Nevio Pizzolitto (born August 26, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who most recently played for Montreal Impact in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Career

Youth

Pizzolitto began playing youth soccer with the Sporting-Patriotes of the

Quebec Elite Soccer League Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

in 1990. He was picked several times on the LSEQ all-star teams, was also proclaimed Defender of the Year. He helped helping Sporting-Patriotes reach the national club championship in the U15 category in 1990, and later went on to win the national title at the U19 level in 1994.

Professional

Pizzolitto signed with Montreal Impact in the summer of 1995, becoming an important key to Montreal's defence. Where he has helped the Impact win the league championship in 2004, as well as the regular-season title from 1995 to 1997, and 2005 to 2006. As well as claiming the

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 nationa ...

six years in row. In 2005, he helped the Impact to a 15-game undefeated streak which marked a new league record. He was picked on the second All-League team from 2004 to 2006, and was named the Impact's Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. Early in his career he had a short spell in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, with

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

side

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

. On July 16, 2006, he played his 200th career game with the Montreal club, becoming the third player in club history to reach that mark after

Nick De Santis Nicolas De Santis (born November 11, 1967) is a former professional soccer player. Club career After beginning his pro career in 1987 with the Montreal Supra of the Canadian Soccer League, he signed for the Montreal Impact in 1993 where he he ...

and

Mauro Biello Mauro Biello (born August 8, 1972) is a Canadian professional assistant coach and former player who has been an assistant coach of the Canada men's national team since 2018. He played as a forward for several Canadian and American lower divisio ...

. On July 26, 2006, he climbed to third place in club history for career minutes played with the Impact, surpassing

Patrick Diotte Patrick Diotte (born November 13, 1967) is a former soccer player from Canada. Club career Born in Longueuil, Quebec, Diotte started his professional career with the Ottawa Pioneers before moving to Montreal Supra in 1988. He spent the rest of ...

. He helped Montreal come up with 10 shutouts at home, tying a club record, and allow only four goals at home, marking a new club record in 2006. On December 2, 2008 the Montreal Impact announced the re-signing of central defenders Pizzolitto and

Stefano Pesoli Stefano Pesoli (born February 29, 1984) is an Italian footballer. Career Europe Pesoli began his career in the youth system of the famed Serie A club AS Roma but never played for the first team; he spent the majority of his early career in the ...

to a two-year contract. During the 2009 season he helped the Impact maintain the second best defense in the league, by only allowing in 28 goals in 30 games. On June 28, 2008 he reached a milestone with the club by playing his 220th career match, surpassing Nick De Santis for second spot in club history. In the

Nutrilite Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...

, he helped win the 2008 Nutrilite Canadian Championship for the Impact which meant the club qualified to the inaugural

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

. During the Impact tenure in the Champions League, Pizzolitto played a dominant role in the defence for the Impact throughout the tournament. In total he appeared in nine out of ten matches and helped the Impact reach the quarterfinals before losing out to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

to 5–4 on aggregate. He was selected to the USL First Division First All-League team for the first time in his career, and was awarded by Montreal the ''Defensive Player of the Year award'' for the second time in his career. During the 2009 USL season Pizzolitto contributed by helping the Impact clinch a playoff spot under new head coach

Marc Dos Santos Marc Dos Santos (born May 26, 1977) is a Canadian soccer coach who is an assistant coach for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. He was previously the head coach of Montreal Impact (1992–2011), Montreal Impact in D2 Pro League and the Vanc ...

. He recorded his first playoff goal in the quarterfinal match against

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. The match resulted in 2–1 victory for the Impact, and allowed the Impact to advance to the finals by winning their second match on aggregate. Montreal would advance on to the finals where their opponents would end up being the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

, thus marking the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. In the final Pizzolitto helped the Impact win the series 6–3 on aggregate. The victory gave the Impact their third USL Championship and also the victory marked Pizzolitto's second USL Championship. On October 6, 2009 he received the ''Defensive Player of the Year award'', winning the award for a consecutive year. On January 25, 2010 the Montreal Impact announced the appointment of Pizzolitto as the successor to Mauro Biello as the new team captain. He played his 200th league game for Impact on June 9, 2010 against

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Sport and competition * NSC United, an American soccer team * National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition * National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship * National Shoot ...

. Pizzolitto failed to earn a spot on the roster when Montreal Impact joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

in 2012. He was released by Montreal on February 20, 2012.

International

Pizzolitto played at the

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were allo ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in a team alongside

Paul Stalteri Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in th ...

and

Jason Bent Jason Andrew Bent (born March 8, 1977) is a Canadian former soccer player and current assistant coach for LA Galaxy. A midfielder, he played in Major League Soccer for the Colorado Rapids, 2. Bundesliga for FSV Zwickau and the Football League ...

. He made his senior debut for the Canada national soccer team on October 10, 1999, against

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, in a Gold Cup qualifier. He made the 23 man roster for the

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one c ...

and played all three games. He has represented Canada in 1

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

match.Record at FIFA Tournaments
- FIFA He also played in international friendlies against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

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). ...

in 2003 and 2004.

Honors

Montreal Impact

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 b ...

Championship (2):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Commissioners Cup (5):

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Champions (7): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Career stats

Last updated: October 18, 2010 1) Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (American Based Clubs) - Nutrilite Canadian Cup (Canadian Based Clubs)
2) Concacaf Champions League

References

External links

Montreal Impact bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzolitto, Nevio 1976 births Living people Soccer players from Montreal Canadian people of Italian descent Association football defenders Canadian soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Richmond Kickers players American Professional Soccer League players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate soccer players in the United States 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Canada men's youth international soccer players