Posted by

Aaron Nielsen ,

April 20, 2015 Email

Aaron Nielsen



Twitter

@ENBSports

Read this on your iPhone/iPad or Android device





For those who enjoy reading soccer novels, many will be familiar with the theme of "my year with the club". Most are written following the top clubs in Europe, but there is one that is on many people's list as not just the best in the genre, but one of the best soccer books ever, and that is the "The Miracle of Castel di Sangro". In 1996, American author Joe McGinness, who unfortunately passed away last year from cancer, followed the day-to-day experience of Italian Serie B club Castel di Sangro Calcio; a club playing way over their heads and trying to survive. So far, no one has written one regarding an MLS club. Although to be honest, other than a "tell all" book about the behind the scenes from MLS head office on the structure/rules of the league, nothing has happened over the last nineteen years to create the same type of drama. Until arguably this season, with the Montreal Impact making it to the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League Final. Each year, writers of RNO are asked who they think are going to win that edition of the Canadian Championship. Last season, based on both Toronto and Vancouver fighting for MLS playoff positions, I had a feeling Montreal had nothing to lose out of 2014 MLS contention that they could win it. My prediction didn't look good from the beginning, losing 2-1 to NASL-side FC Edmonton and a game that put Hanson Boakai on the map as a Canadian prospect for the future. Despite being up 3-0 at home in the return leg, it took a dramatic and controversial penalty in the 97th minute by Patrice Bernier to give the Impact a 4-2 win, otherwise Montreal would of been eliminated on away-goals.



Montreal played Toronto in the 2014 Canadian Championship Final, and after a 1-1 draw in Toronto where Ryan Nelsen played his typical conservative style that did not include Micheal Bradley, Julio Cesar or Jermain Defoe, the Impact used players like Marco Di Vaio and should of got more out of the game. This led to a winner-take-all final in Montreal where Jermain Defoe did suit up for Toronto, although still no Bradley or Cesar as they were off to the 2014 World Cup. Meanwhile, Montreal used their strongest eleven from the 2014 season, were going to go through on away goals with a nil-nil draw, until Felipe came off the bench to secure the Championship and advance the Impact to the CONCACAF Champions League with a goal in the 91st minute. Like many North American soccer tournaments, the CONCACAF Champions League tends to be a tournament set up for the television viewing of American and Mexican interests, with the goal each year of having the final eight clubs being four American teams and four Mexican teams. The Canadian team and other CONCACAF teams are drawn and play either one Mexican or American, and another team from the region. They play a three team home-and-away round robin group with the top team advancing. In Montreal's case, they were drawn with fellow MLS side New York Red Bulls and El Salvadorian club FAS. The tournament was set up unevenly in terms of schedule, with Montreal playing both FAS fixtures first before playing any games against the Red Bulls. Montreal swept the games against FAS, winning 1-0 at home and 3-2 away, with Marco Di Vaio being the hero in both games scoring the only goal at home and scoring two away, including the game winning penalty at the 60th minute. New York beat FAS in their first game eliminating the El Salvadoran club before losing to the Impact in Montreal on another goal by Marco Di Vaio. When the Red Bulls drew in El Salvador it guaranteed the Impact passage to the knock-out round. Montreal could have made things easier for themselves by beating New York in the final group game, but a 1-1 draw ment Montreal had the 4th seed and would have to play Pachuca in the quarter-finals. The CONCACAF Champions league scheduling creates an interesting scenario with four months between the group stage and the knockout stage. It also means the end of one MLS season and the beginning of a new one. Montreal, outside of CONCACAF success, ended a very disappointing season last place overall in MLS with just six wins in 34 games and 28 points. It also saw the retirement of Marco Di Vaio who was the Impact 's talisman both in MLS and also the CONCACAF group stage success. The club would also lose Herman Bernardello, Nelson Rivas and Sanna Nyassi through moves during the 2014 off season. Although, the club did bring in Ignacio Piatti, who was just coming off another remarkable cup run with Argentinian side San Lorenzo. That club had just won their first Copa Libertadores against fancier Brazilian clubs Gremio and Cruzeiro and beating Nacional of Paraguay in the final 2-1 on aggregate. Regardless how they finished the season, I wrote my 2014 Montreal Impact season review with optimism, saying how they could forge a unique path in MLS and North American soccer. I was impressed with the club being the first to embrace the Academy and USL program in Canada, how the offseason provided an opportunity for change, and most importantly to me how the 2014-2015 CONCACAF group stages had played out. Many of the larger clubs had been eliminated and there was a hope that the Impact themselves would see this window to make significant moves and embrace the challenge, not only from a player perspective, but ownership as well. Despite the article's optimism being criticized by many, it seemed the Impact were embracing this idea with talk of Juan Roman Riquelme or Alberto Gilardino joining the club for the 2015 season, giving them an opportunity to be a favourite in the knock out rounds. In the end, Montreal failed to make any big off-season moves. Instead, owner Joey Saputo criticized rival Toronto FC's willingness to spend money and saying the club doesn't need Designated Players to be successful. In my analytical preview for the 2015 season, I expressed my concerns that now Montreal would be heavy underdogs if they play Mexican team Club America in the CONCACAF Champions League knock out stages. As well, that outside of the slight hope for Champions League success, based on the current roster, I projected it to be a poor season and they could repeat as the worst MLS team in 2015. In the opening knockout round, Montreal would play probably the most disappointing team in Liga MX at that moment, Pachuca. They barely made the playoffs during the 2014 Apertura, losing in the first round, and at the time they met Montreal were struggling to score goals at the beginning of the 2015 Clausura. The first game in Pachuca saw Dilly Duka as the unsung hero scoring two goals, giving the Impact a 2-0 lead by the 53rd minute, despite being outplayed and Pachuca using a more reserve line-up. Heriberto Olvera scored in the 57th minute and then Pachuca brought on Ariel Nahuelpan who tied the game 10 minutes later. Despite being outshot 17-10, and out cornered 17-3, the Impact held on to a 2-2 draw with two critical away goals. In the return leg in Montreal, Pachuca started a more potent line-up at least in terms of names, but failed to deliver the onslaught that was expected. However, this changed in the 80th minute when Montreal's key signing in the offseason, Laurent Ciman, gave Pachuca a penalty which was put away by German Cano. Like the game against FC Edmonton, it looked like Montreal were going out of the tournament. This is until 2015 draft pick, and a player who I had in my top 100 prospect MLS Handbook for 2015, scored a goal that will go down in Montreal Impact and MLS history, as Cameron Porter took a long ball in the 94th minute and was able to control it off his chest, run into the box and score even with a defender hanging on his back.



Montreal were through the quarter finals on away goals, setting up a semi-final matchup with Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Alajuelense had just beaten DC United, highlighted by a 5-2 thumping in Costa Rica. A veteran team that included 32 year old Pablo Gabas, who spent many years in Mexico, and Jonathan McDonald, who played two years in the top division in Sweden before returning to Alajuelense for the CONCACAF champion league knockout stage. The first game was at a Olympic stadium in front of 33,675, and arguably the Impact's best game of the past two years. They scored two early goals through Piatti and another new signing in 2015, 22 year old Victor Cabrera, and impressively held the Costa Rican side to only one shot on target. Added to this the news that America lost 3-0 to another Costa Rican side Herediano, it looked Montreal might be favoured to win the tournament. With two teams in the semi-final, Oliver Tremblay, MLSSoccer Impact beat writer wrote an article called "Ugly Soccer and Empty Stadiums", talking about his experience with Costa Rican soccer and in preparation for the second leg against Alajuelense. Probably to his surprise, and many others, 18,000 showed up almost all wearing home team jerseys supporting Alajuelense and creating the best atmosphere in the tournament this season. Despite an opening goal by Jack McInerney, giving the Impact a 3-0 aggregate lead, the pressure began to get to them with Alajuelense scoring two from Pablo Gabas. Andres Romero scored to again give Montreal a two goal lead and a three goal cushion on away goals. Despite a nervy ending, including an injury time goal by McDonald, despite losing 4-2, the Impact held on to advance on away goals, becoming the first Canadian team to make a CONCACAF Champions League final. Meanwhile in Mexico, in front of 66,208 at Estadio Azteca, America CF quickly erased their 3-0 deficit scoring five goals in the first 32 minutes. The opener by Darwin Quintero, who actually scored against Toronto FC during their CONCACAF Champions League run in 2012, was followed by four quick goals from Argentinian Dario Benedetto. Benedetto is a player who I actually wrote about in great detail during last year's CONCACAF Champions League final article, on why MLS struggles against Liga MX, including the scouting and not paying for transfers of proven players in South America. America won the game 6-0 with Alejandro Diaz scoring the sixth in the second half. Club America had 20 shots in the game, 71% of the possession and completely overwhelmed Herediano, who had Edder Nelseon sent off in the 27th minute of the game. Why Liga MX continues to outperform MLS in the Champions League http://t.co/rp2qSdxWsV via @ENBSports #MLS #CONCACAF #CCL — RNO (@rednationonline) March 20, 2014

Which now brings us to the final. The Impact are heavy underdogs and the outcome could be settled early with the first leg being played at the famous Estadio Azteca. The match should be played in front of 80,000, 7,200 feet above sea level and brings a tradition of clubs and countries, including Canada, losing badly. America won the 2014 Apertura and are currently 4th in the Liga MX Clausura, only losing once at the Azteca this season. Under new Liga MX rules, players who played previously in Mexico now count as domestic players. This means America has five Argentinians, including captain Rubens Sambueza, Diaz, and Benedetto, Columbian Quintero, Ecuadorian Micheal Arroyo, and Paraguayan Miguel Samudio, Osvaldo Martinez and Pablo Aguilar, who now plays for the Mexican national team. Other Mexican nationals include Oribe Peralta and keeper Moises Munoz. The goal for the Impact will be to stay alive for the first game and hope for another miracle in front of a full Olympic Stadium. Outside of a few games, ironically in Mexico during the 1986 World Cup, Toronto and Vancouver's NASL soccer cup championships, and the Blizzards two losses in the same league, this will be the most high profile games in Canadian Soccer history. The Impact are 0-2-2 and last place in 2015 MLS standings. Their reserve team, FC Montreal have looked overwhelmed, losing their first two games at home in USL, and not many who predict the finals will be taking Montreal over America. However, what made Castel di Sangro such a great story was how much of an underdog they were, and how in sport we want the underdog to succeed. In the case of the Montreal Impact they have only won 12 games over the last two seasons and could be champions of North America. With an improbable win in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions league, this story would go down as the "Miracle of L'Impact de Montréal".