2009: a look back
By: Franck | December 8th, 2009Impact 2009 recap
Januray 6: Gabriel Gervais retires. Although it didn’t come as a major surprise due to his injuries, it was felt that a player who had been league defender of the year on several occasions was leaving a vacant spot. Fortunately, with players such as Stefano Pesoli and Cédric Joqueviel ready to step up in his place, there was hope that the D-line wouldn’t suffer too much in 2009.
February 1-12: The Impact travel to Italy to train for the season. In the process, they tie Serie B Pisa.
February 25: In front of 55,571 fans at the Olympic Stadium, the Impact defeat Santos Laguna 2-0 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals. The team is positively soaring.
March 5: In the return leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals, the Impact blow it in Torreon, Coahuila, falling 5-4 on aggregate to Santos Laguna. Leading 4-1 at the half, the Impact give up four goals, including two to Colombian U-20 International Carlos Darwin Quintero in extra time. The team, and its fans, are crushed.
May 9: After a 0-2-1 start on the road, the Impact loses its home opener against archrival Rochester, falling to 0-3-1 (W-L-D).
May 13: The Impact loses 1-0 in a lifeless effort against Toronto FC in the Canadian Nutrilite Championship. The next day, John Limniatis is fired. The fans are left in amazement as a man who had been on the job for less than a year is fired. Assistant coach Marc Dos Santos takes over in an interim position.
May 17: The Impact destroys expansion Austin AzTex 4-0 at Stade Saputo, the team’s first win of the season. The team’s record stands at 1-3-2.
May 20 and 27: The Impact loses two consecutive games against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Nutrilite Canadian Championship play, including a never-before-seen goal in the first minute before falling 2-0 at home, and a 1-0 loss in Burnaby, BC.
June 18: After head coach Marc Dos Santos puts his C-team on the field, the Impact lose a painful match against TFC at home in the final Nutrilite Canadian Championship match. TFC need to win by four goals in order to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, a feat which seemed impossible before the collapse in Torreon. The Vancouver Whitecaps, in town for a regular-season match against the Impact two days later, are in attendance expecting to parade the trophy in Stade Saputo. Toronto FC eventually destroys the Impact 6-1, scoring one extra goal than they need to win the tournament and hence qualify for the Champions League. Head coach Marc Dos Santos is eager to put the blame on certain players who did not “play with character”. Team owner Joey Saputo, ashamed for the first time to walk around his own stadium, is quoted as saying: “This is not the way this club should perform in front of our fans, in our stadium. Being first and foremost a fan, I know that this is not acceptable.” Two days later, during the halftime segment of the CBC broadcast, he apologizes to the Whitecaps organization and fans for a disgraceful non-showing.
June 20: The Ultras stage a “boycott” of the first half of the game against Vancouver to show their discontent with the organization’s choice to field a squad of rookie players against TFC. Montreal eventually wins 2-1.
June 28: The Impact are demolished 4-0 in Portland. Their record stands at 5-5-2.
July 1: The Impact face the Haitian National Team in the first of several international matches. The game ends in a 0-0 draw.
July 8: The Impact defeats the Syrian National Team 2-1.
July 12: The Impact lose 3-0 in Minnesota against the worst team in USL-1. During the match, although not seen on the video feed, Sandro Grande of the Impact grabs team captain Mauro Biello by the throat in an apparent choke hold. Only two days later, after a local Minnesota photographer releases photos of the incident, does the team take action, suspending Grande indefinitely.
July 19: After a series of lows, the Impact lose 1-0 at home against Puerto Rico, making it five regular season matches without a goal. The Impact now have a 5-8-3 record. The fans are displeased.
July 20: To make matters worse, Sandro Grande is released, his contract rescinded. The Ultras place a sign in their kop in support of the fired player and set up a rally to get the fans to bring or wear the number 8 to honor Grande and show the club’s front office their discontent with the situation.
July 22: The Impact win a decisive victory against a weak expansion Cleveland at home by the score of 4-1.
July 25: Meanwhile, at the Big O, French Ligue 1 winner Bordeaux and Coupe de France winner Guingamp face off for the Trophée des Champions. Bordeaux wins the match 2-0 in front of 34,068 fans, a record for the Championship game.
July 28: The Impact face Bordeaux in a friendly at Stade Saputo, falling 2-1 in a close match in which the Impact played their best football of the year.
August 1: The Impact give up a tying goal in the final seconds of extra time against a weak Miami club in Florida. Joey Saputo, in attendance, rushes onto the field in disgust and pushes over a few garbage bins. No one is impressed with Montreal’s 6-8-5 record.
August 4: The Impact host River Plate of Argentina in a downpour. The game ends in a 1-1 tie, but the Impact lose in a shootout. The Impact once again played solid football against a formidable opponent.
August 30: The Impact play the first of two home games in four days against the Carolina Railhawks. The match ends 1-1.
August 31: The Team Owner’s Association (TOA) chills relations with USL after USL owner Nike, Inc. sells the league to third-party NuRock Soccer Holdings. Wanting to restructure the power relations in USL in order to give the club owners more direct control of the league’s affairs, the TOA decides to look into several options for the 2010 season, including not playing in USL. The next day, Joey Saputo confirms that despite the press release, the Impact will play in 2010.
September 2: In the second home game against the Carolina Railhawks in four days, the match becomes a violent affair when the referee loses control of the match. A total of nine cards are given out (8 yellow, one red). A third and final match between these two clubs is to be held two weeks later. Pundits fear a repeat of the violence.
September 18: The Impact lose their final game of the regular season 2-0 against Carolina, but still qualify for the playoffs. With a 12-11-7 record, good enough for 5th spot in the table. Peter Byers scores four goals and has one assist in his final seven games of the regular season.
September 24 and 27: The Impact face the Charleston Battery in the Quartefinals, winning 4-1 on aggregate.
October 1 and 4: The Impact face the Puerto Rico Islanders in the Semifinals and win 4-2 on aggregate.
October 10: In the first all-Canadian USL Championship Final, the Impact beat Vancouver 3-2 in the first in Burnaby, BC. Down to ten men due to a red car, the Whitecaps fight back but the Impact hold on for the win.
October 17: Back in Montreal, a red card is awarded to a Whitecaps player and a penalty is given to the Impact on the same play. The match soon becomes out of reach, as the Impact score three goals in the first half before wasting the clock away in the second half to win the match 3-1, 6-3 on aggregate. The sell-out crowd gives a standing ovation to Mauro Biello, who enters with ten minutes to go. He is expected to retire at the end of the season. The team celebrates a victory in front of their fans at Stade Saputo. 
October 22: After several events to celebrate the team’s victory, the Impact celebrate with a few hundred fans on Crescent Street.
October 26: Echoing the Impact, the Trois-Rivières Attak farm club wins the CSL title.
November 10: After a series of confusing communiqués, Joey Saputo insists that there are still negotiations going on with USL, despite the league’s statements to the contrary.
November 13: Marc Dos Santos is re-hired for two more seasons.
November 19: Mauro Biello announces his retirement.
November 24: The NASL is reborn. Teams drop USL and join NASL.
2009 Low/High scale: -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
Beating Santos Laguna at home in front of 55,571 fans: 4
The Impact sign midfielder Kevin Sakuda: -3
The Choke, part 1 (AKA The Collapse) Giving up four goals in the second half to Santos Laguna and thus being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League: -5
The Choke, part 2 (AKA The Disgrace) Losing 6-1 to Toronto FC at home, one goal extra than the four-goal win they needed to win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, thus preventing the Vancouver Whitecaps (in attendance) from reaching the CONCACAF Champions League and giving us a total of zero (0) points in the tournament: -4
The Choke, part 3 (AKA What got Grande fired): -3
The Impact release Kevin Sakuda: 2
Montreal at Miami (August 1st): Joey Saputo goes trash-can tossing: -1
Five matches without a goal: -3
Impact vs Bordeaux: 3
Impact vs River Plate: 3
The Impact win the USL Championship at home : 5
Category: Montreal Impact Team News
Comments
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The Impact in 2009 defined what a “Roller Coaster Season” is. One of the highlights for me was seeing the Impact put away Charleston with a goal after 20 consecutive passes.
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Oh man that Sandro Grande incident was really a sorry episode wasn’t it?
Anyway great read I loved re-living the good moments in the season. -
What a rollercoaster season. But hey, some silverware, some joy and bitter disappointment, better than the utterly non-notable season we just had at Rochester.
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Well, you guys are right. It was definitely a roller coaster year. Thank God something good came out of it. Now if only we can settle this whole NASL/USL debate, and not turn it into some two-headed monster called UNASL – United North American Soccer Leagues.
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Based on your ups and downs, no wonder you like Flamengo.
Hahaha
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You’re right, AndrĂ©.
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Hey there Franck. Didn’t the MTL Offside had such an active post-count. You’re doing a good job with it.
Living in MTL myself, I actually attended two of the games you mentioned. The first was the 2-0 win vs. Santos at Olympic Stadium. It was a great crowd more than great soccer (and we all know what happened in the 2nd leg).
The second game was vs. River Plate. I spoke afterwards with an Argentine friend (fan of River), who said their team had played awful. The positive note? He was sitting next to Gallardo & Ortega in the Saputo stands.
I was also supposed to go watch the return leg of the final match vs. the Whitecaps, but it was all sold out after a few days.
Here’s hoping to an even better 2010, and the inclusion in the MLS soon!
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Good stuff, Marco.
Yeah, since I took over, I’ve tried to post as often as I can, as much for the Impact fans, as well as for everyone else in Footyland who might stumble by here.
The one important game I missed this year was that game at the Olympic Stadium. I was in Brazil at the time, probably at a Palmeiras match that same night. I did, however, follow the return leg on the net.
That River game was great, except for the downpour. Rover didn’t play their best, they also only had half of their regular starting XI on the field anyway. Regardless, the Impact played well that night. It was one of those games that gave us a ton of confidence going into the final stretch. Funny how playing against much better teams than ours brings the best out of us.
Yeah, it was magical at Stade Saputo in the final…too bad you missed it!
Stop by and comment anytime!
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