Gabriel Gervais (born September 18, 1976) is a Canadian retired soccer player who played as a defender for the Montreal Impact and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was named president of CF Montreal on March 28, 2022.

Club career

Gervais was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. During this tenure with the Montreal Impact Gervais helped the club win the league championship in 2004, as well as the regular season championships in 2005 and 2006. He was proclaimed Defensive Player of the Year for the Impact three times in 2002, 2003 and 2006, and won the Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy in 2004, awarded to the most valuable player of the Impact. Gervais was also named Defender of the Year in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

in 2003, 2004 and 2006, becoming the first player in the league to win that award three times. Gervais was also picked on the USL First Division All-League Team for six straight years, from 2002 to 2007. On January 6, 2009, Gervais announced his retirement from soccer, after a nine-year career in the

United Soccer Leagues First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. On April 15, 2009, during the Montreal Impact's pre-season banquet the club honoured Gervais by recognizing him as a Team Builder and was made an ambassador to the club. Gervais had a stint in the National Professional Soccer League with the short lived expansion franchise the Toronto ThunderHawks during the 2000–2001 winter indoor season. He helped the ThunderHawks reach the postseason by finishing second in the National Conference, and reached the Conference finals where they were defeated by the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

International career

Gervais made his national team debut on January 18, 2004, in a 1–0 win against

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

. He was invited to the Canadian World Cup team's training camp held between January 12 and 23, 2004, in Fort Lauderdale, following the hiring of Frank Yallop as new head coach. He played against Guatemala September 8, 2004, in a World Cup qualifying game.Record at FIFA Tournaments
– FIFA He played an international friendly against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

on February 9, 2005, in Belfast where he received two yellow cards and was sent off. He was invited to the Canadian national team's training camp in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

from June 4 to 9, 2005, and to the Gold Cup, from July 6 through 24. Though he missed the opening game for Canada at the Gold Cup against Costa Rica due to injury, he started and played 90 minutes against the United States on July 9, as well as playing against Cuba on July 12.

Career statistics

Honours

Montreal Impact *

Championship: 2004 * USL First Division Commissioners Cup: 2005, 2006 *

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's national ...

: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Rochester Raging Rhinos * USL First Division Championship: 2000, 2001

References

External links

Gervais @ impactmontreal.com
*
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gervais, Gabriel Living people 1976 births French Quebecers Soccer players from Montreal Association football defenders Canadian soccer players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Rochester New York FC players Toronto ThunderHawks players USL First Division players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States