The excitement of playing in a sparkling new stadium was dampened by disaster on the field and that prompted Nick De Santis to step down as head coach of the Montreal Impact of the United Soccer Leagues on Tuesday.
De Santis, who took the team to a championship as a rookie coach in 2004, moved into a new job as technical director, which includes the duties of general manager of the Impact and its reserve team, the Trois-Rivieres Attak.
His friend and former teammate John Limniatis was named head coach, while Attak coach Marc Dos Santos replaced Peter Pinizzotto as assistant coach.
The Impact have been a perennial contender in the USL first division since 2002, but despite outplaying opponents, were off to a brutal 2-6-2 start to the season.
De Santis said that it was during a 3-1 loss on Saturday in Charleston, S.C., that he decided it would be best for the team to make a coaching change.
"I knew that eventually I'd come into a different role on the team, probably at the end of the season, " he said. "But if things weren't right, something would have to be done.
"It was time for me. Now I hope we turn it around. I'm very comfortable and confident with John in place and with the team he has."
Before the game in Charleston, the Impact went six games without scoring a goal, including a 1-0 loss at home to Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League qualifying play. They have only six goals in 10 league games.
That's not what was envisaged when the club moved out of cramped Claude Robillard Stadium, where they averaged more than 11,000 spectators per game, into 13,000-seat Saputo Stadium next to Olympic Stadium in the city's east end.
The Impact hope to join Toronto FC in Major League Soccer in a year or two, and also have plans to start under-14, under-16 and under-18 teams.
Those plans all looked rosier when the team was winning.
"There are things you can't control," said team president Joey Saputo, whose family put up $15 million to build the privately financed stadium. "We can control the type of stadium we play in and the team we put on the field, but that doesn't guarantee success.
"It's unfortunate, but we're doing things to change it. There are 20 games left in the season. It's still a tight race. I feel comfortable about where we're going and I'm confident we're going to give our fans something to cheer about soon."
There were calls for de Santis to go after the Impact were bounced in the first round of playoffs last season, and they grew louder as the team sputtered out of the starting gate.
Another team might have looked for an experienced coach from the outside, but the Impact are not your average professional sports team. For one, they are a non-profit company, and they get funding from the Quebec government to help grow the sport in the province.
That's why they reached out for Limniatis, a former Canadian national team player who speaks fluent English and French (and Greek). Most recently, he was running a suburban soccer program, although he has coaching experience at various levels.
"It's important to have people that have played here, worked here and understand the culture and the language," added Saputo. "It would be easy for us to go get a coach, but maybe a coach from the outside won't be as committed to the development of the game here like John Limniatis or another local player."
Limniatis, a hot-tempered midfielder/defender, played for the club from 1993 to 1998, winning a league title in 1994, and in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He coached the Impact's indoor team in 1999-2000.
He starts his new job at home with a rematch Friday night against Charleston and a CONCACAF game next Tuesday against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
"It feels fantastic," said Limniatis. "It brings me back to something that is natural to me, which is being on the field.
"We're going to be back to winning like the Impact has always done - that's a promise."