The 2012 Montreal Impact season was the club's inaugural season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of both American and Canadian soccer. Including the former club, this was the 19th season of a team under the moniker "Montreal Impact".
For the 2012 season, outside of MLS, the Impact competed in the 2012 Canadian Championship, Canada's domestic cup competition, which determined the Canadian entrant in the CONCACAF Champions League, in which they lost the semi-final.
Jesse Marsch was hired to be the head coach in the club's inaugural season in MLS. Mauro Biello, Preston Burpo and Mike Sorber were hired as assistant coaches for the inaugural season.
Background
Prior to the start of the season, a Division 2 soccer club of the same named played in the North American Soccer League finishing in seventh during the regular season, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
On May 7, 2010, the club's owner, Joey Saputo, was granted a 19th franchise in Major League Soccer, starting in 2012. The MLS franchise will be privately owned by the Saputo family.
On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced they've reached a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) to become lead sponsor and jersey sponsor when they join MLS as an expansion team in 2012.
Review
October 2011 The building of the Montreal Impact MLS team started on October 3, 2011 with the signing of defensemen Nelson Rivas, who previously played for Inter Milan of the Italian Serie A. The club later awarded MLS contracts to former NASL team defensemen Hassoun Camara, goalkeeper Evan Bush and midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
November 2011 On November 23, 2011, the league held the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft which allowed the Impact to select ten players from their existing club's unprotected list. Brian Ching (from Houston Dynamo), Zarek Valentin (from C.D. Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (from Philadelphia Union), Bobby Burling (from San Jose Earthquakes), Jeb Brovsky (from Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Collen Warner (from Real Salt Lake), Josh Gardner (from Columbus Crew), Sanna Nyassi (from Colorado Rapids), James Riley (from Seattle Sounders FC) and Seth Sinovic (from Sporting Kansas City) were selected by the Montreal team. James Riley was immediately traded to C.D. Chivas USA with allocation money for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen. Seth Sinovic was later traded with allocation money to Sporting Kansas City for eventual captain Davy Arnaud. The club continued to build by adding defensemen Tyson Wahl, midfielder Bryan Arguez, and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
December 2011 The club's roster continued to take shape as the club signed Miguel Montaño who had been loaned to their NASL team by the Seattle Sounders FC, veteran goalkeeper and former Impact Greg Sutton, Quebec native midfielder Patrice Bernier and Brazilian midfielder Felipe.
January 2012 The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 12, 2012. With the first overall pick, the Impact selected Andrew Wenger from Duke University. Defender Calum Mallace was the team's second round choice. The team also added Jamaican defensemen Shavar Thomas to the roster.
February 2012
After a long period of uncertainty regarding his desire to play in Montreal, forward Brian Ching was sent back to Houston Dynamo for a conditional pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. The following day, Impact selected Eddie Johnson via allocation process, but immediately traded him to Seattle Sounders FC for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle. After making a good impression in training camp, veteran forward and long time Impact player Eduardo Sebrango was awarded a contract for MLS.
March 2012 On March 1, 2012, Italian defender Matteo Ferrari was signed by the club. On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their first-ever 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 the 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 (58,542). Former Serie A forward Bernardo Corradi was signed by the club on March 15, 2012 after a successful tryout period.
April 2012 The Montreal Impact captured their first ever MLS win on April 7, 2012 against Canadian rival Toronto FC. On April 20, 2012, Mike Fucito was traded to the Portland Timbers for either the Timbers' highest second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft or a 2013 international roster slot conditional on Fucito's performance.
May 2012 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."Impact ties LA Galaxy 1–1 in front of 60,860 spectators at Olympic Stadium," from ImpactMontreal.com, 5/12/2012 On May 24, 2012, Montreal Impact announced the signing of their first-ever Designated Player in Italian striker and Serie A veteran Marco Di Vaio.
June 2012
Quebec defender Karl Ouimette became the first player to graduate from the Montreal Impact Academy when he was awarded a contract on June 5, 2012. June 16, 2012 marked the opening of the fully renovated Saputo Stadium. Impact went on to win 4–1 against the Seattle Sounders FC before 17,112 spectators.
July 2012 In July, the club added two defensemen in Italian international Alessandro Nesta and Swiss Dennis Iapichino. Justin Braun and Tyson Wahl were traded to Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids respectively. Bryan Arguez and Miguel Montaño were sent on loans and Bobby Burling, who was selected in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft but never signed with the team, was traded to C.D. Chivas USA for an international roster slot.
August 2012 On August 7, 2012, Impact swapped goalkeepers with Portland Timbers, sending Donovan Ricketts to Portland for Troy Perkins.
On August 25, the expansion Montreal Impact set the record for most goals scored by an expansion team in MLS in a single season, with their 3–0 win against D.C. United, giving them 42 goals scored, breaking the mark of 40 goals scored by the Portland Timbers in 2011.
Competitions
Pre-season matches
Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic
Other pre-season matches
MLS regular season
Table Eastern Conference Table
Overall Table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
Amway Canadian championship
Semi-finals
Regular season friendlies
MLS reserves
The Montreal Impact will compete in the Eastern Division for the 2012 MLS Reserves season. The division consists of seven teams, including Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC.
League table Pos Club Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts1Columbus Crew Reserves (C)10721219+12222Montreal Impact Reserves107211910+9223Philadelphia Union Reserves1044220200144New York Red Bulls Reserves103521416−2115D.C. United Reserves9351919-10106New England Revolution Reserves10253915−697Toronto FC Reserves92521316−38
Match results
Player information
Squad information No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age At Year End) Previous club Goalkeepers 1 Troy Perkins GK Portland Timbers 24 Greg Sutton GK New York Red Bulls 30 Evan Bush GK Montreal Impact (NASL) Defenders 2 Nelson Rivas CB Inter Milan 3 Shavar Thomas CB Sporting Kansas City 6 Hassoun Camara CB\RB Montreal Impact (NASL) 13 Matteo Ferrari CB\LB Beşiktaş J.K. 14 Alessandro Nesta CB AC Milan 15 Jeb Brovsky RB Vancouver Whitecaps FC 17 Dennis Iapichino LB FC Lugano 19 Zarek Valentin RB Chivas USA 29 Calum Mallace LB\DM Marquette Golden Eagles 31 Josh Gardner LB\CM Columbus Crew 34 Karl Ouimette CB\LB Montreal Impact Academy Midfielders 7 Felipe Martins AM FC Lugano 8 Patrice Bernier DM Lyngby Boldklub 11 Sanna Nyassi RM/AM Colorado Rapids 18 Collen Warner CM/DM Real Salt Lake 21 Justin Mapp LM/CM Philadelphia Union 22 Davy Arnaud AM/RM Sporting Kansas City 25 Lamar Neagle AM Seattle Sounders FC 27 Bryan Arguez DM/CM Fort Lauderdale Strikers 28 Siniša Ubiparipović CM Montreal Impact (NASL) Attackers 9 Marco Di Vaio ST Bologna 16 Eduardo Sebrango ST Montreal Impact (NASL) 23 Bernardo Corradi ST Udinese Calcio 32 Miguel Montaño ST Seattle Sounders FC 33 Andrew Wenger CB/ST Duke Blue Devils 36 Evan James ST Charlotte 49ers
Player transactions
In No.Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource2DF Nelson Rivas Inter Milan Free October 3, 2011 6DF Hassoun Camara Montreal Impact (NASL) Free October 11, 2011 30GK Evan Bush Montreal Impact (NASL)FreeOctober 21, 201128MF Siniša Ubiparipović Montreal Impact (NASL)FreeNovember 1, 201119DF Zarek Valentin Chivas USAExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201121MF Justin Mapp Philadelphia UnionExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201115DF Jeb Brovsky Vancouver Whitecaps FCExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201118MF Collen Warner Real Salt LakeExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201131DF Josh Gardner Columbus CrewExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201111MF Sanna Nyassi Colorado RapidsExpansion DraftNovember 23, 201117FW Justin Braun Chivas USA Acquired with Gerson Mayen for James RileyNovember 23, 20115 DF Tyson Wahl Seattle Sounders FC Acquired for allocation money November 23, 201127MF Bryan Arguez Fort Lauderdale Strikers Free November 25, 2011 22MF Davy Arnaud Sporting Kansas City Acquired for Seth Sinovic and allocation money November 28, 2011 1GK Donovan Ricketts Los Angeles Galaxy Acquired for allocation money November 28, 2011 32FW Miguel Montaño Seattle Sounders FC Free December 7, 2011 24GK Greg Sutton New York Red Bulls Free December 9, 2011 8MF Patrice Bernier Lyngby Boldklub Free December 19, 2011 7MF Felipe FC Lugano Free December 21, 2011 33FW Andrew Wenger Duke Blue Devils 2012 MLS SuperDraft January 12, 2012 3DF Shavar Thomas Sporting Kansas City Free January 20, 2012 26FW Mike Fucito Seattle Sounders FC Acquired with Lamar Neagle for Eddie JohnsonFebruary 17, 201225MF Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC Acquired with Mike Fucito for Eddie JohnsonFebruary 17, 201216FW Eduardo Sebrango Montreal Impact (NASL) Free February 21, 201213DF Matteo Ferrari Beşiktaş J.K. Free March 1, 2012 29DF Calum Mallace Marquette Golden Eagles2012 MLS SuperDraftMarch 1, 2012 36FW Evan James UNC Charlotte 2012 MLS Supplemental DraftMarch 1, 201238DF Gienir García Cruz Azul Hidalgo Acquired his rights for the rights to Etienne BarbaraMarch 1, 201223FW Bernardo Corradi Udinese CalcioFreeMarch 15, 2012 9FW Marco Di Vaio Bologna F.C. 1909FreeMay 24, 2012 34 DF Karl Ouimette Montreal Impact AcademyGraduated from the AcademyJune 5, 2012 14 DF Alessandro Nesta AC MilanFreeJuly 2, 201217 DF Dennis Iapichino FC LuganoFreeJuly 11, 2012 1 GK Troy Perkins Portland TimbersTraded for Donovan RickettsAugust 7, 2012
Out No.Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource – MF James Riley Chivas USA Traded for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen November 23, 2011 – DF Seth Sinovic Sporting Kansas City Traded for Davy Arnaud and allocation money November 28, 2011 – FW Brian Ching Houston Dynamo Traded for a conditional pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft February 16, 2012 – FW Eddie Johnson Seattle Sounders FC Traded for Mike Fucito and Lamar NeagleFebruary 17, 2012 – MF Ian Westlake Needham Market F.C. Waived February 28, 2012 – MF Gerson Mayen C.D. FAS Waived March 1, 2012 26 FW Mike Fucito Portland Timbers Traded for either the Timbers' highest second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft or a 2013 international roster slot conditional on Fucito's performance April 20, 2012 38 DF Gienir García Cruz Azul Hidalgo Waived May 25, 2012 – DF Bobby Burling C.D. Chivas USA Traded for an International Roster Spot in 2013 July 6, 2012 17 FW Justin Braun Real Salt Lake Traded for a conditional draft pick July 11, 2012 5 DF Tyson Wahl Colorado Rapids Traded for an International Roster Spot in 2014 July 13, 2012 1 GK Donovan Ricketts Portland Timbers Traded for Troy Perkins August 7, 2012
Loans Out