Last Sunday, in the unseasonably bright and warm surrounds of Dublin's city centre, I met a friend - Irish-born, Canada-based - for brunch. It was an energetic catch-up. We gave our respective theories on how Mad Men would end, celebrated and forensically analyzed the wonderful absurdity of cult sitcom Fr. Ted and ebulliently praised the remarkable story of Montreal Impact who, just days before, had returned from an imposing, intimidating and traditionally brutal trip to Mexico with a 1-1 first-leg result in their CONCACAF Champions League final clash with local side Club America.

“Of course”, said my friend, “No one cares about the story in Canada – it's an afterthought.”

I took a second before nodding in agreement. It was an illuminating comment.

In the days before and after the Impact's superb performance at the iconic and easily overwhelming Azteca Stadium, I had read various reports on the game and the wider context of the result. But the majority of the words were published on the websites of UK media outlets. The Guardian, who have excelled in delivering excellent Major League Soccer and North American-related soccer content for a while now - offered a thoughtful, in-depth preview and subsequent match report.

The Daily Telegraph, using former Premier League star and current Impact midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker as the angle, ran a nice feature on the eve of the clash. They followed that up with a recent piece on what a Montreal Champions League victory would do for the worldwide reputation of MLS.



Elsewhere, ESPN has provided plenty of coverage across its various platforms while the the official MLS website, to its credit, has produced a litany of content devoted to what is a genuine feel-good narrative for the league.

So, a widespread and detailed trail across Britain and the USA then. Yet, a quick glance at the CBC's website today shows their lead sports story is about Canadian swimmer Ryan Cochrane.

Later tonight, as the second-leg takes place at the city's Olympic Stadium, the Montreal Impact can make history. No soccer team from North America has ever won the CONCACAF Champions League. But dig deeper and the success story becomes even more fascinating and eyebrow-raising.

Mexico and the United States each gets four representatives in the tournament. Costa Rica has three teams. Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama has two each. Canada gets one, along with Nicaragua. That's the reality of Canada's standing in the competition – the very bottom. And this season, to make matters worse, the Canadian team that qualified (as the winner of the country's domestic six-team championship) was 2014's worst MLS side.

The very fact the Montreal Impact – a club that has endured rather than enjoyed its three-year stint in the league – has got to the latter stages of such a notoriously treacherous competition is mind-blowing. Drawn in a group alongside FAS and New York Red Bulls, they won both their home games thanks to goals from 38 year-old Marco di Vaio, picked up a magnificent, hard-fought and confidence-infusing triumph in El Salvador (Di Vaio with two more) and rounded off a superb first-stage with a 1-1 draw in New Jersey last October (only conceding an equalizer six minutes from time).

Three days after confirming their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Montreal drew 1-1 with DC United in their final MLS game of the season:15,000 Impact fans were there. The previous March, 27,000 turned up at the Big O for the first match of the campaign against Seattle but local support inevitably dwindled as Montreal struggled. In the end, they managed just six wins in 34 games. As bad as things were in Toronto, Montreal finished thirteen points behind them. Vancouver, the best-performing Canadian side in the league, won twice as many games and were ten places higher. Yet, the Champions League, having provided solace for much of late-2014, has sprinkled stardust this spring.

A trip to Mexico to face heavyweights Pachuca – four-time winners of the Champions Cup/Champions League in late-February - was ominous. It had been a good run for Montreal. The quarter-finals was an astounding showing in the circumstances. Everyone feared the worst. Instead, for four minutes, the Impact led by two goals and managed a 2-2 draw. That same night, as if to prove the magnitude of Montreal's result, DC United were thumped 5-2 by Alajuelense in Costa Rica.

Story continues