Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact FCFirst Season
2012President
Kevin GilmoreHead Coach
Thierry HenryOwner
Joey SaputoStadium
Saputo Stadium, Montreal, QuebecConference
MLS Eastern ConferenceMontreal impact are one of three Canadian teams that play in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. Based in Quebec, the team’s biggest rivalry lies with Toronto FC- another big club from north of the border. Canadian team from a big city.
Montreal Impact are coached by soccer legend Thierry Henry. Considered one of the best forwards of all time, Henry played for many big-name teams, including Arsenal (English Premier League) and Barcelona FC (Spanish La Liga). The French international marked 123 appearances and scored 51 goals for the French national team, including winning the World Cup in 1998 and many more awards.
After the 2020 World Cup Henry retired from international soccer, and then went to play for four seasons at the MLS New York Red Bulls.
The club’s main supporters group was founded in 2002, and are known as Ultras Montréal, also dubbed UM02. Montreal have many club traditions- their mascot, Tac-Tik the dog, among them. Additionally, Montreal supporters have a 75kg bell called the North Star, which is sounded as a victory celebration. The bell has been rung by various different famous Montreal personalities, including the mayor, Canadian soccer players and martial artists.
On May 7th ,2010, it was announced that Montreal Impact was to be the 19th MLS Club, beginning play in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference in 2012. The team’s MLS debut was made on March 10th ,2012, and resulted in the Impact losing 2-0 to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
At their first home appearance, Montreal Impact broke the record for spectator attendance for professional soccer in Montreal, with almost 59,000 people gathering at the Olympic Stadium. The match ended in a tie, Montreal drawing 1-1 with Chicago Fire. Later on in their first season, the Impact broke their record again, attracting over 60,000 fans on May 12th, 2012 in a game against Los Angeles Galaxy- the game also setting the record for fan numbers in a pro-soccer match in the whole of Canada.
During their 2015 season, Montreal Impact became the first Canadian franchise to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final but were eventually beaten by Club America. The team have also won the Canadian Championship 4 times: 2008(before they were an MLS team), 2013, 2014 and 2019.
Season Records
| Year | MLS Regular Season | Ranking | MLS Cup Playoffs | US Open Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | PTS | W | GP | GP | GP | GP | Conf | League | |||
| 2019 | 34 | 41 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 47 | 60 | 9th | 18th | Did not qualify |
Honors
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Championship | 4 | 2008, 2013, 2014, 2019 |
Montreal Impact play their home games at a soccer-specific stadium built in 2008- Saputa Stadium. Due to construction delays, Saputa Stadium wasn’t ready for their Major League Soccer debut, so the nearby Olympic Stadium was used for the Impact’s first few home MLS games.
Although their primary home stadium is the Saputa Stadium, occasionally the Olympic Stadium is also used when a larger atmosphere/ seating capacity is needed. The Olympic Stadium has most notably been used for the Impact’s Major League Soccer playoffs, MLS Season openers and other events that require advantageous playing conditions.
Home Kit
Montreal Impact’s logo is a shield with a blue background representing Quebec. The club’s secondary colours-blue and black- also feature, as well as white and silver details. The 4 silver stars on the top right of the shield represent the 4 original settlers of the city: the French, the English, the Irish and the Scots. The team’s current home kit has a blue and black striped design, which fades into a solid black. Montreal Impact’s away kit features white and silver stripes with a blue trimming. The kits are produced by sporting-giant Adidas, and are sponsored by the Bank of Montreal (BMO).