Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Montreal Impact began life playing in the North American Soccer League before joining the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference as the 19th MLS team back in 2012 - one of only 3 Canadian teams in the league.
The team's application to join the league was long considered by MLS supremo Dan Garber with Garber originally rejecting their application some years earlier. Whether the Impact's next application would be successful was anyone's guess, with gamblers heading to the best online slots and placing their bets. Fortunately for Montreal, their dream came true and their licence to join the MLS was granted.
The team's first MLS match was a 2-0 loss to fellow Candian side Vancouver Whitecaps. A week later, Montreal played their first MLS home match at the Montreal Olympic Stadium and attracted a crowd of 58,912 for their 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire.
In their inaugural season, the club set a Canadian soccer attendance record when 60,860 fans saw the Impact's showdown with LA Galaxy.
Impact have made the MLS postseason play-offs 3 times in their history, but have not got past the semi-final stage which they reached in 2016. A year earlier, Impact became the first Canadion team to make it to the CONCACAF Champions League Final, losing out to Mexican side Club America 5-3 on aggregate.
The club's French motto is "Passion. Fierte. Authenticite", translating into English as "Passion. Pride. Authenticity". French speaking supporters may be interested to check out these French casinos as well.
Montreal Impact's regular stadium is the soccer-specific Saputo Stadium, which was first opened in 2008. This 20,000 capacity stadium cost an initial CA$17m to build and is the second largest soccer stadium in Canada, after Toronto FC's BMO Field.
The Impact also uses Montreal's much larger Olympic stadium for big matches. This 60,000 capacity venue is preferred for important games including MLS play-offs, the 401 derby against Toronto and CONCACAF Champions League matches.
Impact's current season roster includes a number of world famous players including Bojan Krkic and Victor Wanyama.
Bojan started his career in Europe at Spanish giants FC Barcelona before spells at Italian side Roma and English Premier League side Stoke City before moving to Canada in 2019.
Kenyan Designated Player Victor Wanyama has also had a successful career in Europe citing the likes of Celtic, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur on his list of previous employers.
The club is currently managed by French legend Thierry Henry who is best known for his time at Arsenal and Barcelona. He is also the record goalscorer for the French national team with 51 goals in 123 matches.
Other famous players to have pulled on the blue jersey include the Ivorian ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Argentine forward Ignacio Piatti - the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 66 goals in 135 appearances.
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando