CF Montréal

CF Montréal is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Montreal Impact (french: Impact de Montréal, links=no), the team began play in MLS in 2012 as an expansion team, the league's nineteenth franchise and third Canadian club, leaving the North American Soccer League. The club rebranded as Club de Foot Montréal in 2021; however, amidst continued discontent and pressure from supporters and local media to the rebrand, the club introduced a revised logo for the 2023 season, with the club being known simply as CF Montréal.

In 2015, the Impact became the second MLS club, and first Canadian club, to advance to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League losing to Club América. CF Montréal/Montreal Impact have won the Voyageurs Cup, the domestic trophy for professional club soccer in Canada, a total of 11 times.

The club plays its home matches at Saputo Stadium. The head coach is Hernán Losada.

History

Founding and pre-MLS era

Impact de Montréal FC were founded in 1992 when the Saputo family acquired a new franchise in the American Professional Soccer league (APSL), at the time the topflight of professional North American soccer north of the Rio Grande, set to begin competition for the 1993 season.

American Professional Soccer league (APSL) from 1993 to 1994 and A-League from 1995 to 2004

Championships: 1994 and 2004

In 1994, 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.

In 2004, defeated 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 Impact were regular season champions for three consecutive seasons, from 1995 to 1997.

United Soccer Leagues First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) from 2005 to 2009

In 2005, the A-League was absorbed into the United Soccer Leagues First Division. The Impact started the 2005 season with a 15-game undefeated streak and finished 10 points clear of second place. They were nevertheless knocked out in the semi-finals by the Seattle Sounders.  That same year, the club announced the construction of Stade Saputo. The soccer-specific stadium and the club’s current home opened in May 2008

Championship: 2009

In 2009, defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–1 (6–3 on aggregate) at Stade Saputo in Montréal, in front of a crowd of 13,034.

The Impact were Commissioner`s Cup winners (regular season champions) in 2005 and 2006.

USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) in 2010

After the 2009 season, the Impact, along with 8 other clubs, broke away from the USL-1 to become one of the founding members of the new North American Soccer League. However, due to a legal dispute between the USL and new NASL, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) created a temporary league (the D2 Pro League) for the 2010 season.  The Impact lost in the semi-finals in the only season played in the D2 Pro League.

North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2011

Despite being founded in 2009, the NASL only began play in 2011 due to legal issues. The Impact failed to qualify for the playoffs in their only season in the league.  The Impact joined MLS the following year.

Voyageurs Cup

During their pre-MLS era, the Impact won the first 7 editions of the Voyagers Cup, from 2002 to 2008.

CONCACAF Champions League

The Impact qualified for the 2008–2009 CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in its history by winning the first edition of the Canadian Championships, the only berth allotted to a club from Canada. During group stage, the Impact lost only once to the eventual Champions, Atlante Fútbol Club, in Cancún. After losing 2–0 to the Impact in Montréal, Joe Public FC head coach Keith Griffith publicly predicted his team would easily win the return match on their home turf. "The next time we meet the Impact (in Trinidad and Tobago), we'll beat them by four goals clear, for sure," Griffith said at the time. However, the Impact defeated the Trinidadian club with a 4–1 win in Port of Spain. The Impact finished second in group C and thus advanced to the quarter finals.  The Impact recorded a 2–0 win at Olympic Stadium against Mexican club Santos Laguna in the first leg, in front of an attendance of 55,571. In the second leg, the Impact lead Santos Laguna 2–1 at halftime, forging a 4–1 lead on aggregate in Torreón.  However, in the second half, Santos Laguna scored 4 unanswered goals, including 2 goals in added time.

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 (MLS). 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 (former co-owner of Liverpool F.C. and former owner of the Montreal Canadiens) 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

On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their first MLS game, a 2–0 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. A week later, the team made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium, playing to a 1–1 draw with Chicago Fire; the match attracted 58,912 spectators, surpassing the previous record for professional soccer in Montreal established in a 1981 Montreal Manic home game against the Chicago Sting (58,542). On May 12, 2012, the Impact played in front of a crowd of 60,860 spectators during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy, establishing a record attendance for a professional soccer match in Canada. In the 2012 regular season, Montreal had finished in seventh in the Eastern conference with a record of 12 wins, 16 losses, and 6 ties.

On February 23, 2013, Montreal won the 2013 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, beating Columbus Crew 1–0 in the final during their pre-season campaign. Montreal Impact also have won the 2013 Canadian Championship on May 29, being their first major trophy as an expansion team in MLS, second in the club's existence. This victory also gave Montreal its eighth Voyageurs Cup. In the 2013 MLS season, they had finished the regular season with a record of 14 wins, 13 losses, and 7 ties. Montreal Impact earned their first-ever berth in the playoffs by clinching fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. During the playoffs, Montreal were eliminated by the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round. By being champions of the 2013 Canadian Championship, Montreal earned their first-ever berth as an MLS expansion team for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League.

In 2014, the Impact became repeated champions of the Voyageurs Cup by beating Toronto FC in the 2014 Canadian Championship final on June 4, 2014. In the 2014 MLS season, Montreal Impact finished their season with a 6–18–10 (W-L-D) record being the worst team in MLS that season, being last in both Eastern conference and overall in the league.

The Impact were the first Canadian team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, in 2015 when they lost 5–3 on aggregate against Mexico's Club América. In the first leg on April 22, they drew 1–1, while a week later at home, they lost 4–2.

2015–present

In 2015, head coach Frank Klopas was fired in August and replaced on an interim basis by former Impact player Mauro Biello. After qualifying for the playoffs and defeating Toronto FC in the first round before being eliminated in the Conference semi-finals by the Columbus Crew, Biello was hired permanently. The team was also boosted mid-season by the arrival of Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba, formerly of Chelsea.

Biello was dismissed by the club in October 2017 after failing to qualify for the playoffs and was succeeded by Rémi Garde, formerly of Aston Villa. Garde was himself dismissed in August 2019 and replaced by former Colombian football defender Wilmer Cabrera on an interim basis. During Cabrera`s time at the helm of the team, the Impact won the 2019 Canadian Championship defeating Toronto FC in the finals. Despite his success in the Canadian Championship, Cabrera failed to lead the team to the MLS playoffs and his contract was not renewed for the following season.

In November 2019, former France international Thierry Henry signed a two-year deal to coach the Impact. In his first season, the team made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but were eliminated 2–1 by the New England Revolution in the first round. That same year, the Impact's first Champions League campaign since the 2015 final ended in the quarter-finals, with away goals elimination by Hondurian club C.D. Olimpia. Henry resigned in February 2021 stating family reasons for his decision to step down as head coach. In a press release, he said: "The last year has been an extremely difficult one for me personally. Due to the worldwide pandemic, I was unable to see my children. Unfortunately due to the ongoing restrictions and the fact that we will have to relocate to the U.S. again for several months will be no different. The separation is too much of a strain for me and my kids. Therefore, it is with much sadness that I must take the decision to return to London and leave CF Montreal." Following Henry`s abrupt departure, assistant coach Wilfried Nancy was named interim head coach and following an impressive start to his first season, Nancy was made permanent and his contract renewed in May 2021 as head coach for 2022.

CF Montréal finished the 2022 MLS season with club-records of 20 wins and 65 points, good for second in the Eastern Conference and third overall. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where New York City FC defeated them, 3–1, at Stade Saputo. Coach Nancy, an MLS Coach of the Year candidate, decamped for Columbus Crew after the season, replaced by former D.C. United boss Hernán Losada.

Team name and logo

In regards to keeping the name "Impact" upon the move to MLS, Montreal stated its intention "to maintain its name and global team image." The official logo for the team was revealed at the start of a match between the NASL Montreal Impact team and the NSC Minnesota Stars on August 6, 2011.

The previous logo was a shield in blue, black, white and silver containing a stylized fleur-de-lis and four silver stars, overlaid with the Impact wordmark. The fleur-de-lis, which also appeared on the logo of the NASL Impact team, is a globally recognized symbol of French heritage, and features prominently on the flag of Quebec as a reflection of Québécois culture. The four stars represent the four founding communities of Montreal identified on the city's coat of arms. At the top of the shield, the team's motto, "Tous Pour Gagner" (French for "all for victory") is inscribed. In 2020, the Impact unveiled a new slogan, "Passion. Fierté. Authenticité." (Passion. Pride. Authenticity.").

In January 2021, the club rebranded as Club de Foot Montréal (or CF Montreal), with Saputo saying "It's hard to let go of things you love. But here's the reality — to make an impact, we need to retire the Impact." As part of the rebranding, the club unveiled a new badge and colors. The club's new official colours were marketed as "Impact Black", "Ice Gray", and "Sacré Bleu". The new badge predominantly features four letter M`s and eight arrows pointing to its centre, the elements combining to resemble a stylised snowflake. Creators stated that the new badge was an homage to the emblems of the 1976 Summer Olympics and Expo 67.

The rebranding was poorly received by large portions of the fanbase, local media, former Impact players and especially the club's main supporter groups, most notably the Ultras who published a letter and a petition requesting the club go back to its previous name. In February 2021, supporters protested the rebranding in front of Saputo Stadium. During the protest, the stadium entrance sign featuring the new badge was vandalized by covering the new badge with black paint. One individual was arrested.

In May 2022, amidst declining ticket sales, continued discontent and pressure from fans and media alike, the club unveiled a new badge and announced that it would take effect for the 2023 season, with the club shortening the name to simply CF Montréal. The new badge features a return to the clubs traditional colours with blue being predominant, and centered around a stylised fleur de lys, which the club has used as a symbol since 2002.

Uniform evolution

Home, away, and alternative uniforms.
*Home

*Away

*Alternative

Club culture

Supporters group

"Ultras Montréal", also known as "UM02", was founded in 2002 and was CF Montréal's largest and oldest supporters group. The group's motto is "Toujours fidèles" in French and translates as "Forever faithful". The Ultras were a highly active group, known for their unwavering 90 minute chants, use of smoke grenades, creating large tifos, waving flags, and organizing road trips to follow the club on away games. The group was located directly behind the net, on the south side of Stade Saputo, in section 132 with some spillover into section 131. Smaller independent groups are also located in these sections, joining their voices to the Ultras during matches.

In September 2021, the organization announced that it was banning certain supporter groups, most notably, the Ultras Montréal. This move sparked many skeptical reactions as it came on the heels of a feud between the group and then President of the club, Kevin Gilmore. The conflict was a culmination of things that started almost exclusively with the rebranding of the club and abandonment of the highly popular team name, Impact de Montréal. The club cited misconduct and past violent incidents, however no further specifics were given in their press release.

"127 Montréal" was formed in 2011 and are located in the south-west corner of Stade Saputo, in section 127. Although not an official supporters section in the stadium, the club removed several rows of seats at the bottom of section 127 to accommodate the group. The group can be identified in the stadium by a banner displaying the group's name and crest. The crest features a snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), the official bird of the Province of Québec. 127 Montréal would usually join the Ultras in their chants during matches and occasionally join them on away games. Since the banning of UM02, 127 Montréal have continued to use chants popularized by the Ultras during matches, sometimes in coordination with supporters in section 131. The group can also be seen during matches waving flags sporting their logo and using smoke grenades.

Named after the founding year of Montreal, 1642 MTL is a supporters group formed in 2015 and located directly behind the net, on the north side of Saputo Stadium, in section 114. 1642 MTL are the owners and caretakers of the North Star bell. Highly active during matches, the group uses flags extensively, occasionally creates tifos and uses smoke grenades. Prior to the banning of UM02, the two supporters groups at opposing ends of the field, acting independently, created hostile territory for opposing goaltenders during both halfs.

On September 6, 2022, the club announced that it would be reopening section 132 to supporter groups, the decision taking immediate effect. A collective of supporters, many of whom were previously active in section 132 prior to its closure in September 2021, have confirmed they will be making the section their home as the "Collectif Impact Montréal". "Ultras Montréal" released a statement on September 7, 2022 indicating that they are not part of the collective.

Mascot

The official mascot of the club was Tac-Tik the dog.

The North Star

The "North Star" or "L'Étoile du Nord" in French is a high, wide, bell acquired by the 1642MTL supporters group as a goal and victory celebration. It was inaugurated on October 25, 2015, by Montreal mayor Denis Coderre where it was rung twice in a Montreal Impact victory against Toronto FC. Since then, numerous personalities from the sports, cultural and art worlds, including many famous Montrealers and others linked to the city have been invited to ring the bell. Amonst them, local media personalities Tony Marinaro and Jean-Charles Lajoie, Canadian women`s national soccer team players Gabrielle Carle and Josée Bélanger, retired Montréal Expos pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee, retired Montreal Canadiens center Andrew Shaw, retired Montréal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, mixed martial artist and former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and many Canadian Olympic medallists.

The North Star is a symbolistic nod to the city`s religious heritage. Québec is unique among Canadian provinces in its overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population. Its history steeped in religion, Montréal is nicknamed “ The City of a Hundred Steeples” for the many church steeples that dominated the city`s skyline prior to the emergence of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. While visiting Montréal in 1881, Mark Twain said; �
This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window. Yet I was told that you were going to build one more. I said the scheme is good, but where are you going to find room? They said, we will build it on top of another church and use an elevator
”

Rivalries

CF Montréal's biggest rival is Toronto FC, arguably MLS` fiercest rivalry. Professional soccer clubs from Canada`s two largest cities have competed against each other for over 40 years. From the original NASL, the Canadian Soccer League, the A-League until today in the MLS, the rivalry has continued throughout various leagues and in the Canadian Championship. Since both teams have joined the MLS, the rivalry has intensified, culminating in the 2016 MLS Eastern conference finals, arguably the MLS` greatest playoff series. The first leg of the series at Stade Olympique in Montréal holds the record for the largest attendance for a match featuring two Canadian soccer teams with 61,004 fans. The matches between the two clubs have become a Canadian soccer classic which has been nicknamed the Canadian Classique or the 401 Derby, for the 401 highway that links the two cities.

The following table lists the history of official matches in MLS and the Canadian Championship between CF Montréal and Toronto FC.

CF Montréal also shares a minor rivalry with Vancouver Whitecaps FC, which stems from their pre-MLS clubs, most notably in the USL-1 2009 finals when the Impact defeated the Whitecaps 3–1 in Montréal (6–3 on aggregate) to win the league championship on October 17, 2009. The rivalry transported to the MLS after both clubs joined the league and has been sustained mainly through the Canadian Championship, most notably when the clubs faced off in the 2013 finals won by Montréal and the 2015 finals won by Vancouver.

Affiliations

CF Montréal Academy and Reserves

CF Montréal Academy is the club's youth academy and development system, which was established in 2010. The academy consists of various teams, from U8 to U23. From 2010 to 2012, the academy entered a team in the Canadian Soccer League, which replaced their former reserve team Trois-Rivières Attak. In 2014, the U23 team competed in the USL Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the Canadian soccer pyramid. In 2015 and 2016, a reserve team competed in the United Soccer League under the name FC Montreal. Currently, they enter U18 and U16 teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and a U23 team competing in the PLSQ.

Ottawa Fury FC

The Ottawa Fury FC, of the league then known as the United Soccer League and now as the USL Championship, entered into an affiliation agreement on December 9, 2016. That agreement ended when the Ottawa Fury were dissolved on November 8, 2019 and their USL franchise rights sold to Miami FC the following month.

Stadium

CF Montréal plays its home matches at Saputo Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium with a natural grass playing surface built in 2008 for the then second division Impact de Montréal but designed with expansion in mind with the club anticipating a move to MLS. The Québec government announced $23 million in funding to expand the stadium to more than 20,000 seats as well as build a training field with synthetic turf adjacent to the stadium.

Expansion to Saputo Stadium was expected to be finished in time for the start of the club`s inaugural 2012 MLS season, but it was announced on July 17, 2011, that the expansion would be delayed. As a consequence, the neighbouring Olympic Stadium was used for the Impact's first six home dates (5 MLS regular season, 1 Canadian Championship). The Impact's first MLS game at Saputo Stadium was eventually played on June 16, 2012, a 4–1 win over Seattle.

Though Saputo Stadium serves as the club's primary home, Olympic Stadium is also used for special events which demand a larger capacity or more favorable playing conditions (e.g. the team's season home opener, playoff matches, international competitions, and under winter conditions).

Home stadium
* Saputo Stadium; Montreal, Quebec (2012–present): capacity 20,801

Other stadiums
* Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec (2012–present): capacity 61,004

Broadcasting

As of the 2017 season, TVA Sports is the exclusive French-language broadcaster of all CF Montreal matches, as the team's regional rightsholder, and national French-language rightsholder of Major League Soccer. TVA Sports aired 24 matches during the team's inaugural season, with play by play duties currently held by Fréderic Lord and colour commentary provided by Vincent Destouches.

Montreal matches against Canadian opponents are broadcast in English by TSN as part of its rights to MLS (which covers the national package, and separate rights to Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps matches not covered by the national package). CF Montreal does not have a separate English-language broadcast agreement for matches not covered by these agreements. Prior to 2017, some Impact matches were previously televised by TSN sister network RDS as part of its national rights to MLS.

CHMP ''98,5 FM'' served as the club's French-language radio flagship from 2015 through 2020, with Jeremy Filosa on play-by-play and analyst Arcadio Marcuzzi. On January 19, 2021, CKLX ''91.9 Sports'' announced that it would become the club's new French-language radio flagship through 2022. CKGM ''TSN 690 Montreal'' serves as the English-language radio flagship of the club. Rick Moffat handles play-by-play duties while colour commentary is provided by former Montreal player Grant Needham.

Players and staff

Roster

Out on loan

Retired numbers

: 20 – Mauro Biello, forward (1993–98, 2000–09)

Management

* Joey Saputo – Owner
* Gabriel Gervais – President and Chief Executive Officer
* Olivier Renard – Vice president and Chief Sporting Officer
* Samia Chebeir – Vice president communications and marketing
* Vassili Cremanzidis – Assistant Sporting Director
* Patrick Leduc – Director of soccer culture

Coaching staff

* Hernán Losada – head coach
* Laurent Ciman – assistant coach
* Romuald Peiser – goalkeeping coach

Head coach records

* 1.Includes league, playoff, Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions League matches.

Honours

National

Canadian Championship
* Winners: 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021
* Runners-up: 2015, 2017

Continental

CONCACAF Champions League
* Runners-up: 2014–15

Friendly

CapCity Cup
* Winners: 2018
Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic
* Winners: 2013

Team records

Year-by-year

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by CF Montréal. For the full season-by-season history, see List of CF Montréal seasons.

1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.

2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, Playoffs, Canadian Championship, MLS is Back Tournament, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

All-time continental competition win/loss

International results

Player records

Top appearances (MLS regular season matches only)

Bolded players are currently on the CF Montréal roster.

Top goalscorers (MLS regular season matches only)

Bolded players are currently on the CF Montréal roster.

Top assists (MLS regular season matches only)

Bolded players are currently on the CF Montréal roster.

Top wins (MLS regular season matches only)

Bolded players are currently on the CF Montréal roster.

Top clean sheets (MLS regular season matches only)

Bolded players are currently on the CF Montréal roster.

Giuseppe Saputo Trophy

The Giuseppe Saputo Trophy is awarded to the club's Most Valuable Player.

Golden Boot

CF Montréal's Golden Boot is awarded to the club's leading goalscorer.

''Note: Only MLS regular season goals count.''

Defensive player of the year

Awarded to the club's best defender.

Jason Di Tullio Trophy

Awarded in recognition of the player who best embodied the spirit of “La Grinta” throughout the MLS season.

Club captains

Footnotes

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montreal CF

Association football clubs established in 1993
Major League Soccer teams based in Canada
Soccer clubs in Quebec
1993 establishments in Quebec
Expatriated football clubs