- Post a comment
- Skip to the latest comment
- Back to the blog
Congratulations to the Montreal Impact! The USL-1 side trotted down to Honduras the other night, toughed out a gritty 0-0 draw with Nicaraguan champs Real Esteli – and advanced to the group stages of the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League.
This plucky club, in the mix for MLS expansion and winners of the Voyageurs Cup as Canadian champs despite a mid-table standing in the North American second division, will now carry the Canadian flag into Mexico, Honduras and Trinidad as group play begins later this month. They're on the rise in the league standings, too. On the night they won the cup in Toronto, they were 10th in their 11-team league.
Superb achievements – especially when you consider the fate of the New England Revolution, the marquee MLS side the Montrealers thought they would hosting and visiting in the weeks to come.
As the Impact were winning on the road – the match was moved to a 10,000-seater in Honduras because the 5,000-seater in Esteli was too small – the Revs got destroyed 4-0 in the cavernous home of the New England Patriot by tiny side Joe Public, up from Trinidad.
That's right! Joe Public brought down the Revolution! What a headline. Of course, they had a lot of help – from MLS scheduling and roster rules.
“We started a Champions League game with no forwards,” Revs coach Steve Nicol told the press after the match – his team's ninth in less than a month. “…No forwards, injuries, fatigue. What else do you want me to throw on?”
Tight salary cap, limited roster, bursting schedule plus a four-goal loss to the Trinidadians equals a 6-1 exit on aggregate. The Impact will now host Joe Public at Stade Saputo on September 17. What do you bet they'll do better than the Revs?
Montreal's group also includes Atlante FC of Mexico, currently leading their group in the Primera Division Apertura, and Honduran side CD Olimpia, mid-table in the early going. It's a tough and significant challenge, but the Montrealers know every win, every point, every step forward is strengthening their argument for a rapid rise to MLS.
I wonder if the Revolution might want to take the Impact aside and warn them there are plusses and minuses to this top-flight deal. I doubt very much that a team completely free to make its own deals and set its own destiny would have hit the field the other night that wounded and so desperately under-gunned.
The better, happier story, though, is that a Montreal side whose season was flailing desperately now has an entirely new league to play in, and however far they go – they win.
And all of Canadian soccer – teams, players, owners, fans alike – win right along with them.
Onward!
-
William Vander Wilp from Kingston, Canada writes: Does Joe Public have a bigger salary budget than the Revolution? I ask the question sincerely since I don't know the answer. If they don't, however (and I suspect the Revs spend far more on salaries than JP) then the whole roster statement is more or less an excuse.
- Posted 04/09/08 at 3:48 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
-
WorldCup 2010Soccer from Nauru writes: I hope Impact will make it through at least another 2 rounds...
- Posted 04/09/08 at 4:35 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
-
Pat Billings from CDN, Canada writes: Good piece. It really does seem that the Impact is getting shafted in terms of media coverage.
They have a great new stadium (privately financed), this should help put it on the map.- Posted 04/09/08 at 5:25 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
-
devon groen from Canada writes: William,
MLS teams have a salary cap of around $2.3 mill I believe. According to Shaka Hislop blog on the Guardian Joe Public FC has a total team salary of $200,000.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/09/04/joepublicexposemlssalarmin.html
The problem I see is the MLS format has teams acquiring about 5 good players surrounded by scrubs. Lose a couple of those to injury, coupled with an 18 man senior roster and you see a team in great difficulty.
I tend to think NE rolled over in this game on purpose because it means nothing to them and they don't need to add 6 games to their schedule that will impact the playoffs and risk the championship they chase.- Posted 04/09/08 at 7:16 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
-
Double Money from Canada writes: Devon,
I agree that NE Revolution rolled on purpose as their main goal is to win the MLS championship.
www.doubleourmoney.ca- Posted 04/09/08 at 9:49 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
-
WorldCup 2010Soccer from Nauru writes: Pat...
I thought so as well...
Great Stadium...not really...an awful pitch....
Can't understand what the Saputos were thingking to build it so cheap?!
Did they think that nobody was going to find out?
Chunks of the field were coming off of the field...Horrible....
Normal field can take almost any amount of water...etc...
This is a cope-out....- Posted 07/09/08 at 11:35 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
Join the Conversation, Leave a Comment
This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?
You must be logged-in to submit a comment — login now!
Not registered with globeandmail.com? Register now. It is quick and free.
Alert us about this comment
Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.
Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.
