CF Montréal
CF Montréal is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Montreal Impact, they began playing in the MLS in 2012 as the league's nineteenth franchise and third Canadian club.
In 2015, the Impact was the first ever Canadian club and the second MLS club to advance to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, where they lost to Club América.
The club rebranded as Club de Foot Montréal in 2021 with a new club logo and colours. Amidst discontent and pressure from supporters and local media, the club introduced a revised logo for the 2023 season, with the club being known simply as CF Montréal.
CF Montréal and its predecessor clubs have won the Voyageurs Cup, the domestic trophy for professional club soccer in Canada, a total of 11 times, five of which are within the format of the Canadian Championship, the national championship for professional clubs in Canada formed in 2008. The club competes in the Leagues Cup, the North American zonal competition for CONCACAF, and is eligible for the cross-border Campeones Cup, but does not take part in the U.S. Open Cup.
The club plays its home matches at Saputo Stadium and is managed by Marco Donadel.
History
Founding and pre-MLS era
were founded in December 1992 when the Saputo family acquired a new franchise in the American Professional Soccer League, at the time the top flight of professional U.S. and Canadian soccer, which was set to begin competition for the 1993 season. According to club owner Joey Saputo, the franchise was branded Impact because he wanted the team to make an impact on the sport in Montréal, in Québec and in Canada at large; the word is also identical in English and French, which eased marketing in the city's bilingual environment.In 1994, the Impact defeated the Colorado Foxes 1–0 at Centre Claude Robillard in Montréal, in front of a crowd of 8,169. The victory was the first championship for a professional soccer club from the city of Montréal. The Impact were regular season champions for three consecutive seasons; from 1995 to 1996 in the APSL, and in 1997 as part of the post-merger USISL A-League. In 2004, the Impact won the A-League championship by defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0 at Centre Claude Robillard in Montréal, in front of a crowd of 13,648—a new attendance record for the club at the time.
The A-League was renamed the USL First Division in November 2004. The Impact started the 2005 season with a 15-game undefeated streak and finished 10 points clear of second place to win the Commissioner's Cup. They were knocked out in the playoffs semi-finals by the Seattle Sounders. That same year, the club announced the construction of Saputo Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium and the club's current home, which opened on May 19, 2008. The Impact repeated as Commissioner's Cup winners in 2006 and won their first USL playoff championship in 2009 after they defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 6–3 on aggregate in the two-legged final. The second leg was played at Saputo Stadium in front of a crowd of 13,034.
The Impact won the first seven editions of the Voyageurs Cup, the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada awarded to the best Canadian team in the USL First Division, from 2002 to 2007. Since 2008, the trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship. The Impact won the first edition of the competition in 2008 which qualified the club for the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League, their first continental tournament. The club advanced through the preliminary and group stages to the Champions League quarterfinals, where the Impact were defeated 5–4 on aggregate by Mexican club Santos Laguna. In 2009, the Impact announced plans to join the breakaway North American Soccer League, a new second division league, but due to legal disputes with the USL, they instead joined the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League for one season in 2010. The Impact finished third in the league's NASL Conference and lost in the semifinals to Carolina RailHawks FC. The team also lead the league in average attendance with 12,608 spectators per match. Montréal ultimately played in the NASL for one season, failing to qualify for the playoffs, before being replaced by their MLS incarnation.
MLS franchise bid and transition
Toward the end of 2007, much speculation had been made about a possible franchise move for the lower division Impact to Major League Soccer. The construction of the expandable Saputo Stadium further suggested an interest on the part of the group to move up to the top-level North American league. Although Toronto FC held a three-year Canadian exclusivity deal that did not expire until 2009, they stated in March 2008 that they would gladly welcome the Impact into MLS.Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett regarding possible joint ownership of a franchise. On July 24, 2008, MLS announced they were seeking to add two expansion teams for the 2011 season, of which Montreal was listed as a potential candidate.
On November 22, 2008, the group's bid for an MLS franchise was not retained by commissioner Don Garber. In response to Vancouver's successful bid in March 2009, Impact GM Nick De Santis commented that he expected chairman Saputo to pursue and realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday. By May 16, 2009, the Montreal Gazette reported Garber and Saputo had resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011.
On May 7, 2010, Garber and Saputo announced Montreal as the nineteenth club in Major League Soccer, set to begin play for the 2012 season. The MLS franchise is privately owned by the Saputo family.
On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal to become their lead sponsor and jersey sponsor in MLS.
In August 2011, Jesse Marsch became the Impact's new head coach. The club began building their roster for their inaugural MLS season in October 2011 with the signing of defenseman Nelson Rivas, previously of Inter Milan. From their NASL roster, the Impact re-signed defender Hassoun Camara, goalkeeper Evan Bush and midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic to new MLS contracts. Through the MLS expansion draft, the Impact were able to select in November 2011 ten more players, most notably midfielder and American international Justin Mapp. The Impact also traded for Davy Arnaud from Sporting Kansas City who would eventually become the team's first MLS captain. In December 2011, the club signed long-time Impact goalkeeper and Canadian international Greg Sutton, midfielder, Canadian international, future team captain and future Canada Soccer hall of famer Patrice Bernier, and Brazilian midfielder Felipe Martins. Veteran forward and long-time Impact player Eduardo Sebrango was invited to training camp and in February 2012 was awarded an MLS contract.
Beginnings in MLS and Champions League Final
2012 seasonOn March 10, 2012, the Impact played their inaugural MLS game, a 2–0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. A week later, the club made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium against the Chicago Fire, the game ending in a 1–1 draw. The match attracted 58,912 spectators, surpassing the previous record for professional soccer in Montréal established in a 1981 Montreal Manic home game against the Chicago Sting. On May 12, 2012, the Impact set a new attendance record for a professional soccer match in Canada with a crowd of 60,860 spectators during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy which ended in 1–1 draw. On May 24, 2012, the club announced the signing of their first ever MLS Designated Player in Marco Di Vaio, previously of Bologna F.C. 1909. Di Vaio signed with the Impact after 14 seasons in Serie A and went on to score 34 goals in 76 appearances from 2012 to 2014 with the club. The Impact finished the 2012 regular season in seventh place in the Eastern conference with a record of 12 wins, 16 losses, and 6 ties. On November 3, 2012, head coach Jesse Marsch stepped down due to a difference of opinion with club management over how the team should move forward.
2013 season
On January 7, 2013, the Impact named Marco Schällibaum as head coach. Schällibaum had previously coached nearly 10 years in the Swiss Super League. On February 23, the Impact won the 2013 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, beating Columbus Crew 1–0 in the final during their pre-season campaign. On May 29, the club won the 2013 Canadian Championship by defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the final, the Impact's first major trophy since joining MLS and their eighth Voyageurs Cup. As Canadian Champions, the Impact earned a spot in the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, their second ever berth and first berth since joinging MLS as an expansion team. The club finished the 2013 MLS regular season with a record of 14 wins, 13 losses, and 7 ties which earned them their first-ever MLS playoff berth, finishing in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Impact were eliminated by the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round. The club announced on December 18 that Marco Schällibaum would not return and former Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas would replace him as the Impact's new head coach.
2014 season
The Impact became repeat Voyageurs Cup champions by defeating Toronto FC in the 2014 Canadian Championship final on June 4, 2014. Despite their success in the domestic cup, the Impact struggled in league play. The Impact finished the 2014 MLS season with a record of 6–18–10, finishing last in the league.
In the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, Montreal Impact won a group against the New York Red Bulls and FAS of El Salvador. They then won on the away goals rule against Pachuca of Mexico in the quarter-finals, and Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the semi-finals. In the final against Club América, the team lost 5–3 on aggregate despite drawing the first game 1–1 in Mexico City.