head Coach Martin Rennie, Rhinos coach Bob Lilley, Kip Kesgard from Oregonlive.com and Brian Quarstad from Inside Minnesota Soccer.

Have a listen, here ( click on the April 10th show). The Impact segment that I appear in starts at 8:56.

Pretty in pink?

Ok. I wasn't gonna mention it, but I have to admit it's really bothering me. I detest the new Pink and black kits the Impact announced they will be sporting for their 4 Canadian Championship games.

Pink?? Really? I know about the whole Italian connection to Palermo and all, but somehow I feel annoyed and frustrated by this odd choice. Does this make me an extreme soccer nerd/geek for feeling this way? It's only a jersey, right? At least if some kind of an explanation was given to justify this choice, (breast cancer charity ect.) but no.. nothing.

The other 2 kits are simple and classy looking. Blue and white.

Any tips on where I can buy some pink streamers for April 28th?

2010 Impact official jerseys

The 2010 Montreal Impact official jerseys will be revealed Thursday. What time? Where?
Your guess is as good as mine..

Will we have a racing stripe to look forward to? Or the much rumored sky blue color shift? Time will tell..

Live webcasting for USSF D2

There will be an announcement made before Saturday concerning live webcasting for the 2010 USSF D2 season.

Good news!

News, info and a 2010 season preview..

- Don Garber was in Montreal on Monday and met with Joey Saputo to discuss Montreal joining MLS in 2012 and "to do what we can to get that deal done".

"We hope to announce soon", "Montreal is a great market for MLS" ect. ect. Seriously, can you guys please just go ahead and reveal possibly the worst kept secret in pro sports already??

- 2009 USL-1 MVP and Puerto Rico Islanders defender Christian Arrieta is on trial with the Philadelphia Union. Would be a huge loss to Puerto Rico if he sticks with Philly.

- The USL and the Puerto Rico Soccer League are in talks to possibly create a USL Carribean division with teams from the island and other Carribean nations. Is this a sign that they have possibly thrown in the towel with 2nd division North American soccer and are looking for other teams to be able to extract franchise fees from? We already know that FC Barracuda of Antigua has already applied to be a member of the NASL in 2011, so this could be a new front in the battle between the 2 entities...

Inside Minnesota Soccer will be featuring a 2010 USSF D2 season preview tomorrow ( or today depending on when you are reading this...OK, Wednesday March 31st) and once again Brian Quarstad has asked me to contribute the Montreal Impact 2010 preview. It will also contain previews for the other 11 teams of USSF D2, written by bloggers or writers from those cities/area. Check it out, should be an awesome read..

Saturday night quick hits

- The Impact and Carolina Railhawks played to a 1-1 draw, game report here.
- Last pre-season game on Monday VS Wake Forest University.
- Stephen Deroux saw his first minutes of action today being subbed in at the 70th minute.

I will be heading down to Toronto on April 28th for the 1st game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship with UM02 and other Impact supporters, if anyone is interested in coming along for the trip here's the info ( move fast only a few spots left) :

Antonio Ribeiro placed on waivers

The San Jose Earthquakes placed former Impact midfielder Antonio Ribeiro on waivers today.

Ribeiro was a fan favorite in Montreal and the question of should they bring him back will inevitably come up. I'm not too sure that would actually be an option seeing as the Impact is really deep at midfield and his departure did not happen on the best of terms.

I wish him good luck.

Real work sucks...

I'm back after a horrendously long week, in which I had to answer moronic questions over and over and babysit adults...

I'll be posting my world-changing opinion on all the stuff going on in and around the Impact later tonight (very much later..). And seeing as I've been dubbed a "Top writer" by a fellow Canadian footy blogger, I'll reveal the other sites in which I will be posting Impact related stuff and previews ect.

Be back soon....

Important Update: Ya... Long night and I just got in, will definitely not be posting anything until tomorrow afternoon. So sorry to greatly disappoint and devastate all of you who were eagerly awaiting my insight before heading off to bed.

ZZZZZZZZZ......

Update: Impact will announce a "change in the structure of the club" Wednesday

The Impact FO have announced a press conference for Wednesday via the following Twitter post "The Impact has invited the media to a press conference Wednesday. The Impact will announce a change in the structure of the club".

So, what will it be? The forming of the long talked about academy? The Attak moving to Laval as was rumored a few weeks ago?

Most people are betting that it has to do with the club once again becoming a "private" entity, thus putting an end to the non profit organization involving Saputo, Hydro-Quebec and the Quebec government. This step being necessary to make the transition to MLS in 2012 as is expected.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Update: According to CKAC Sports, the Impact will be announcing tomorrow that their reserve team, The Attak, will be moving somewhere in the Montreal Area.

They will also confirm the signing of a few new players?? Most probably Reda Agourram coming up to play with the first team and Belarusian Valentin Radevich will be assigned to the Attak.

USL/ NASL live back in 2010?

According to this article posted by Brian Quarstad over at Inside Minnesota Soccer, there will be some form of live streaming for USSF Division 2 games in 2010.

If this pans out, it will mean that once again Rhinos owner Rob Clark has jumped the gun and provided misleading info about the direction the league will be taking. He stated last week-end that there would be no USL Live type service this season.

Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history: Final List

The individual lists from all 5 participants can be found here.

After compiling the lists put forward by the 4 participants and myself, here are the "official" (Am I getting ahead of myself here!?) TOP 10 MOMENTS IN MONTREAL IMPACT HISTORY :

10) Montreal Impact domination of the Canadian club scene, winning 7 straight Voyageurs cups between 2002-2008

Although not a "single" moment, it would be almost impossible to overlook the firm grasp the Impact had on the Voyageurs Cup since the competition was created by the Canadian Soccer supporters group, the Voyageurs.

9) The Impact face-off against Bordeaux of France's Ligue 1 and storied Argentinian Club River Plate in the summer of 2009, easily the 2 greatest clubs ever faced by Montreal





8) The Impact being set up as a non-profit organization in 2002, thus allowing it to flourish into the successful and respected club we know today.

The club declared bankruptcy during the 2001 season when the then-owners were Ionian. Administered until the end of the season by Joey Saputo, the club rose from its ashes in 2002, set up as a non-profit organization owned by the Quebec government, Hydro-Quebec and Saputo.

7) Impact Montréal FC draws CD Olimpia 1-1 at Stade Saputo to qualify for the Quarter-finals of 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League, the biggest achievement in Canadian club soccer history.

It was cold, windy and rainy on October 21st 2008, the stadium was more then half-empty but section 114 was packed and in full voice. An awesome first half goal by Roberto Brown was enough for the draw to put the Impact in the Quarter-Finals, a feat many believed impossible just a few weeks prior.

(Highlights and post-game celebrations begin at 2:53)



6) 2009 USL-1 Championship

The first all-Canadian USL-1 final saw the Impact win their 3rd title 6-3 on aggregate. It also marked Mauro Biello's last game as a player in an Impact uniform, he received a standing ovation from the sold out crowd when he was subbed in at the 81st minute. Roberto Brown was named the Championship MVP.





5) The construction and opening of Stade Saputo

When Stade Saputo was finally opened in 2008 it was a great moment in Montreal and Canadian soccer. It was the first soccer specific stadium in the country to be build with a natural grass playing surface. After only 2 years it has already hosted international matches, numerous CCL games and a Championship final.



4) 2004 A-League Championship

The Impact took its 2nd title in front of 13,648 fans crammed into the old Centre Claude Robillard. The A-League at the time was the highest level of pro soccer being played in Canada.

(locker room celebrations after the 2004 title)



3) 1994 American Professional Soccer League Championship

The Impact wins its 1st title in front of 8,169 fans at Centre Claude Robillard, beating the 2 time defending champion Colorado Foxes. In a way it was a true North American Title seeing as the APSL was the highest level of pro soccer in the United States and Canada at that time.

2) The Impact win the first edition of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and their 7th straight Voyageurs cup by playing to a 1-1 draw against Toronto FC on July 22nd 2008 at BMO field





1) The Impact beat Santos Laguna 2-0 in front of 55,571 fans at the Olympic Stadium in the first leg of the Quarter-Finals of the 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League

This game was without question the biggest moment in the 17 year history of the Montreal Impact, and I would also defy anybody to suggest that it was not also the greatest moment in Canadian Club soccer history. The Impact also set a record for the largest attendance ever for a Concacaf Champions League/Concacaf Champions Cup match.

The 5 "Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact History" lists

So here we go, the 5 "Top 10" lists from all participants in no particular order:

Daniel, UM02 Founder :

1) Impact wins 2008 Voyageurs cup in Toronto to secure a berth in the Concacaf Champions League
2) 2004 A-League Championship
3) 2009 USL-1 Championship
4) Santos Laguna- Impact in front of 55,000+ at the Big O 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League QF
5) 1994 APSL Championship
6) Impact draws CD Olimpia of Honduras 1-1 at Stade Saputo to qualify for the QF of the CCL
7) The opening of Stade Saputo
8) 2004 A-League playoff series against Rochester
9) Former Head Coach Bob Lilley quits
10) Joe Public- Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo in the CCL Group stage

Jeremy, Onze Montréal :

1) 1994 APSL Championship
2) The opening of Stade Saputo
3) Being set-up as a Non-profit organization in 2001/2002 with the support of the Quebec Government, Hydro-Quebec and Saputo.
4) 2009 USL-1 Championship
5) 2004 A-League Championship
6) Santos Laguna- Impact in front of 55,000+ at the Big O 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League QF
7) Creation of UM02
8) Mauro Biello's 25,000 minutes
9) 2008/2009 Concacaf champions League Run
10) Impact wins 2008 Voyageurs cup in Toronto to secure a berth in the Concacaf Champions League

Penz, active and long-time member of UM02 :

1) Santos Laguna- Impact in front of 55,000+ at the Big O 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League QF
2) The opening of Stade Saputo
3) Impact wins 2008 Voyageurs cup in Toronto to secure a berth in the Concacaf Champions League
4) 1994 APSL Championship
5) Being set-up as a Non-profit organization in 2001/2002 with the support of the Quebec Government, Hydro-Quebec and Saputo.
6) Montreal Impact domination of the Canadian Club scene, winning 7 straight Voyageurs cups between 2002-2008
7) Impact draws CD Olimpia of Honduras 1-1 at Stade Saputo to qualify for the QF of the CCL
8) 2004 A-League Championship
9) 2009 USL-1 Championship
10) Marc Dos Santos named Head Coach in 2009

Franck, Montreal at the Offside :

1) Santos Laguna- Impact in front of 55,000+ at the Big O 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League QF
2) 1994 APSL Championship
3) Impact wins 2008 Voyageurs cup in Toronto to secure a berth in the Concacaf Champions League
4) 2004 A-League Championship
5) 2009 USL-1 Championship
6) Impact plays its first international match VS Real Esteli of Nicaragua in the preliminary round of the 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League
7) Mauro Biello retires after 16 seasons with the Impact
8) The opening of Stade Saputo
9) Impact squares off VS Bordeaux and River Plate in late July/Early August 2009, easily the greatest clubs the Impact has ever faced.
10) The Impact lose for the 4th time in the playoffs to Rochester in September 2003, although not a highlight for the Impact, it set in stone a brewing rivalry that has lasted until today.

Steven Beauregard, Soccer Montréal :

1) Impact wins 2008 Voyageurs cup in Toronto to secure a berth in the Concacaf Champions League
2) Santos Laguna- Impact in front of 55,000+ at the Big O 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League QF
3) 2004 A-League Championship
4) Impact draws CD Olimpia of Honduras 1-1 at Stade Saputo to qualify for the QF of the CCL
5) The opening of Stade Saputo
6) 1994 APSL Championship
7) 2009 USL-1 Championship
8) Impact squares off VS Bordeaux and River Plate in late July/Early August 2009, easily the greatest clubs the Impact has ever faced
9) Beating CD Olimpia in Honduras 2-1 in the group stage of the 2008/2009 Concacaf Champions League
10) Being set-up as a Non-profit organization in 2001/2002 with the support of the Quebec Government, Hydro-Quebec and Saputo.

Thanks once again to all who participated!

The final list of the Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history will be posted now.

Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history : Update

Due to a tougher and more busy week then anticipated in the glorious world of deadlines and paid work, the Final list of "Top 10 moments" and the individual participants lists will be posted late Wednesday evening/ Early Thursday morning.

Stay tuned..

Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history : The participants

So it's done. I received and compiled the "Top 10 moments" lists from all the participants and the Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history have been chosen.

To start off I will introduce the 4 people who were generous enough to give me some of their time to help me put this list together:

1) Franck, who is the Montreal Impact blogger for the Offside
2) Penz, an active and long-standing member of Ultras Montréal
3) Jeremy, who blogs in french about the Impact and Canadian soccer at Onze Montréal
4) Daniel, Founder of Ultras Montréal

And lastly

5) Myself. Soccer geek and blogger for this very important site, Soccer Montréal.

Just as a refresher here is how the point system will work to determine the final "Top 10" list ( I tweeked it a little to make it a bit more simple) :

One (1) point will be assigned to the number 10 "Top Moment" on each participants list, two (2) points for number 9, three (3) points for number 8 ect. until we get to the #1 on each list which will be awarded 10 points.

Each participant's "Top 10 list" will be posted by mid week, along with the final more descriptive "Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history".

Mediator appointed for MLS CBA talks spells good news for Montreal MLS announcement?

According to a Toronto star article, a federal mediator has been appointed to sit in at the negotiation table with management and the Major League Soccer Players Union.

Sticking points are free agency and guaranteed contracts.

Hopefully this will bring about some advancement in the labor talks, as having the season start on time is very important for all of us who are anticipating an announcement on Montreal joining MLS in 2012.

For those of you who have not yet had a chance to take a look at this, here's an interesting Ben Rycroft article discussing the agreement that apparently went down at the MLS cup to bring the Impact into MLS.

More soon..

Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history

We're on the cusp of a new season, so I figured it would be fun to get together a few supporters and other Impact bloggers to come up with a "Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history".

They can be games, incidents or any other kind of event involving the Impact.

Here's how it will work:

- Ideally 5-10 people (including myself) would participate

- Each person will submit their list of Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history

- Seeing as the team has only been in existence since 1993 (practically a fossil in North American footy..) there is bound to be a lot of repeats in the different lists, so I have established a point system.

One (1) point will be assigned to the number 10 "Top Moment" on each participants list, two (2) points for number 9, three (3) points for number 8 ect. until we get to the #1 on each list which will be awarded 10 points.

* In the case of a tie between several different "Top 10" moments, all participants will vote to determine which "top 10 moment" will be listed higher.

- All participants lists will be posted on the blog as well as the final list of "Top 10 moments in Montreal Impact history"

Those interested in participating leave a message in the comments or email me @ soccermontreal@live.com...

I will also contact a few people by private message in the various Montreal Impact forums.

Awesome Goal...

Hats off to the Footy Blog at TheScore.com for finding this one...

Impact wins in Portugal and other USSF D2 news..

-The Impact beat Portuguese 2nd division side SC Freamunde 5-1 (Were they playing their reserves?? Most probably, that's what happens when you play teams who are already in the midst of their season) today.

Roberto Brown, Filipe Soares, Pierre-Rudpolh Mayard, Rocco Placentino and Reda Agouram all scored for the Impact. According to CKAC Sports, the game was played in horrible weather conditions with rain and wind gusts up to 70 km/h.

-AC St-Louis announced this morning that the Edward Jones Dome in St-Louis will host a “The Rest of the World” vs. South America soccer game. More details here..

-The FC Tampa Bay Rowdies unveiled their new kits today, green and gold. Pics : Here , here and here.

-And for those of you who haven't seen this yet, Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer is reporting that apparently the United States Soccer federation has scolded the NASL and USL for being too proactive in promoting their respective brands. A good read.

Mascot unmasked...

I came across this funny/weird goal celebration today, Tak-Tik consider yourself warned...

Deroux set to return in March

The Impact finally announced that Stephen Deroux will be returning to Montreal on March 1st and will resume practicing with the team on March 9th.

I had sent an e-mail to director of communications Patrick Vallée yesterday, hoping to get some answers in regards to Deroux's absence for "personal reasons", so this definitely comes as good news.

He will definitely be penciled in as left back in our starting XI after a stellar 2009 campaign, in which he was named "Newcomer of the year" for the Impact.

The team needs to have all of its key players healthy to recapture what has practically become Montreal property, the Voyageurs cup.

Considering TFC's abysmal elimination in the 2009 Concacaf Champions League preliminary round to the Puerto Rico Islanders, Canada needs to regain some respect on the Concacaf club scene or risk being drawn against much tougher opposition in the preliminary round in future CCL editions.

Update: Pre-season tour in Portugal

Details of the Montréal Impact pre-season tour of Portugal will be made available later today.
They will play 3 matches, including one against a first division club. FC Porto, Sporting?? (wishful thinking!?) ...

More later.

Update:

( From montrealimpact.com)

After four weeks of training camp in Montreal, the Impact will continue its winter preparation at the Training Center of Melgaço, located 150 km northeast of Porto. The Impact will fly to Portugal Sunday and will be back in Montreal on March 5.

During its stay in Europe, the Impact will play three exhibition games. The team should face off a second division club, SC Freamunde (League of Honour), Wednesday, February 24 at the Estadio Sport Clube Freamunde, a third division club, GD Ribeirao (Second division, Northern Zone), Saturday, Februray 27 at Estadio do Passal and finally, a first division club, Rio Ave FC (League 1), Wednesday, March 3 at Estadio dos Arcos.

Forward Peter Byers (knee), midfielder David Testo (abdomen) and defender Stephen deRoux (personal reasons) will not be joining the team overseas.

During its games in Portugal, the Impact will use training jerseys provided by its official technical supplier LEGEA. The official 2010 jerseys will be unveiled when the team returns home in March.

So, the first division club the Impact will face is Rio Ave, who currently sits 9th in the 16 club Portuguese D1 table. They will be trying to slip a few by goalkeeper Carlos Fernandes , who recently played for Angola at the 2010 African cup of Nations.

On another note, what's going on with Stephen De roux?? Training camp started on January 25th and he is still missing because of "personal reasons". You would think the club would give us a clue or an idea as to the length of his absence? I'm not implying anything at all here, but I really hope it's not rehab or anything like that. It would be a tremendous loss if he were not to come back.

The club also mentions they will reveal the new 2010 jerseys when the team gets back in March, so if your reading (which they probably are not..) please, please NO sky blue!

USSF D2 Schedule

The USSF D2 schedule is "expected" to be released Monday February 8th, according to this blurb from Crystal Palace Baltimore's website.

Off to BMO April 28th..

The schedule for the Nutrilite Canadian Championship was announced today, as most of you already know, so here it is:

Wednesday April 28th 2010 – Montréal @ Toronto
Wednesday May 5th 2010 – Montréal @ Vancouver
Wednesday May 12th 2010 – Toronto @ Montréal
Wednesdayi May 19th 2010 – Toronto @ Vancouver
Wednesday May 26th 2010 – Vancouver @ Montréal
Wednesday June 2nd 2010 – Vancouver @ Toronto

Right away, I noticed the Impact features in the first 3 games of the tournament and plays its first 2 on the road. Montreal does not get to feature in the final game this year, courtesy of our dismal performance in last years tournament (I thought my selective memory had blocked that out by now!?).

Well, I could choose to look at the glass half empty or half full on this one, so I guess I'll stay positive and choose the latter.

Starting out on the road and coming home with 1-3 points could be viewed as an opportunity to finish strong at home and since the Impact's third game is on May 12th, we should know within the first 2 weeks of the tournament if we have a shot at winning the V-cup.

Hearing "Tic Tac Tabernak, who the fuck's the Impact?" and seeing the 10 year old girls sitting in front of the away supporters in section 104 following and chanting along to what has to be one of the lamest chants in soccer supporter history "This is our house" is always good for a laugh.

Should be nice to see the new grass at BMO and the Impact come away with a win.

It's our national championship and even though it's only 6 games and 3 teams, it's all we have for now and we should get excited about it.

Let the games begin! (Yes, I do realize the first game is 83 days away!)

Voyageurs cup

The Voyageurs Cup schedule will be announced this Thursday February 4th in Toronto.

Already looking forward to another road trip to BMO Field..

This has to stop!

One word: YUCK!

The Tampa Rowdies announced today that they will be playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field. A baseball stadium. That means that we will have the delight of watching games in Tampa with players running around in the infield dirt. Bush League.

The United States Soccer Federation recently talked about elevating the criteria for operating a D2 soccer team, well a suitable stadium should be #1 on their list. Soccer players should not be running around in sand or kicking around the ball over American football lines. Playing fields like this cheapen the league, the game and appear amateurish to the casual sports fan that soccer on this continent desperately needs to continue its growth into the mainstream.

No proper stadium should equal no team. The Rowdies FO (or is it now FC Tampa Bay?) have plans to build a soccer specific stadium? Great! Build the stadium, then field a team.

On the brighter side of things at least we don't have to watch games at Middlefield Cheese stadium on USL Live anymore...

New players announced...

After much speculation it was with great fanfare (not really) that the Impact announced their 2 new player signings today. Midfielders Helder Filipe Da Costa Soares (pictured left) and Philippe Billy (pictured right DUH!!).

Soares 27 yrs old, also known as Filipe Pastel played in Portugal 2nd division for 10 years and was also selected for the Portuguese Under-20 National Team. He is expected to take the place of the recently departed Joey Gjertsen (does San Jose constantly scout our games or something!?) as an offensive midfielder. Here is a brief compilation video (looks pretty impressive to me) :

Excuse the annoying little background music



Billy 28 yrs old, bounced around a lot playing briefly in Serie A with Lecce, but mostly seeing action in French Ligue 2 having played the last 2 seasons with Stade Brestois.

It's kind of hard for me to give an honest opinion about these 2 new acquisitions having never actually seen them play, but both having consistently played in euro 2nd divisions they most definitely have the skills to succeed in USSF D2.

Time will tell if they adapt themselves well to the team and North American footy. Hopefully they will have as much of an Impact (not meant as a pun) as Cristian Arrieta did for Puerto Rico, when he came over from Serie B in Italy in 2008. Arrieta was named USL-1 MVP in 2009.

I'm hoping to head down to the Impact's practice facility in Brossard to check them out in person tomorrow.

More later..

Just waking up....

Excuse my long absence, I got caught up in the world of payed work and other daily annoyances. I'm back for now..

Training camp starts on Monday with a press conference to announce a new player signing. Who will it be? Dare I dream of Patrice Bernier who has been rumored to be in discussions with the Houston Dynamo? Will he take a massive hometown discounted contract? Not likely...

More on this and other Impact tidbits, rumors and bullsh*t later....